In
my old blog, I've posted a little bit about one example of
global youth culture. In that post, I've made a link to
the article which kind of concluded that pop culture icons have become like religious figures for many global youth. Today, I'm going to talk abit more about the relationship between religion and pop culture.
Yeah, MTV IS making big $$$ and getting some respect, but do we have any idea how much $$$ and power
the little square inside of the city of Rome holds? In Latin America, Christianity is the power. it's so obvious. In Central Mexico, churches are everywhere, sitting on top of a ruin of Aztec temples. Look at them, so many people on their knees for the Virgin Maria. (I've heard that
most of Africa now is also taken over by the
"fastest-growing religion". Yeah, it's a part of the power game. It's sad in a way though. Ganbatte, Hang in there, those human-rights/pacifism/Red-Cross/UN people who are warriors for their sake.
Both of them, MTV and monotheism, seem to me the same. They both are perhaps based on the same principle: entertain their followers by providing them imaginational and visual story telling materials, such as the Bible, the Qur'an, and MTV PVs, that can possibly make them identify themselves. They both use different methods but the same concept, carrying out their intentions to make us believe that we can become what they want us to be: "good" believers and consumers. It's kind of snob to say, but in reality, we need these kind of "good" people to self-support our globalizing society... I'm sure I will be the one of those good too, at some point in life.
Anyway, monotheism's strategy is pretty clear: to expand its territory to probably "rescue" them and in return recieve faith and big bucks. I mean $$$$$ (have you noticed the quality of decorations inside any famous churches? It's art, of gold and blood, and you can tell so much $$$ and effort in it). So, then, what's the role of MTV? As many of Monotheism supporters have no idea what actually they mean, those working in the music industry and MTV employees probably don't know what the hell in the universe they are really creating. I think what they have been for us is showing a new form of religions or religious-like phenomena. It's connected with what they call spirituality.
In reality, we the humans do emulate others, regardless of the variation and depth of our own faith. We can't deny this. We all had experiences when we were little kids, teenagers, or even now, where we emulated something and/or someone.
In relationship with God, through already published forms of religions, the saints and the goddesses are like messagers, interpreters, and moderators. But that is all about your imagination and the matter of believeing or not. On the other hand, for the new generation, the global youth, visible things are easy to accept. We can see the updated saints and goddesses named Nelly, 50 cent, Snoop Dogg, Madonna, Britney Spears... you name it. In religions' history, there are thousands of traditional stars;
Krishna,
Santa Barbara,
Kannon, ...you name it.
Yet, those traditional stars don't do anything directly to us. They come to our mind through imagination. But the updated stars do directly effect us. One of the updated form of teachings is called a concert. We can physically attend their ceremony, a concert. One of the current star's ceremonies is called
The Up In Smoke Tour 2000, featuring Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Ice Cube, Nate Dogg , Xzibit, Warren G, ...People who attended their ceremony had great time, being encouraged for their future. It is ery direct, so that the followers could easily identify themselves.
Also, one of the most updated goddesses, named
Nelly, now has his own foundation called
P.I.M.P. Scholarship to help out youth. Other updated saints have similar ideas for giving back to a community.
Curtis "50 cent" Jackson and
David "Yong Buck" Brown from the G-Unity Foundation, Inc. too have educational approaches to support the local youth. This has become a custom. (well, some say that the reason updated saints give away $$$ for their "good" is because of the tax deduction) Through the academic and educational approach, they are directly "rescuing" people, especially the youth who will be decision makers tomorrow. Religions suck up your $$$ but never give you $$$. Religions restrict you before give they you hope. MTV stars don't restrict you, they show you what they have. After all, it is your choice.
We can actually see the attention of youth has been shifted, from religions to pop culture. (now it makes me wonder if religions back in the old days was seen as pop culture... I'm sure there wasn't a lot of entertainment hundreds of yrs ago) This tendency of the shift of power may threaten those who believe in traditional stars. So-called conservative parents have expressed their fear against the upcoming shift. Yeah, the shift. We are young, flexible, and live in the globalization. "...But first, you and I got to unify. Stop the nagativity. And control our creativity...", said
KRS-ONE, the other latest goddess, in 1997... wow that's already 8 yrs ago.
In NYC, sometimes it is worth and interesting to stop walking and head up to see what's above you. There are plenty of campaigns. Commercial, political, religious, all sort. The other day I was walking on a street in Midtown Manhattan, and I saw this. What this view of the photograph represents can be neither good nor bad, not even ironic or nothing skeptical... It is just, in my eyes, a well done visual presentation of complicated and intertwinned relationships of... inside head of humans... Tradition and liberation therefore intention and expression, identity and religion therefore belonging and security, power and moral therefore money and influence, anxiety and ease therefore depression and contentment... and so on and on... that anything what one may wants to relate to. 
