Reflection - Atanarjuat

In her article ‘Visual Sovereignty, Indigenous Revisions of Ethnography and Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner)’ (2011), Raheja talks about the film Atanarjuat (2000) challenging mass-mediated images of the Arctic. Yet, I found it interesting to hear some comments of audience members who felt that their views of the Arctic had not been challenged by this film, due to the fact that the Inuits were living in igloos, wearing fur, eating raw meat, hunting, using dog sleds etc. - all things contribute to the stereotype that non-Inuits have of Inuit people.


I agree that these typical images of Inuits are not challenged in the film. However, after walking away from this film, my views on Inuits had changed. The film stayed in my head and I felt I had gotten to know the characters and experienced a different way of life. It is the subtleties of the culture, the different way they view the world and yet at the same time the similarities between the Inuits and every other human that challenged the stereotypes I have unknowingly built up over years of exposure to media images.


Love, jealousy, fear, competition, tenderness, humour and fun were all present in the film. These are elements of life that all humans relate to. It was set in what most people would assume is a typical Inuit setting - snow, igloos, fur, dogs, ice etc and this is also what most people can relate to. Within these familiarities though, 'Atanarjuat' shows the audience things that most non-Inuits may have not experienced before. The conversation between the grandmother and "little mother" who is her grand-daughter now but was previously the grandmother's mother, all still the same person but now just in a different body. This part of the film illustrates in a subtle way, an Inuit worldview on how matter-of-factly they speak of this concept of a type of 'reincarnation'.  


Also, when the shaman figure came to the community and evil was brought in, the attitude of the Inuits was that they did not know why but it just happened. They accepted it and moved on. This again is different to a Western view of a similar incident, where people would demand to know why it happened and do everything they could to make sure it did not happen again.


The fight scene between Atanarjuat and Oki was so controlled and disciplined, and was another image that challenged my own worldview, given that it was so different to any fight scene I have ever seen in a movie. 


All these images have contributed to opening my mind a little more as I have had a glimpse into how another race of people live. Atanarjuat has been successful in challenging my stereotypical views of Inuit people by allowing me to see into their way of life through their eyes. It is a movie that perhaps needs to be watched a few times to fully grasp all that it is portraying.


Reference

Raheja, M H 2011, ‘Visual Sovereignty, Indigenous Revisions of Ethnography and Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner)’ in Reservation Reelism:  Redfacing, Visual Sovereignty and Representations of Native Americans in Film, University of Nebraska Press, USA, pp. 190-220

 

Week 11 - Article Review - Atanarjuat

Raheja, M H 2011, ‘Visual Sovereignty, Indigenous Revisions of Ethnography and Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner)’ in Reservation Reelism:  Redfacing, Visual Sovereignty and Representations of Native Americans in Film, University of Nebraska Press, USA, pp. 190-220

This article examines Native Americans portrayed in film and how these depictions come across differently to Inuit and non-Inuit audience members.  Using the example of the film ‘Atanarjuat’ (2000) which is directed and produced by Inuits, Raheja demonstrates how such a film is able to influence both Inuit and non-Inuit audience members similarly through visual sovereignty.

Visual sovereignty in this film allows a more authentic portrayal of the Native American culture, creating a more synchronized view of the film, regardless of its audience. Stereotypes are undermined and mass-mediated images formed throughout cinematic history are challenged, at the same time as being of service to local communities through representation.

By approaching a film in this way, attention can also be focused on issues such as land rights through the eyes of the indigenous people, increasing awareness in the world among non-indigenous people. A film such as Atanarjuat, which uses visual sovereignty, helps to correct a history of films and documentaries about Native Americans that have only been seen through Western eyes. Atanarjuat stretches the boundaries of indigenous representation and allows a non-Inuit audience to see through Inuit eyes perhaps more than has been possible previously.

Week 7 - Theoretical Reading - Faith Tweets

In this article, Cheong writes about people of faith starting to include 'microblogging rituals' in their religious practices. Some of the advantages of this are seen as that it helps to generate regular and heightened prayer awareness, a consistently present sense of sacred connectedness with other people of faith which leads to identifying a higher purpose and sense of community with other believers.

These aspects of microblogging can then, in turn, help those of faith be connected together and revitalise their religosity which, for people of faith, can assist in balancing out the rise of secularism, particularly in developed countries which are technologically advanced.

On the other hand, Cheong argues, this trend towards microblogging can be seen as having possible drawbacks such as the fact that it can detract from, or weaken, existing real time relationships and physical rituals, it is time consuming and can take a person's attention away from what is really happening in the present moment.

A possible solution to integrating these new media types into religious practices, as been suggested by some religious leaders, is to balance this current and emerging need to engage with audiences of new media with the traditional needs of quiet reflection, which is often found in Christianity through spiritual rites such as Holy Communion and the confession of sins.

Reference

Cheong PH. 2010. Faith Tweets: Ambient Religious Communication and Microblogging rituals. M/C Journal: A Journal of Media and Culture.
http://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/viewArticle/223

Week 6 - Theoretical Reading - Understanding Glastonbury as a Site of Consumption

The main objective of Bowman's article is to examine the town of Glastonbury (located in south-west England) as an "example of a specialised site of religious and spiritual consumption where...commercial transactions can have sacralised meanings and value" (11).

Bowman sets the scene of Glastonbury by describing contemporary Glastonbury's role as a pilgrimage centre, where a wide range beliefs and praxis are represented in the town through different shops, accommodation, events, goods, services and workshops specifically associated with each of them (17). What has been created by this is a "unique spiritual service industry"making Glastonbury a "site of spiritual consumption" (13).

As a result of this spiritual consumption, Glastonbury, as with other sacred or special sites, can be seen as a place of commercialism with many material goods on sale (14). Bowman explores two main perspectives when analysing the site of Glastonbury. The first, is the view expressed by Hanegraaf in Bowman's paper who describes the "New Ager" as the "ideal consumer". This description depicts a new age person as one who is "continually creating and recreating their own private system of symbolic meaning and values" which creates perfect conditions for commercialism through spirituality (19). In this way, Glastonbury facilitates this commercialism by constantly changing and providing constantly new spiritual material goods to represent different beliefs.

However, as Bowman points out these goods and services are not necessarily "exploitatively or impassively" provided. They are often provided for a purpose (19). Another important point Bowman makes is that those objects that are purchased or transactions that are made at pilgrimage centres such as Glastonbury often have complex meanings and significance. When a person purchases an object from such a centre, it is often the symbolism of the object that is significant - the fact that it represents the centre or marks the person's identity as a pilgrim that has made a specific journey to a specific place (14).

Therefore, Bowman's argument seems to be that while it may be easy to dismiss such a place as Glastonbury as a site of spiritual consumption, commercialism and a place to "spiritually shop around" (13), this is not necessarily in opposition to the place being spiritually significant for people. Material goods for sale are but one aspect or symbol of the expression of spirituality, they do not cancel out the spirituality of a place, both consumption and spirituality can be present and co-exist in the one place.


Reference

Bowman M. 2012. Understanding Glastonbury as a Site of Consumption. In Lynch G. and J. Mitchell with A. Strhan. Eds., Religion, Media and Culture:  A Reader. 11-22. London and New York:  Routledge

Real World v Virtual World

I don't spend all that much time online and was quite hesitant to join Facebook at first, so I'm not in a position to really compare the "real" world to the "virtual" world because I am not a fully-fledged member of a virtual world like I imagine some gamers are. In a way I can understand the appeal of a virtual world, as a form of escapism from the real world. However, the real world is what is real and will not be going away so enjoying a virtual world too much can mean being less able to cope when thrown back into the real world.

One movie that I found absolutely fascinating and life-changing was The Matrix. This movie is centred around the concept of a virtual world and the real world but in the virtual world (in the Matrix) people are not even aware it is a virtual world that they are in, they believe it is real because they don't know any differently. It made me think about how "reality" is a bit of a difficult concept to define. For those people, although a real world also existed, they were completely unaware of it and so for them the Matrix was reality. Who is to say that what we are now experiencing is the "real" world and not some artificially constructed world that we have been wired to think is real?

However, this is a different line of thought to knowing a world is virtual and existing in another world that is considered "real". Knowing a world is virtual has appeal because it is different to the real world, otherwise it would just become the norm. Virtual worlds can sometimes help us appreciate the real world, after spending a lot of time online, going out into nature means that the aliveness and beauty of it all will be even more apparent after comparison to "virtual" worlds. The real world is always there and no matter how involved people get in a virtual world, their body reminds them that they actually exist in a physical plane which will always demand attention no matter what. The real world can't be escaped from through a virtual world. And, for people, virtual worlds can either enhance or detract from the real world, depending on the person's state of mind.

Week 5 - Theoretical Reading - Popular Music, Affective Space & Meaning

"Music meshes with emotion, with thought, with action, with the phenomenological and existential features of social life" (182).  These particular features that music engages with are also features that are central in the construction of a person's identity, and also for constructing meaning in a person's life. This article "Popular Music, Affective Space and Meaning" by C Partridge, draws links between these features of music and how, through these links, it can be connected to a person's spiritual or religious life (183).

Theodor Adorno, a critic of modernity through his research on popular music, argues that music creates meaning through two ways - in the construction of the self and also through giving meaning to, or contextualising, situations allowing for shared meaning between individuals (185-186).  This sharing of meaning can be seen as a pathway to spiritual or religious experiences.

Adorno explains that popular music carries with it cultural and social content which contributes to an affective space being created and particular values being communicated, leading to the construction of both personal and shared meanings, which are at times spiritual, religious, or occultural (187).

In this article, Partridge makes the main point that through a detailed analysis of the interrelation between popular music, the contexts in which it exists, the emotions it evokes and the ideas and values it communicates, it can be clearly seen how music contributes to meaning-making, identity formation and self-understanding - all of which can often be expressed through religion and/or spirituality (192).

Reference

Partridge C. 2012. Popular Music, Affective Space and Meaning. In Lynch G. and Mitchell J. with Strhan A. Eds., Religion, Media and Culture:  A Reader. 182-193. London and New York:  Routledge

Reflection - Religion in general conversation

Since I have been studying Religion at uni, I have found that in my daily life it has opened up so many opportunities for me to learn about others just by me mentioning that I am studying this subject. When I speak to people or meet people and they ask me what I do (once I clarify that studying religion does not mean I am becoming a nun, that in fact it is a broad academic subject), every single person without fail is interested in one way or another and opens up to me about what they think or feel about the subject. I find now that one of my most frequent questions to people after our initial conversation is "Are you religious?" followed closely by "Do you believe in God?".

It sometimes surprises me when people answer "yes" to being religious (and specify that they are of a Christian denomination of some sort), but then hesitate about whether they believe in God, or in one case said they had never really though about whether they believe in God even though they do define themselves as Catholic. These interactions have made me realise that there is quite a spectrum of people out there who consider themselves religious, some of whom I suppose were "brought up" Christian and so that is what they define themselves as, but possibly their life and values and beliefs don't align with this religion as they have grown up but they just haven't gotten around to redefining their spirituality because they have seen no need.

Another person I have spoken to, sat down one day to specifically think about what he believed and decided to write down his own "creed" of how he wanted to live, some of which was quite different to what he had been subscribing to when he considered himself Catholic. I find it extremely interesting in the way people define themselves according to religion and also what organised religions think of this - what is their opinion of someone who considers themselves Catholic because they grew up in a Catholic family, but who has a different set of values and rules to live by, and even in fact is not sure whether or not they believe in God. Are they still considered Catholic by the church because they have gone through the correct rituals of baptism, confirmation etc even though they may not believe?

Week 4 - Theoretical Reading - Spirituality & the Rebranding of Religion

In this article, Carrette and King discuss the concept of "capitalist spirituality", which has a specific economic agenda and is now beginning to inhabit the cultural space that was once the domain of traditional religions (61).

Rather than try to define "spirituality" and analyse the situation through a specific definition, Carrette & King focus on the socio-policital consequences of people trying to define spirituality. They look at the agenda behind certain groups having particular constructions of spirituality and "branding" it in a certain way, and they try to see who benefits from this agenda (61).

The aim of the article is to challenge the "individualist and corporatist monopoly of the term 'spirituality' and the cultural space that this demarcates at the beginning of the twenty-first century for promotion of values of consumerism and corporate capitalism" (62). Carrette and King want to challenge this because, in their view, it is troubling that the modern spirituality that is being promoted does little to address the status quo and therefore does little in the way of helping make significant changes in one's lifestyle and behaviour (presumably making positive changes to one's life as being one of the main benefits of spirituality) (62).

In essence, the article raises concerns about the branding of spirituality as a clever way to make people think they are becoming more spiritual, and therefore improving their life, when in actual fact it is serving a somewhat concealed socio-economic agenda in that it is helping to "smooth-out resistance to the growing power of corporate capitalism and consumerism as the defining ideology of our time" (65).

In effect, rather than opening up spirituality as something that is available to everyone (which is what this rebranding appears to promise people), it plants spirituality within a privatised and conformist space. By challenging this, and questioning the agenda behind the rebranding, Carrette & King believe a space will open up that will allow for "alternative, more socially engaged constructions" of the term "spirituality" to be expressed (62).

Reference


Carrette J and R King. 2102. Spirituality and the Re-branding of Religion. In Lynch G. and J. Mitchell with A. Strhan. Eds., Religion, Media and Culture: A Reader. 59-70. London and New York: Routledge.

Week 3 - Theoretical Reading - 'The Mediatization of Religion'

Hjarvard, in "The Mediatization of Religion:  A Theory of the Media as Agents of Religious Change" discusses how the development of modern media has changed not only how we receive religious messages, but so far as it alters the role religion plays in society in general.

In this article, it is emphasised that 'modern media do not only present or report on religious issues, but also change the very ideas and authority of religious institutions and alter the ways people interact with each other when dealing with religious issues' (11).

Hjarvard uses the example of media portraying supernatural phenomena and the metaphysical realm in general. In previous years, such things would only be the product of our imaginations, however now there are many varieties of supernatural-inspired media portrayed and available, and not in just in fiction genres but also in documentaries, along with greater attention being given to institutionalised religions such as Islam and Christianity (9-10).

Along with an increased presentations of religious messages and phenomena in media, Hjarvard points out that because media infiltrate almost every aspect of society and make up large networks through which human interaction is filtered, media has begun to create feelings of community and belonging and has taken over the role of providing 'information, tradition and moral orientation' for members of society, a role that in previous years was fulfilled by churches, families and schools (13).

Religion has therefore become 'mediatized'. That is, media 'facilitates changes in the amount, content and direction of religious messages in society at the same time as they transform religious representations and challenge and replace the authority of institutionalised religions' (14).

It is interesting to note Hjarvard's view is that although it may seem as though this increased portrayal of religion and religious themes in media means that there is developing a 're-sacralisation' of modern society in which religion is gradually replacing secular tendencies, this is not necessarily the case. Hjarvard argues that there is still a strong emphasis on secularisation of society and that in fact the mediatization of religion could be considered as 'part of a gradual secularisation - it is the historical process in which media have taken over may of the social functions that used to be performed by religious institutions' (10).

This is paradoxical in the fact that we are seeing more religious-themed stories and images than ever before and yet because they are portrayed independently of any institutionalised religions (especially in cases of supernatural television shows or movies), it forms part of the secularisation of society. And it is a society that is perhaps more comfortable than ever with supernatural, metaphysical themes yet less comfortable with other aspects of institutionalised religions.

Reference

Hjarvard, S, 2008, 'The Mediatization of Religion: A Theory of the Media as Agents of Religious Change', Northern Lights, 6, 1, 9-26

Forces of Nature

Being outside and near nature reminds people that there are forces beyond our control.  Nature, and its systems, exist independently of whether humans are around or not.  If all humans ceased to exist, animals and eco-systems would still continue on as they do now.

Acknowledging this fact can help people put things in perspective and realise that we aren't necessarily always the centre of everything.  This realisation can be a relief and help us relax because if we are unable to control certain things, like nature, we need to learn to surrender to such things.  Resistance is futile - there is no point in wishing it wasn't raining when it is. By surrendering and not resisting, we can achieve peace of mind.

Also, by dealing with things that are beyond our control, we can become more adaptable and flexible in dealing with change.  Nature has a lot to teach people and the more time you spend in natural surroundings, the more you observe just how many tiny, living eco-systems there are that are operating despite whether we notice them or not.

Week 2 Reflection - Demons

Are demons a metaphor for what is marginalised and unwanted, or of those who desire control and authority?


The way demons are portrayed in many television shows is that they are fairly simple creatures. They know what they want and usually their sole focus is to get what they want. I believe that demons can be representative of a part of ourselves as humans which we need to ignore if we are to be good, ethical people.

In order to be a 'good' person, it can be more a complicated matter because we often have to put our own wants and needs aside to meet those wants and needs of others, especially if they are deemed to be more urgent or more important than our own.

As children, this is one of the lessons we learn - that we can't always have what we want. Demons still seem to be in this child-like frame of mind - they want what they want and nothing stops them because they are considered 'evil', so they have no conscience or ethical considerations to take into account.

Also, in order to progress forward as humans we have to tackle our 'inner demons' which means acknowledging that part of ourselves that we do not want and not letting it rule our behaviour which helps us to be 'good'.

Week 2 - Theoretical Reading - 'Media, Aesthetics and the Study of Contemporary Religion'

One of the most interesting concepts I found in Birgit Meyer's article 'Religious Sensations: Media, Aesthetics and the Study of Contemporary Religion' was the argument that religious feelings and experiences are created by 'particular social structures, sensory regimes, bodily techniques, doctrines and practices that make up a religion' (159). This is in contrast to what I have sometimes assumed about religious feelings - that they occur, in a way spontaneously, in people without much control and that the features of an organised religion are there to assist people in exploring and expressing those religious feelings that have arisen within them rather than the social structures themselves generating the feelings.

Meyer uses Pentecostal religions as an example of a churches which 'not only generate but heat up and intensify religious feelings' (160). And, importantly because such 'socially produced' and repetitious religious practices generate these feelings and experiences, it enables such experiences to be reproduced which further intensifies feelings. Through using media, this can then be shared with many others, allowing many more to be attracted to these churches by the thought of having such direct and immediate contact with the 'Holy Spirit'.

In terms of the relation between media and religion, Meyer's view is that modern media helps to shape the 'sensational forms' around the relationship between human beings and the transcendental and therefore media becomes very relevant to religious practice (160). She goes so far as to argue that media is 'intrinsic to religion' which I interpret to mean that without a mode of sharing information and the transcendental experiences of a religion, that religion is unable to exist. An early example of such media would be holy books such as the Bible or the Qur'an which were printed and distributed to people eventually. As technology progresses and we have many more ways of distributing information, in our time. this modern media allows for 'reformation and reactivation of religion' (165).


Reference:

Meyer B. 2012. Religious Sensations: Media, Aesthetics and the Study of Contemporary Religion. In Lynch G. and J. Mitchell with A. Strhan. Eds., Religion, Media and Culture:  A Reader. 159-170. London and New York:  Routledge.

Religion & Science - Poles Apart?

Science is about the explanation of things that can be "proven" time and time again according to certain rules. Something becomes "true" because of many repetitions of something doing the same thing each time it is tested. This can be seen as objective in that if the experiments are done the same way, this is independent of which person conducts the experiments as it does not change.

Once things are "taken apart" to see how they work, their individual parts are separate and simplified down to basic forms. Once it is attempted to put these basic forms together to create a bigger picture and meaning, subjectivity arises as there are almost an infinite number of ways to put things together to create meaning because meaning arises out of people's values, emotions, thoughts, moods, memories and experiences.

In my opinion, both systems can exist in harmony. An example of a religion-science system of meaning would be one that had a "possible" meaning that does not involve much of a supernatural element i.e. meaning is derived from explanations that are seen as plausible by scientists in line with what we have already discovered. 

Such a religion may be more along the lines of seeing everything as being connected by an "energy source" which gives meaning to life as it connects us all (and which could be seen as valid by scientists) rather than the concept of an all-powerful, all-knowing God who created the universe for which there is no evidence and which is in contrast to scientific explanations about the universe.