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Thursday
Was He Speeding???
A UNC student got stopped for speeding yesterday while on vacation.
He thought he could talk his way out of it until the cop looked at his dog in the back seat:
It is the task of marketing departments of all varieties to keep a calculating finger on the pulse of culture, particularly when it comes to consumer trends. The entertainment industry alone has a multi-billion dollar reason to keep their fingers close--which means their research into the entertainment needs of the world is essential. For those of us fascinated with cultural studies, it also means their research into what the public will respond to favorably or unfavorably offers an interesting glimpse into the current cultural landscape.
But even the researchers are getting confused, and especially during the holidays. They find we are sending mixed signals. An article in The New York Times quotes one researcher describing "a curiously widespread contradiction in modern American pop culture--the desperate, self-negating need to be both cynical and sentimental at the same time."(1) Film historian David Thomson notes of film in general, "One of the main problems in the industry is that young kids do not take the story material seriously. They think it's mocking." As a result, "the things we once took very seriously, we half-mock them now."(2)
By and large, the cultural trend marks a growing distrust and rejection of story and meaning and a general embrace of cynicism. And yet, in recent market research, executives found that audiences of all ages reacted badly to advertising that too sharply dismissed or disrespected the notion or story of Christmas. There is quite measurably a greater desire for storylines with hopeful implications in December. Apparently, we want to claim life is meaningless, but only 11 months out of the year. The typical cynicism governing the production and marketing of motion pictures is entirely toned down at Christmastime. It seems we want to argue the cake doesn't exist and eat it too.
I have always appreciated the brave confession of C.S. Lewis that he was once living in a whirl of contradictions. This is a difficult thing even to notice of one's life, let alone admit it aloud. Self-deception is always one of the more powerful forces of interpretation; the general human ability to see the lives of others far more critically than our own is another. Yet Lewis observed of himself, "I maintained that God did not exist. I was also very angry with God for not existing. I was equally angry with Him for creating a world." Our own contradictions often exist glaringly amongst our thoughts, even as they go unnoticed.
Yet there is a promise for those who seek, for those willing to confront their own contradictions, and it comes near in the Incarnation we celebrate in December and nearer still in the Ascension we just celebrated--the first event remembering God's willingness to reach humanity by becoming human, the later remembering the permanent exaltation of humanity into the life of God. Indeed, this exalted one who knows what it means to be human is continually at work flattening our altars of inconsistency, uncovering our contradictions, urging us into eyesight, and leading us into humanity as God intended. The child we welcome in December remains among us every month thereafter. In the momentous words of a hymn that speaks as much to the hope Christmas as it does to the assurance of the Ascension:
Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King... Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ... No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow Far as the curse is found.
Our redeemer will continue to find us. May it be his song we hear and employ.
Jill Carattini is senior associate writer at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.
(1) As quoted in the New York Times, (Dec. 14, 2004). (2) Ibid.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) "A Slice of Infinity" is aimed at reaching into the culture with words of challenge, words of truth, and words of hope. If you know of others who would enjoy receiving "A Slice of Infinity" in their email box each day, tell them they can sign up on our website at http://www.rzim.org/slice/slice.php. If they do not have access to the World Wide Web, please call 1-877-88SLICE (1-877-887-5423).
Wist u dat de God van u houdt? Avez-vous su que Dieu vous aime ? Wußten Sie, daß Gott Sie liebt? Avete saputo che il dio li ama? Você soube que o deus o ama? ¿Usted sabía que el dios le ama?
I would you suggest you are a charlatan and enjoy providing a semblance of omniscence while being protected ny cyberspace. Your discourse is most insipid and you have delusions of high academia, and all of this serenaded with the most delinquent sonorous tone. I propose that if you were to upload images of yourself spontaneously combusting, you will have found your true vocation in life.
Thanks for leaving a message! All comments are posted even negative ones unless they con - tain family unfriendly words and you are smart enough to know what those are. If you are unsure what these might be, ask your Mom:O)
Iconoclast of Inconsistency
ReplyDeleteIt is the task of marketing departments of all varieties to keep a
calculating finger on the pulse of culture, particularly when it comes to
consumer trends. The entertainment industry alone has a multi-billion
dollar reason to keep their fingers close--which means their research into
the entertainment needs of the world is essential. For those of us
fascinated with cultural studies, it also means their research into what
the public will respond to favorably or unfavorably offers an interesting
glimpse into the current cultural landscape.
But even the researchers are getting confused, and especially during the
holidays. They find we are sending mixed signals. An article in The
New York Times quotes one researcher describing "a curiously
widespread contradiction in modern American pop culture--the desperate,
self-negating need to be both cynical and sentimental at the same
time."(1) Film historian David Thomson notes of film in general, "One of
the main problems in the industry is that young kids do not take the story
material seriously. They think it's mocking." As a result, "the things we
once took very seriously, we half-mock them now."(2)
By and large, the cultural trend marks a growing distrust and rejection of
story and meaning and a general embrace of cynicism. And yet, in recent
market research, executives found that audiences of all ages reacted badly
to advertising that too sharply dismissed or disrespected the notion or
story of Christmas. There is quite measurably a greater desire for
storylines with hopeful implications in December. Apparently, we want to
claim life is meaningless, but only 11 months out of the year. The
typical cynicism governing the production and marketing of motion pictures
is entirely toned down at Christmastime. It seems we want to argue the
cake doesn't exist and eat it too.
I have always appreciated the brave confession of C.S. Lewis that he was
once living in a whirl of contradictions. This is a difficult thing even
to notice of one's life, let alone admit it aloud. Self-deception is
always one of the more powerful forces of interpretation; the general
human ability to see the lives of others far more critically than our own
is another. Yet Lewis observed of himself, "I maintained that God did not
exist. I was also very angry with God for not existing. I was equally
angry with Him for creating a world." Our own contradictions often exist
glaringly amongst our thoughts, even as they go unnoticed.
Yet there is a promise for those who seek, for those willing to confront
their own contradictions, and it comes near in the Incarnation we
celebrate in December and nearer still in the Ascension we just
celebrated--the first event remembering God's willingness to reach
humanity by becoming human, the later remembering the permanent exaltation
of humanity into the life of God. Indeed, this exalted one who knows what
it means to be human is continually at work flattening our altars of
inconsistency, uncovering our contradictions, urging us into eyesight, and
leading us into humanity as God intended. The child we welcome in December
remains among us every month thereafter. In the momentous words of a hymn
that speaks as much to the hope Christmas as it does to the assurance of
the Ascension:
Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King...
Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ...
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.
Our redeemer will continue to find us. May it be his song we hear and
employ.
Jill Carattini is senior associate writer at Ravi Zacharias
International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.
(1) As quoted in the New York Times, (Dec. 14, 2004).
(2) Ibid.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM)
"A Slice of Infinity" is aimed at reaching into the culture with words of
challenge, words of truth, and words of hope. If you know of others who
would enjoy receiving "A Slice of Infinity" in their email box each day,
tell them they can sign up on our website at
http://www.rzim.org/slice/slice.php. If they do not have access to the
World Wide Web, please call 1-877-88SLICE (1-877-887-5423).
Click Here
Click Here
Wist u dat de God van u houdt?
Avez-vous su que Dieu vous aime ?
Wußten Sie, daß Gott Sie liebt?
Avete saputo che il dio li ama?
Você soube que o deus o ama?
¿Usted sabía que el dios le ama?
http://everystudent.com/menus/intl.html
Click Here
Click Here
I would you suggest you are a charlatan and enjoy providing a semblance of omniscence while being protected ny cyberspace. Your discourse is most insipid and you have delusions of high academia, and all of this serenaded with the most delinquent sonorous tone. I propose that if you were to upload images of yourself spontaneously combusting, you will have found your true vocation in life.
ReplyDelete