Why God Why?!
This week in class we discussed the four approaches to
popular culture and religion, and the way in which the two intersect. As a huge
fan of “Friends” I could not help myself but to think of one episode in
particular. The episode is where Rachel Green, one of the main characters,
turns 30 years old.
At her birthday party they show flash backs from previous
birthdays of other members of the gang, and one of them is Joey Tribbiani’s
thirtieth birthday. In the relatively short clip from his birthday, Joey says
“Why God why? We had a deal, let the others grow old not me!” Then a second
clip is shown from Chandler’s birthday, again with him saying “And now
Chandler, we’re all getting so old! Why are you doing this to us?!”
This episode of Friends, while hilarious, made me think of
one of the approaches that was discussed in class and in readings by Gordon
Lynch. One of the things that he mentions is the way in which religion or believers
are presented in popular culture. By studying this, it makes it easier to
become aware of what type of biases or assumptions may be present about a
particular group of believers. I could not help but notice that the
relationship that Joey, a Catholic, has with God depicts a stereotype of
Catholics.
Joey, although calling to God for a fairly trivial matter,
is still calling on Him in a time of need. I think that many people have an
assumption that this is in fact how many people of faith are today. That is not
to say that it is wrong to call on God in times of need. I personally found
this relationship to be depicted in a humorous way, as many people would
probably be able to relate to a similar scenario. So, in accordance to Lynch,
this is but one of the many ways in which Christianity is portrayed in popular
culture.
I think you stumble upon some key features that are associated with christianity and religion for that matter. I am a bit of a scatter brain so hopefully I will be able to transition my thoughts well.
ReplyDeleteA point that was raised was the fact most people ask for Gods intervention in their time of need. This is partially because we don't have the personal and spiritual connection that we should with whatever God we believe in. For most of us, God is at a safe distance, not to close and not to far away. A better analogy would be to compare God to a facebook friend. We don't necessary consult with this person everyday, but when the time comes we know how to reach the friend.
If people had an intimate connection with their supreme creator, it would not feel like they only address their God in their time of need. I find it personally confusing, because it seems that God has become a popular culture icon. Im sure that a significant amount of people have a real spiritual attachment, but an even greater amount dont. With phrases uttered daily such as, "O MY GOD" "GOD DAMN" "I PROMISE TO GOD" and "GOD WILLING". We even see "IN GOD WE TRUST" in currency. And don't get me started on Gods presence in the social media.
Actually there was an incident which I fell victim to my own firing squad. One morning I was on twitter, and the hash tags were filled with #putgodfirst #GODmorning #Godisgood. I felt a social cohesion to mention God myself on my timeline. Then I felt the metaphorical pie getting slapped on my face, thinking to myself. "you haven't even prayed this morning and yet your on twitter saying #putgodfirst, clearly he's second to you.
Another message i got from the article, was the message that people turn to God in matters that they themselves cannot control. Acts of nature and violence is used as transcendent means of communication. For example, say you hear on the news that a mudslide has just killed 4,000 people in a small village, or a serial killer is killing children and leaving their heads on the parents front step(sorry for the analogy, i just started watching Dexter) your first and customary response would probably be "O MY GOD" or " GOD HELP THEM". If this is the only method of spiritual connection that is socially accepted, I think we are in trouble. As Joey is frantically pleading to God for him not to get old(an occurrence that he cannot control).