Next in the Reading Queue & Thoughts on Cultural Engagement

After reading Rhett's post on one of his contemporary theological heroes, I've decided that this is the next book I'll try to read in the "ecclesiology" category. Really good stuff. In my estimation, these are the kinds of things in the emerging church dialogue that are most helpful and substantial.

At the moment, I'm wading through a book that I picked up in England before I left called The Middle Mind: Why Consumer Culture is Turning us into the Living Dead. (You'll notice on the Amazon site that the American version of the book has a different subtitle: Why Americans Don't Think for Themselves. Not sure it would've grabbed my attention as easily as the British title.) The premise of the book is fascinating and the kind of thinking that I find myself wrestling with, but never able to clearly articulate well. There are a few problems with the book however.

First of all, the author, an academic from Illinois State University, seems to assume that the reader is as brilliantly well-informed and intellectually robust as he is. If you struggle at all with any sort of inferiority complex on any level, this book is not for you. You will feel quite patronized, as I have. The name dropping and side comments about the way literary and philosophical movements have changed in academic circles over the last hundred years or so leave the reader thinking, "Okay, if I had any idea of who these people are or what the 'social criticism of Cultural Studies' consists of, I may have some inkling as to what this guy is talking about.” It’s reminiscent of trying to follow the humor of Dennis Miller. (Of course, if you don’t know what I’m talking about with this allusion to Dennis Miller, you’re experiencing firsthand what you might encounter in this book. Check out the “comedic style” section of this Wikipedia entry to see what I’m referring to. That’s it! This book needs hyperlinks!)

Secondly (and maybe a result of my first critique), it’s difficult to know exactly what foundational presuppositions the author is coming from. He criticizes a lot of things about American culture, but rarely offers a glimpse as to why. To my knowledge, White is not a Christ-follower, so he doesn’t come from a perspective of having divine revelation as his starting point, but it’s difficult to know what his standard is, other than his passionately felt opinion.

Having said that, there are a few jewels in the book that have kept me reading on. In the introduction, White reveals his thesis, if only in part. “I am interested in the imagination as a social force that allows for both critique and reinvention. This is something that happens not only in art (although it happens most powerfully in art), but in every area of the culture – even in technology and science.” As the book progresses, White makes his opinion clear that people in Western society have lost the ability to “read,” not as in words, but as in cultural elements all around us and what they are communicating. To demonstrate, he completely disassembles the film “Saving Private Ryan,” commenting brilliantly on the subtle messages given by Spieldberg, whom (you might have guessed) he really doesn’t like.

I really believe that this is a powerful challenge to our culture and especially to those who refer to themselves as Christ-followers. All too often, the message that we get from Evangelical Christian leaders is that film, music, television, etc. is really nothing more than a matter of entertainment and that we really need to fear the power and suggestion of the “pagan worldview” that constantly assaults us as believers through the medium of entertainment.

However, I think there is an alternative to this perspective. Film, music and other contemporary media are forms of artistic expression. Granted, the films and music that get the most prime time attention are usually the most shallow and hedonistic and lacking artistic integrity. And it seems rare that film makers and song writers see their trade as anything more than an opportunity to make a quick fortune on the shallow tastes and preferences of the American masses.

But get beyond these examples of contemporary culture that are driven by consumer capitalism, and you’ll see that there are many brilliant artists who see these mediums as opportunity to create, communicate, and experience life with authenticity and integrity, completely aside from revenue or box office numbers.

Bands like Radiohead, Wilco, Over the Rhine, and Built to Spill are much more concerned with making good art than they are with fame and fortune. Film makers like Wes Anderson, Terry Gilliam, Spike Jonze, and Charlie Kaufman are (usually) not so interested in making the latest box office hit as they are in making good art that challenges the mind or tells a good story.

Rather than see these mediums as merely entertainment to be avoided and to protect our children from, we as believers need to see these mediums as artistic expressions to be read and evaluated – sometimes even to be blessed by when there are elements of truth and beauty in them. Having this perspective can help us escape the entrapment of “entertainment choices” (no, that's not the only way to think of film and music) and open up a whole new world of intelligent engagement with the world around us. We can then help our children make choices in film and music based not on whether there was a Bible lesson explicitly given or even based on how good or amused it makes them feel, but on the truth and virtue of the message (even in uncomfortable films such as Magnolia or 21 Grams, admittedly not for children) or the challenge to the intellect and imagination.

Much more to be said, and I don’t even believe I’ve said what I’ve said clearly, but life outside the blogosphere calls.