I'm back. Things have been crazy. I am building a new blog site for Heresy of the Month. I am going to transfer all of this over to the new site, when it is completed. I started this blog with the intention of just writing some of my thoughts down, as I wrestle with some things for writing a book on discipleship and following Jesus. It is mostly a "Following Jesus in a Consumer Society for Dummies" type of book, on which I include myself in the "Dummies" category. It is a book for people who are looking for a way in, without having to adopt the heavy yoke of cultural Christianity. In other words, it is a book for people who are not currently Christian, or who were at one time, but have found that designation to have more baggage than it was worth.
All that being said, I have not been very intentional about this blog, because I was just using it to start to formulate and chew on ideas for the book. I wasn't going to promote it as a thing in itself. Then the whole thing took on a life of its own. I suddenly found myself getting many emails thanking me for the content and thoughtfulness of the posts. That was really cool, but it was very unexpected. Now, when I don't post for a while, I get lots of emails asking me for another one. We have had a lot of new people come and visit the church because of the blog. I have been approached by job recruiters for writing and editing positions. Electronic and print publications have contacted me. Don't worry, none of this is going to my head. It just has all been a little overwhelming, and I am excited about it at the same time. So, I have realized that I need to ramp this up a bit, and make it more professional, focused, and "for real". I have been spending a lot of writing time getting things set up to build a more versatile and interactive blog site. I will (hopefully) unveil it in a couple of weeks.
All of this leads to my post for today. I have been thinking a lot about creativity and passion lately. My friend, TamaraOutLoud, wrote an incredible post (she always writes incredible posts) about her liberation as a nerd, entitled "Nerd Is the New Cool". You should check it out. Her writing is awesome! 1980's AWESOME! But this post was right in the wheelhouse of what I've been thinking about. I talked about this at my training a bit last week, but I didn't have time to develop it fully.
We live in a Karaoke Society. There is a great Ted Talk from Malcolm McLaren that inspired me, called "Authentic Creativity vs. A Karaoke Society". You should check it out. It is a great lecture that serves as a plea for moving out of this carbon-copy type of approach, that is so prevalent in our world today.
You see, that is the exact problem. No one creates anything new anymore. No one dares to try something risky and innovative. Take a look at the performing arts as an example. Once the formula was created for contest reality television by the producers of Survivor, every network and every producer kept stamping out carbon copies of that show. Then, suddenly, reality shows come out about New Jersey, and then every network and producer wants to make a show with white trash from Jersey. Madonna shocked the world, when she burst on the scene in the 80s. Now, Lady Gaga is an absolute copy of the formula that worked back then. Even her riffs and chord progressions are exactly the same. If you don't believe me, listen to her "Born This Way", and then listen to Madonna's "Express Yourself" - same themes, same melody, same everything. I didn't like Madonna's music, and I like the Lady Gaga shock, glam rock copy even less. With "Dark Knight", comic book movies have broken into the cultural imagination. There are 6 comic book movies being released this year, with many more slated for next year. The massive production costs and problems of the Spider-man Broadway musical have not stopped them from believing in the miracle of the comic book formula. I'm not really complaining about the comic book thing, because I love them. I will see every one of those movies. But I am making a point about our refusal to try anything new.
These contest shows, reality shows, pop music, crime shows, the Disney Machine, World Series of Poker, Lindsay Lohan, and all of the other pop culture garbage that is fed to us and our children creates a completely unrealistic understanding of the world. It destroys our priorities and core values. It sedates and innoculates us, keeping us from wanting more.
Just examining the American Idol phenomenon, one can see some very telling symptoms of a damaged culture. A person no longer has to work, struggle, suffer, pay their dues, fight for what they want, go through years of poverty, or commit to pursuing their dreams. There is no risk. After a 12-week show, you will either have a music career, or you won't. The contestants are crying, many of them only 16 years old, and they speak of the intensity of this "journey". It's not a journey at all, but a sprint. I liken it to giving a magic pill to a toddler that will make him or her into an adult in only 12 weeks. The growing pains are intense, but they reach adulthood so fast, that the pain is quickly forgotten. It sends a message to our children that nothing good is worth work and sacrifice. All good things should just drop on your lap. The statistics that less than 2% of all aspiring actors, musicians, artists, writers, or athletes actually "make it" professionally still hold true. The talent show formula sends the massage that it is much more like 50%-75% make it. We quickly forget about the hundreds of thousands that didn't even get an audition. We can all be rock stars! There's lots of room! You don't have to work or sacrifice! We'll give it to you! The fine print says, "...as long as you fit our formula." People who take risks and are uniquely, authentically creative get eaten up by the pop culture machine. You conform to the formula, or you go to the artistic trash heap.
World Series of Poker has shown us that millions can be made from playing cards. I have seen MIT grads who go from poker tournament to poker tournament, focused on winning lots of money, their heart's ambition and dreams long since forgotten. They could be curing cancer, creating sustainable fuels, or solving global food and water crises. Instead, they are immersed in a culture of greed, drugs, sex, and gambling.
Brilliant, potential computer engineers are wasting away in their mom's basement, playing World of Warcraft or hacking into servers to steal identities as a way to fund their worthless lifestyle. They could be transforming medical technology to help doctors more efficiently work to heal patients. They could be getting married and loving their families into life, raising beautiful, powerful, creative kids who take risks to better humanity.
If you are going to write a book about politics, it had better fit with either the Fox News formula on the far right or the MSNBC formula on the far left. The only other option is to go so satirical that you are hilarious, but the vast majority of the population cannot grasp your esoteric delivery. Your point gets lost to the masses in your satire. This is the Comedy Central formula. Whatever the case, you must be controversial and shocking. Don't be a creative person with thoughtful suggestions for moderate step-by-step change. Instead, its finger-pointing and shocking, "sky-is-falling" rhetoric that sells books. Huge, sweeping generalities and lazy stereotyping save time and allow for a book to be written in days instead of months. Why research, when American Idol has shown us that a book deal should be handed to you, because "YOU DESERVE IT!"?
"Obama is the Antichrist!" "Bush was a power hungry war monger!" "Gays want to get married, so they can take money from hard working Americans! In fact, everyone (except corporations - they're nice) wants to take the money of hard-working Americans." "The GOP wants to kill unions, so that they can start a Nazi State in America!" The generalities and stereotyping comes from both sides. No healthy dialogue, just shooting back and forth.
If you want to sell a book about faith, it needs to be extremely controversial or extremely safe. As we've seen with Rob Bell, you don't even need to publish the book to have people comment and fight over it, building unbelievable momentum and word-of-mouth marketing. The book really wasn't that controversial, if you read it. He didn't deny Hell or any of the other heresies of which he was accused. I have never seen such incredible evidence of this Pop Culture domination as I saw in that whole fiasco. I hope they do a study on it sometime, because it is a fascinating reflection of how religious leaders, like John Piper and others, have sold their souls to the consumerist, formulaic approach of culture. Without even reading the book themselves (reflecting the lack of research and laziness I pointed out earlier), they opened fire on Rob Bell, helping him sell millions of copies more than he would have sold in the first place. Bell's publisher is brilliant, releasing only the most controversial questions of the book. The book, itself, was anti-climactic and boring, compared to the hype. Those subscribing to the conservative, Christian formula created the perfect storm. They continued to NOT read the book, for fear of being led astray, and they continued to publicly fire arrows at Bell, drumming up more interest in the book. I have never before seen a situation where an author would want a particular group to keep not reading his book and to continue to critique it. The earthquake in Japan and the Assassination of Bin Laden finally took the air out of those tires. On the safe side, you can write a formulaic fluff book. One of the best-selling books of all time, "Purpose Driven Life", fits in this category. Warren is going in a great direction early in the book, seemingly going deep into who we are in God, only to resurface quickly, turning the book into an infomercial for his other "Purpose Driven" materials. Osteen's "Your Best Life Now" is the perfect American Idol book. It says that God wants to just pour out your destiny on you right now! He came to give you life to the full right now! It can all fall in your lap right now! Absolute fluff. It denies the reality of the vast majority of the population who have to work, sacrifice, and struggle for many years, for whom the movement toward our destiny is, in fact, a journey.
Look, here's my point (and, I believe, McLaren's point in his lecture), the Karaoke society celebrates the uncreative and the stupid. We laugh at the girls from Jersey, and we think all people from Jersey are like that. It's easier to make that assumption than to go and get to KNOW people from Jersey. Eventually, the reality begins to reflect the fantasy. People in Jersey begin to act and become like the people from Jerseylicious. We are told by the culture how to behave. We are given, and we accept, our identity, as it is given to us by the culture. Will and Grace taught gay men how they should behave. I know some gay men who are not conscious of their clothing and looks. They work hard and enjoy sports. But, now they not only have to battle with their sexual identity, but they also have to go through a cultural identity crisis. As an Evangelical pastor, I am told by the larger culture that I should be unabashedly Republican. I should fear and resent postmodernism. I should be judgmental and publicly rebuke those who disagree with me. I should never speak, unless I am 100% sure I am right. I cannot think creatively. Instead, I should parrot what everyone before me has said. Ugh.
It is dangerous to take the risk and be creative. If you stick your head out from the masses to be authentic and really you, you will immediately be met with sabotage. We are supposed to remain stupid, because "Stupid is Cool". We are supposed to sound incredibly clever (in 140 characters or less), while still remaining stupid. If you have to work for something, it is not worth doing. It is not meant to be. It should be handed to you, like a winning lottery ticket, or it's not real. I loved the Justin Bieber movie, and I am now a big fan of the Bieber. I saw a kid who refused to join the Disney or Nickelodeon machine. He literally rode around on a bus from radio station to radio station, playing his guitar for DJs and singing, just to finally get his shot. He was fearless, dedicated, and driven. One could argue that he has a carbon-copy sound, but at least his dream wasn't handed to him.
I have learned that the magic pill approach is detrimental to real health and character development. If our whole life is a pop song, and the need for a "good hook to sell singles" is our focus, where is the authenticity? Where do we find real creativity? How can we be healthy, complete people with our identity in following Jesus? I will do more on this in the next post, but I would love your thoughts. Am I overstating it? Is it true that our society tries to dictate our identity to us, or are we truly free to allow God to shape our future destiny? How do we follow Jesus in a karaoke society?
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