Post 15 | PRM REVIEW

Developing a Pop Religious Movement (PRM) within this semester has been a eye-opening task as it brought to my attention the attributes, structure and foundations of what forms and constitutes a religion. Legitimacy, sacred texts, beliefs, a creation story and rituals are some of the many characteristics which are fundamental to the formation of a Pop Religious Movement. This review will look at the processes and decision making behind the development of our very own Pop Religious Movement, Perfectology.  

At the beginning of our task the several elements which needed to be considered and included to form our Pop Religious Movement was quite extensive. Firstly, the decision on whether our religion should stem from, or be based on, a mainline faith, or a distinct separate perspective and structure, was a topic thoroughly discussed. As a result, we established that Perfectology, a religion whose prime ideal is to 'strive to be perfect as we were made in our Creator's image', corresponded somewhat with the beliefs of many Christian denominations. However, our group decided that although Perfectology resembled similar beliefs to several Christian faiths, it would be a religion which broke away from Christianity as the creators of Perfectology noticed the 'lack' of emphasis placed on striving for perfection, which they believed should be a fundamental goal within a religion. This conclusion was accumulated from the Bible verse (Matthew 54:8), "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Therefore, we discussed how the creators of Perfectology formulated their own beliefs on how the world and each individual was created and the core beliefs and stages that would help one attain perfection.

Hjarvard (2008, p.6) and Clark (2011, p.114) argue that the media has become a primary source for imitating the presence of a community and sense of spiritual leadership which used to be essentially provided by institutionalised religions. In saying this, our group began analysing whether our religion would be community-based and institutionalised, or individualistic and privatised. Here, our group decided Perfectology would consist of elements from both. With regards to community, Perfectology gives opportunities for individuals to interact with others. These included Perfectology services each week and meditation and reflection seminars. Our religion however is also strongly individualistic and privatised as it places strong emphasis on the development of oneself, focusing on how to improve yourself as an individual during perfection stages and can be largely privatised due to our website and information that can assist people in practising at home.

After reading McDannell's article Scrambling the sacred and the profane, our group began to look at whether our religion had a sense of the transcendent or the sacred and whether they were apart or interconnected. Comparing both Durkheim's argument that the religious life and profane life cannot exist in the same place, to Tilich's argument that the sacred can be seen in the profane, our group came to the conclusion our religion would be formulated in Tilich's approach (McDannell, p.136-142). Our Pop Religious Movement Perfectology saw the profane elements of one's life can lead to perfection, that our worldly assets and what is seen throughout the media as 'perfect' is what our religion is fundamentally all about. Ward's article also was quite helpful when looking at our religion's structure and hierarchy. Ward (2011, p. 57-59) discusses the notion of the star as a semi-divine figure of worship. In society, celebrities are seen by many as the 'ideal of perfection' in which people almost worship and put on a pedestal these figures. Our religion therefore uses this view, holding celebrities as those who have reached higher 'perfection' and are examples of how to strive for perfection. 

In conclusion, our religion Perfectology provides individuals with the ability to spiritually transcend through the "Perfection" levels to reach their ultimate goal - to reach spiritual perfection and a relationship with our perfect Creator through a complete balance of all levels of the Perfectionism Scale. This process helped me analyse the theoretical components of new, mediated and branded religious movements and helped bring these discoveries forth in our very own religion Perfectology.

  

References

Clark, L, S. (2011). Religion and Authority in a Remix Culture. In Lynch, G. M., Jolyon, S., & 

Strhan, A. (Eds.), Religion, Media and Culture: A Reader (pp.111-121). London & New York: Routledge.

Hjarvard, S. (2008). The Mediatization of Religion: A Theory of the Media as Agents of Religious Change. Northern Lights, 6(1), 9-26. doi: 10.1386/nl.6.1.9/1

McDannell, C. (2012). Scrambling the Sacred and the Profane. In Lynch G. and J. Mitchell with A. Strhan. (Eds.), Religion, Media and Culture: A Reader (pp.135-146). London & New York: Routledge.   

The Holy Bible. (2010). Charlotte, NC: Saint Benedict Press.

Ward, P. (2011). Gods Behaving Badly: Media Religion and Celebrity Culture. London: SCM Press.

Post 14 | “Asian Culture” and Asian American Identities in the Television and Film Industries of the United States

Asian "Culture" and Asian American Identities in the United States' Cinematic history

By Theresa King

Shah's article "Asian Culture" and Asian American Identities in the Television and Film Industries of the United States (2003) puts forth four particular Asian stereotypes which are highly recognisable within American films and television productions. These Shah categorised as the 'Yellow Peril,' the 'Dragon Lady,' the 'Charlie Chan,' and the 'Lotus Blossom.' This article discusses two sides of these film and television images. Firstly, Shah looks at how Asians are depicted by white Americans, and how these views have resulted into the stereotypical depictions which are evident in films and television shows that are made in Hollywood. Secondly, Shah looks at the side of how Asians view themselves and their own personal experiences living in the United States and the increase in what has been referred to as 'triangular cinema' has taken place. 'Triangular cinema' is the term given to Asian American filmmakers who have challenged the preconceived Asian stereotypes and created more 'liberating images' for positive independence and autonomy for the Asian American communities (Shah, 2003, p.1). Furthermore, Shah discusses due to the competing images of Asians and Asian Americans a struggle over identity formation has become manifest (Shah, 2003, p.1). This post will analyse and discuss these four stereotypical depictions of Asians created in American television and film industries.

'Yellow Peril' and 'Dragon Lady'

It was between 1900 and 1930 that white Americans began to focus their attention on the Asian population to the east. The white farmers in America became vehemently opposed and resentful towards Asians as they were leasing unwanted land and were competing against them in local produce markets (Shah, 2003, p.3). Shah (2003, p.3) further discusses how labor unions furthermore fought for white workers, claiming Asians were threatening their jobs and competing with unskilled white Americans for low-paying jobs. These stereotypes became quite prominent around most of Europe also in the early 1900s. In effect, Hollywood began to put these opinions of the Asian population into their cinematic productions. One of the first began with Asian men being depicted as "menacing, predatory, and lusting after white women" (Shah, 2003, p.3). These images, Shah (2003, p.3) explains, are evident within the films such as Broken Blossoms and The Cheat. The 'Dragon Lady' stereotype of Asian women has also become a prominent figure in American cinematic culture. Here, Shah (2003, p.3) argues Asian women have become "depicted as diabolical, sneaky, and mean, but with the added characteristics of being sexually alluring and sophisticated and determined to seduce and corrupt white men." These stereotype roles are present within movies/ television shows such as The Thief of Baghdad and Ally McBeal starring Lucy Liu.

'Charlie Chan' and 'Lotus Blossom'

The Charlie Chan stereotype was created by Hollywood in 1936 as a contrast to the cruel Japanese male soldier as presented in the film Dragon Seed. This 'Charlie Chan' figure that Hollywood created was a 'mysterious man,' 'non-threatening,' and revealed his 'Asian wisdom' when needed (Shah, 2003, p.4). These stereotypical figures are represented in the television series such as Martial Law by the characters of Sam-o Hung and Kelly Hu.  As the end of World War II, Japan became a satellite nation of the United States and therefore a total reversal in the images of Japanese and Chinese people came about (Shah, 2003, p.4).The 'Lotus Blossom’ stereotype consequently followed from these events which is portrayed in films such as Sayonara, where Asian women are depicted as being "submissive, meek, and ready to serve a man's every need" (Shah, 2003, p.4).

As is discussed through Shah's article, it is evident that these four stereotypes of Asians - Yellow Peril, Dragon Lady, Charlie Chan and Lotus Blossom - were prominent throughout American film history and are still prominent in several films and television series today. These stereotypes are however being challenged by Asian people, by creating their own identity and representation through their own cinematic productions.

References:

Shah H. (2003). “Asian Culture” and Asian American Identities in the Television and Film Industries of the United States. Studies in Media & Information Literacy Education 3(3): 1-10.

Post 13 | Indigenous Media, Film & Music

 THE SAPPHIRES
How are Aboriginal and other indigenous people portrayed in the media?

For Aboriginal and Indigenous people, past identity representations in movies has been quite negative. These depictions include Aboriginal and Indigenous people as being violent, having substance abuse problems, lower education, are unemployed and are considered to have a lower life expectancy. After watching The Sapphires, I thought it was quite interesting when looking at how Aboriginal and Indigenous men and women are portrayed in the media. The Sapphires, released in 2012, has been widely acclaimed as an entertaining and intriguing film which reflects the lives of four Indigenous women Gail, Julie, Kay and Cynthia in a positive light. These four women were discovered by the very own David Lovelace, an Irish talent scout, who takes them on the journey of forming the music group called the Sapphires (Kroenert, 2012, n.p). The Sapphires travel to Vietnam during 1968 to sing for the troops during the war. 

At the beginning of the film it shows the state of Australia, in which the main characters deal with racial prejudice and discrimination in the 1960s (Kroenert, 2012, n.p). When they meet David Lovelace, their lives begin to change for them and they become widely successful with the crowds in the war. According to Naomi, one of the original Sapphire members, no one in her community knew originally that the Sapphires were successful, "A lot of them didn't know. They were still out in the country due to the White Australia policy. It was after the 1967 referendum that black people started to come back in [to the cities]. In Melbourne before then, there were hardly any black people except us" (Nunn, 2012, n.p).

Written by Tony Briggs, son of one of the original Sapphire members, this film has been seen as a look into the lives of the indigenous people who lived during the White Australian policy. This film I believe was inspiring and eye opening to the state of Australia back in that time when it touches on the Stolen Generations. It is really good to see films now embracing and illustrating our past. The Sapphires have been acknowledged wide known and have been largely successful. Laurel, another one of the original Sapphire members says she's absolutely thrilled "that someone took a chance on us. That someone took the time to tell our stories. That my son, Tony, has received so many awards for telling our stories. We're so proud of him" (Nunn, 2012, n.p).

References

Kroenert T. (2012). Aboriginal Voices Silence Vietnam War Stories. Eureka Street 22(15), 6-7. Retrieved from http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=32676.

Nunn G. (2012). The Sapphires: Where are they now? Australian Geographic, Sept 5, http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/in-conversation-with-the-real-sapphires-movie.htm