More comparisons between contemporary consumerist 'religion' and traditional, Medieval Christian spirituality
This file has some preliminary ideas speculating about other points of comparison between Medieval Christian spirituality and contemporary consumerist 'religion'.
Prayer, reflection and meditation. Medieval Christian art prompted prayer and meditation on how religion ought influence people's lives. It directly linked them with the spiritual world, reminding them of the transcendent and of progress in saving their souls. Today, prayer is the expressed wish for something new to buy.
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The other parallel is consumerist meditation – pondering goods and advertisements, thinking about what you might like and what you might buy, constantly imagining how ownership of these things would be nice. It is concerned with the acquisition of goods for your use today and not on divine grace that will get you to heaven. It is meditation on what can fulfil your desires – and the ubiquitous presentation of goods in shops coupled with pervasive advertising are persistent invitations to consumerist meditation. An example of a consumerist meditation |
Even the strip on football players is space that has been colonised by advertising. It would have been unimaginable in the 1950s to think that football and cricket players would be labelled with multiple advertising logos.
Reflection and prayer are about stopping and thinking about the spiritual and moral dimensions to one's life. But the existential focus of contemporary imagery militates against the need to ‘stop and think'. And this can tend to encourage people subconsciously to direct all their time and attention to enjoying the now. i pods and smart phones etc. mean that you can keep yourself digitally distracted whenever there are a few minutes to fill in. Texting and paging through social media on a smartphone screen have now become common practice for people while walking or travelling from A to B. It is as if some cannot bear to be alone with their own thoughts, they need to be digitally engaged whenever they have a potential short period of aloneness. It may be that this development mediates a preoccupation with current experience and description of experience; this might promote too much living at the surface level of ‘description' with a decreased capacity to be reflective and evaluative, and to think about life's meaning.
The drive towards consumerism is atmospheric; it is difficult to avoid the overwhelming orientation towards consumption and acquisition. Individuals do not pay attention to all of the advertisements they are exposed to. They even accommodate and become insensitive to advertising, ignoring those that are of no interest to them, particularly when they interrupt television viewing. But the prevailing consumerist mise-en-scène of contemporary culture comes to be accepted as just the normal unquestioned reality because it is signified and highlighted by the omnipresence of advertising. It is difficult to take a critical stand on consumerism when that is the atmosphere people have been breathing since birth, the unchallenged social reality that gives direction to their lives.
The advent of the Internet has added new dimensions to consumerist meditation. The use of online purchasing is said to make shopping easier and more efficient, reducing the time and energy actually spent in shops. But for some, they now spend more time meditating on, and purchasing products online than they ever did in the shops. And this has resulted in an exponential increase in the work of Australia Post contractors who deliver parcels with goods bought online. Between 2011 and 2013 there was a 46% increase in Australian online purchases. The scope of products people can now preview and buy online goes well beyond what they might be able to see in a department store. And so the question arises as to how ‘healthy' this consumerist meditation is, depending on the balance as regards time, energy, influence on spending discretionary income, and effects on personal relationships.
The consumerist meditation changes somewhat on the social media, even though commercial advertising has colonised the space. Here, individuals advertise and sell their own persona. The number of ‘likes' scored and the extent of one's ‘following' are the rewards that make you feel good about the image you are cultivating. As the founder of Facebook predicted the link with personal identity, the medium has become the space where individuals project their own ‘personal brand'.
They're keeping up with their friends and family, but they're also building an image and identity for themselves, which in a sense is their brand. They're connecting with the audience that they want to connect to. It's almost a disadvantage if you're not on it [Facebook] now. (Zukerberg, 2009).
Some who spend a lot of time tending their Facebook projection give an impression of narcissism. They seem to preview much of their life in terms of how they are going to present it on Facebook. They cultivate the image they want represent. In turn they can become so preoccupied with this self-publication process that there appears to be little space around their person for anyone else; and so it is easy for others to be treated as useful infrastructure to their grand personal designs.
What is authentic personal identity then becomes problematic. Or perhaps it is just the modern technological way of projecting identity by people who are insecure. Oscar Wilde's 1905 comment on the insecure seems even more pertinent today to those whose identity is heavily invested in Facebook. “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.” (Wilde, 1905).
Priests. Kuhns (1969) considered that the entertainment milieu had taken on psychological functions that formerly were the province of religion. The talk show hosts have become the new priests, helping people think through life's meaning.
In the case of the Dr Phil show, his approach to teasing out the moral issues in people's lives could be taken as a valuable model for today's clergy. The relatively esoteric theological language in some church homilies might as well be about life on a distant planet as far as its relevance to the congregation is concerned. Relevance is an essential for theology if it is to have a meaningful role in enhancing people's spirituality (Crawford & Rossiter, 2006, pp. 397-401).
Sacramentality and sacraments. Christian sacraments are regarded as signs that communicate spiritual presence and power; they convey God's grace. The power that branded consumer goods conveys is personal satisfaction together with the sense of status that comes through the cachet of the brand. Consumerist sacramentality is evident in that the personal interest and desire for these products go beyond being satisfied with their normal function. People do not buy prestigious branded products just for function, but also to participate in the mystique and status of the brand itself – they are purchasing the signifying power of the brand. Consumer sacraments are not limited to key events in people's lives like Christian sacraments, but they cater for all areas of goods and services, even though some items are marketed as signifying a rite of passage.
The blessed Sacrament – real presence. A parallel to the reservation of the blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle for Christian devotion and reflection is evident in the consumer goods in shop windows and in displays for consumer contemplation – and now in online advertising. They are not locked away but are given maximum visual exposure in attractive arrangements to entice the desires of potential consumers.
Feast days. The Christian religious feasts of Christmas, Easter and Shrove Tuesday have been turned into consumerist feasts colonised by advertising for the purchasing of presents and celebratory food and drink. Markets have been astutely ‘cashing in' on other non-religious events, turning these into lucrative consumer feast days as well – for example, in addition to Mothers day and Fathers day etc., there has been significant growth in the economic significance of Valentine's Day and Halloween.
Religious indulgences. The word indulgences traces back to Christianity in the 15th and 16th centuries where the performance of nominated rituals and religious practices (E.g. a pilgrimage) were said to help remove the temporal punishment due to sin – it was considered that even though sins were forgiven, a punishment was still owing because God had been offended, and this punishment was measured in terms of time spent suffering in Purgatory. A ‘plenary' indulgence was special because it remitted all punishment due to sin and left people with a clean slate as far as purgatory was concerned. Through good deeds and religious practices, individuals could gain indulgences or ‘get out of jail' cards for nominated periods of punishment in purgatory. The church scandal of selling indulgences precipitated Martin Luther's first steps in the Reformation.
“Discover the many ways you can indulge” is the theme for the Castle Towers shopping precinct in North Western Sydney. The prominence of the words ‘indulge' and ‘indulgence' in advertising shows how they readily translate into contemporary consumerism with probably a more direct etymological link to the origins of the words than the religious indulgences that were prominent for many centuries in Catholicism. It is not difficult to imagine what a ‘plenary indulgence' could mean – a shopping expedition where you could get all that you could ever want!
The shopping gift card is a parallel to the old religious indulgences – it entitles you to a specified monetary dose of consumption.
It is noted from the following Internet headlines (27/07/2013) that the matter of religious indulgences is not dead.
· One hell of a deal: Pope Francis offers reduced time in Purgatory for Catholics that follow him on Twitter. Court in charge of forgiveness of sins says those that follow upcoming event via social media will be granted indulgences
· Vatican offers 'time off purgatory' to followers of Pope Francis tweets
· Sinners able to earn indulgences by following Pope Francis on Twitter
Consumer heaven, hell and purgatory. You do not have to wait until after death to get to consumer heaven; consumer heaven is ‘here and now' – just visit your local mall or go online and ‘see, click, and buy'.
If shopping has become the activity through which we try to give meaning to our lives, the shopping malls that now embellish every city are the shrines we build to this power. . . there is a powerful and carefully manufactured psychology to the shopping mall. . . [it] feels quite different from the world outside. We enter a trance-like state when we enter one, a sort of meditation in which the mantra that focuses our attention is the promise of acquisition. The mall provides insulation against a hostile world. In a perverse way, shopping malls are liberating; we feel that all those goods, all that power are there for us.
Shopping is a response to our existential depression, when the world seems to overwhelm us, when we feel we have been put on earth only to drag ourselves through a life of drudgery. Fleetingly we can break out of and rebel by going shopping. (Hamilton, 2003, pp. 75-76).
For some, heaven is their experience of being part of the exhilaration of enthusiasts at a sports stadium.
Similarly, consumer hell can be ‘here and now' – and not a punishment after death. It might be interpreted as a situation where all one's consumer products fail, or where consumer aspirations are totally frustrated. Consumer purgatory might be the ongoing state where individuals continually feel a low level of frustration and anxiety because their consumer wants constantly exceed their economic capacities. Consumer debt might also be another aspect of consumer Purgatory.
Guilt, sin, forgiveness, redemption and faith. There is little if any sense of guilt in the advertising consumer complex. There may well be frustration where individuals are not able to get all they want or a sense of lost opportunity if a bargain is missed. If there was any feeling of guilt about unbridled consumption, this could be interpreted as ‘losing one's faith in consumerist religion'.
Similarly, there is little sense of sin or moral failure in consumerist lifestyle and culture. As noted above for guilt, a consumer sin might be interpreted as a failure to pull off a good deal or bargain. If there is little if any sense of guilt or sin, one would anticipate that there would be no place for the ideas of forgiveness, redemption and salvation. However, it is likely that many could ‘forgive' themselves for any consumerist excesses. As one advertisement put it: “If it's a bargain, then it's worth it.” Where the word redemption is used today, it is commonly associated with the paying out of rewards from consumer loyalty programs or from gift vouchers.
Salvation could be interpreted as being in the readily available state of consumer heaven. In a culture where the idea that you can have anything you want is cultivated, and where shopping, purchasing and consumption are proposed as key components of freedom, personal identity and distinctive individuality, you can appear to "have it all now". Having faith means believing implicitly in this system of consumerist thinking that in turn is underpinned by consumerist ideology. In this context, ‘losing your faith' or even having doubts may well be a sign of good health.
Religious faith community and religious identity. Contemporary imagery suggests that what you buy is a statement about who you are and what you want to be. In other words, consumerism appeals to people's identity vulnerability. For example, for many young people, the music they download and the clothing they purchase, and those they befriend on Facebook are all means of personal identification and self-expression, moving them closer to those who share the same likes and choices. This is an easy-going, democratic way of finding community.
While freedom of choice is a central mantra of contemporary culture and lifestyle, there is evidence that some are not really free because their lives are shaped to an extent they would not want to admit by the fashions proposed by consumer imagery. For some, the identity they want to project is strongly influenced by what they think people important to them think about them (de Botton, 2004). Some see their identity as enhanced by wearing the right brands of clothing and having the ‘right stuff' as regards mobile phones, tablets, cars etc. (Klein, 2000; Quart, 2003). Also significant is the brand power and brand currency. For example, a basic pair of flip-flops might cost $3, but when it has a Calvin Klein logo printed on it, its accepted value may go up to $50.
Today's visual imagery appeals to .individualism which is highly prized. In short, the imagery is about “Me, Me, Me” just as the words “i” and “my” are prominent in advertising and websites. And it proposes that you get much of your fulfilment through what you buy.
While medieval people might have looked at religious paintings and felt some identifying connection with the Christian community, today people may similarly feel connected with the group or ‘club' that identifies itself through the brands they are subscribing to, and they share in the status and cachet that go with those brands. For example, if you are a Prada handbag person or a Porsche owner, when you see the luxurious advertisements for these brands, you can feel some exhilaration, a feeling of being part of that club, and almost unconsciously this validates who you think you are.
Contemporary imagery promotes the idea that people have relatively unlimited scope and freedom to do what they want in life. But the reality is different. With many more years in education, young people's expectations for employment commensurate with their educational attainments, and its associated lifestyle, are frustrated by lack of opportunity. University graduates cannot find jobs in their chosen field. The soaring youth unemployment rates, especially in Europe, are a key indicator of this problem. This generates personal and social frustrations that affect personal wellbeing and mental health.
In the past people understood their identity as essentially religious, intimately connected to the religious world mediated by the paintings and the geographical significance of the churches and cathedrals, and expressed in their religious spirituality. Now people are self referencing as individuals who see themselves to be secular as portrayed in popular imagery. And they can think that the ‘success' of their identity is measured in terms of what ‘stuff' they possess or what experiences they have had. By paying more attention to the way they may be relating to the cultural meanings of consumerism as reflected in media iconography, people may be helped to articulate more clearly what they are being conditioned to seek in life both consciously and subconsciously. This involves reflecting on what it means to be happy and fulfilled, and appraising the ways in which they may be drawing on consumer culture to meet their needs – this proposes a potentially valuable role for an education in identity.
Life after death. The imagery in contemporary popular culture is almost exclusively about the here-and-now – how to get:- instant gratification, ‘buzz', maximising new experience and pleasure, and, validation of your personal identity. It is not that spiritual and moral dimensions are denied, but they have little or no place in the imagery, so it is easy to come to feel that they do not exist or have minimal significance. In addition, if there is a spiritual dimension to life, then there is not much one can know about it with any degree of certainty – one of the aspects of what is described as cultural postmodernity (Horell, 2004). ‘Transcendence' seems to have been replaced by ‘personal exhilaration'. Whether or not there is a benign or punishing afterlife is a question that can now be left till your death.
Church bells and religious music. In the past, church bells and religious music called people to stop and think about the spiritual world and their place in it. The aural parallel today would be popular music – it is like the soundtrack to people's lives. It is particularly significant for young people. Popular music provides a vivid universal language and medium for the expression of youth needs, interests and aspirations. It is like a pervading atmospheric presence that keeps many ideas, life expectations and emotions on a ‘low simmer'. This is particularly the case for sexuality, relationships, and the ideas of freedom, individuality, pleasure, and what is ‘cool'.
The way in which young people all over the world share a common language and interest in pop music is not without its significance. It supports an international approach to forming an outlook on life, which is relevant to youth spirituality. Music and its lyrics can trigger emotions and resonate with young people's moods, concerns, hopes and anguish. Along with film and television, it provides the backdrop to young people's perception of the world.
While often an element of youth culture from which many adults prefer to keep at a safe distance, the ‘music video' is a key dimension to young people's love for music. With their many evocative images, music videos increase the capacity of popular music to massage young people's emotions and moods. With headphones or ear plug speakers people can now listen to music from their i Pod, mp3 player or smart phone at any time anywhere. It is as if not a minute should be wasted so even in those intermediate times your enjoyment can be continued uninterrupted.
The deconstruction of music videos has been a part of English studies for senior school students in some Australian states. The following extended quotation from an English teachers' journal illustrates the insights that such a study can generate.
Music has long been recognised as a form of popular culture with certain potency for communicating rhetorically. For young people struggling to find a place in communities dotted with shopping walls but with few community centres, in an economy whose major product is information, music videos play to the search for identity and an impoverished community.
Music, particularly rock, has always had a visual element. . [but] viewers typically do not regard the music video as a commercial for an album or act. The videos cross the consumer's gaze as a series of mood states. They trigger nostalgia, regret, anxiety, confusion, dread, envy, admiration, pity, titillation – attitudes at one remove from the primal expression such as passion, ecstasy and rage. The moods often express a lack, an incompletion, an instability, a searching for location. In music videos, those feelings are carried on flights of whimsy, extended journeys into the arbitrary.
That music videos present compelling mood states that may claim the attention of the viewer is not a matter of happenstance. In the struggle to establish and maintain a following, artists utilise any number of techniques in order to appear exotic, powerful, tough, sexy, cool, unique.
Born of an amalgam of commercialism, television and film, for the purpose of selling rock albums, music videos frequently employed well-established verbal and visual symbols in telling a story or making a point. If no such symbol exists, music videos coin their own which, given the ubiquity of the medium, quickly find their way into the vernacular (Rybacki & Rybacki, 2006, p. 59).