Response to Media influence

I love questions, not so much for the answer, but for the dialogue that questions promote. Often questions annoy us. I like annoying people - not to be irritating so much as to make people think. I've become more of a thinker myself in the past few years. Annoying questions seem to stick in the minds of those who are confronted. I often pose challenging questions to my students when they seem absolutely sure of their point-of-view. Rethinking their stance is helpful, especially in light of a seeming contradictory stance.

When dealing with the worldview the media promotes, I have begun to ask questions. I ask my students questions about where there opinions and understandings or worldviews were developed. Very often they will admit they were instructed by the media, not by any experienced or thoughtful truth. I try to force them into the Bible as their source of knowledge and opinion, not to cultural norms informed by media messages. Yes, culture needs to be considered, but only against the backdrop of Biblical truth.

I even ask my kids questions when we are watching TV or when they are reading magazines or newspapers. We talk about what the advertisements tell us about the product being promoted and about other images and subliminal messages embedded there. I have found that my kids are not as naive about what the media is trying to teach us about the world. They have become savvy shoppers and readers! I think we all can do this. If we make ourselves conscious that the media is trying to do more than just make us aware of products for our benefit, we will be much better off as consumers and Christians! We need to realize that all advertising and all media is profit driven! Sometimes we are the products that are being sold to advertisers so that they can in turn try to sell us something! That's a sobering thought - we are products!

I'm scared....

I have a few moments this morning before I have to leave for a meeting out of town for a few days. I'm trying to wrap up my final paper for my class at UGA this semester. It has been a fascinating investigation of the media as a system of adult education. As a part of the class we have read material from a variety of sources that criticize the media industry worldwide - some say the media is too liberal while others proclaim it a tool of the political right. The major message that I can't get out of my mind is the way advertising influences the world's value systems and determines the self esteem of our children and youth. As a dad of an 8 year old daughter, with another daughter to be born in February, I'm really frightened for their futures. It is virtually impossible for a girl to grow up in this country with a healthy self image! We cut out television for our kids a few years ago (with the exception of an occasional movie or nature show). Despite this drastic move, the influence of the media is so pervasive that my daughter still says things that shock me about her body or her idea of normal body styles. A few years ago she told me she was getting fat (I've not seen many young girls as slender as she is). She discribes her friends that are normal size as heavy or big. Luckily, she has not fallen victum to the "prissy" image. She critiques many of the girls in her class as only interested in how they look. She's more interested in getting messay playing tackle or chase with the boys and tomboys during recess than standing around with the prissy girls talking about hair, make-up and clothes. However, I've read the statistics: the vast majority of girls hit puberty and develop low senses of self esteem. As I read magizines, stories in books, and watch movies, the messages of what is pretty and what is considered normative behavor is frightening. If one believes the messeages promoted in advertisements girls are supposed to look like supermodels, be dumb as dirt (or at least keep their opinions to themselves), dress like a ho, flirt without shame, be submissive to their husbands/boyfriends sexually, be professional, make lots of money, spend lots of money, do all of the housework, solely care for the children, have low expectations of their husbands, never look over 25, always be concerned about their looks above all else, do whatever it takes to make their man happy, do whatever it takes to look young and sexy, etc. Frankly, the prospect is mind numbing!

I pray every day that I will have the wisdom and the unnatural skill to be able to teach my daughter how God views her - as an amazing, unique, gifted, intellegent, creative individual who knows who she is and is not concerned what others think about her. I want her to, if she chooses to date or marry, find someone who treats her with respect and honor, who values who she is as a person, who tries to make her better in all respects, who submits to her needs and desires, and who wants her to be all that God is creating her to be.

I pray we as a Christian community will find a way to counter the negative and harmful media messages that are blown into our minds each day on TV, on billboards, in magazines, on the Internet, and the radio at every turn so that we can give our children and friends correct messages about who they are and who they should be! May God help us in this impossible quest!

Identifying our Passion

In reading Erwin McManus' The Barbarian Way this morning I was reminded about all of the times I've tried to civilize my faith-walk and, worse, the faith-journeys' of others. McManus reminds me that I need to encourage extreme dreams, outlandish behavior, and radical stances that counter the culture that surrounds and imprisions us from experiencing the abundant life Jesus described. The question that is bouncing around in my head this morning is "how can I nurture radical dreams and actions for God on this campus and in this community?" What do you think? How is God dreaming of a new world in your life?