Bullhorn Guy part 1

(I realized that this blog exceded the 500 word limit by over 200 words, so i decided to break it up)

Last night at Campus Crusade (which meets at 7:30 in the library basement, for those of you who might be interested ;) ) we watched one of the nooma videos. Many of you have probably familiar with these videos and with Rob Bell. For those of you who aren't, nooma videos are like mini sermons, only the speaker (Rob Bell) is in a normal everyday setting, usually seated, wearing casual clothes, with all the usual background noise and activity appropriate to the particular setting going on around him. These videos are designed to make the viewer feel like they're sitting across from the speaker, having a casual conversation.

The one we watched last night was called The Bullhorn, and it was about sharing Christ by showing others His love rather than just preaching at them. In it, Bell described city evangelist who stood on the corner with a megaphone (or a bullhorn), shouting for people to be saved so they could go to heaven.

The video didn't start out with any kind of "establishing shot" to allow me to orient myself to the setting. Instead, it began with a combination of close up and medium shots of a man in an office using the copier. It then cut to a busy city street. These two seemingly unrelated scenes were confusing to me at first. I began to ask myself what was going on, who I was supposed to be paying attention to, and why. The fact that the camera gave me little or no initial clues was very effective, because this sparked my curiosity and attention and drew me in. I wanted to know more...

Eventually, I realized that the camera was very slowly zooming in on a man seated on a bench in front of a storefront along the street. He didn't look like anyone special--just some guy in a t-shirt and sweatpants, waiting for the bus--but as the camera continued to zoom in, i realized that this man was important--i was supposed to focus my attention on him. He started talking, and the more he talked, the closer the camera got to his face. He was pulling me into the conversation, and the camera mirrored that.

Bullhorn Guy part 2

Periodically, as Bell continued to talk, the camera would return to images of the man I had seen in the office at the beginning. I was still curious as to what he had to do with anything. Bell had been talking about Bullhorn Man, and I wondered if this might be him... At one moment, Bell addressed Bullhorn Man as if he was speaking directly to him, and at this particular instant, there was a shot of the man from the office in his car, turning his face away from the camera, as if looking out the window. This was a powerful shot that showed me that the man from the office was indeed Bullhorn Man, and that Bullhorn Man did not want to hear what Bell or anyone else had to say.

At the beginning of the video, after the camera had zoomed in on Bell, he had been slightly to the left of the center of the screen. As time went on, the camera moved slightly, and by the end, Bell was more to the right. Bullhorn Man was almost always on the left. I'm not sure if this is really significant or if I'm reading into something that's not there, but I think it's possible that the placement of these two people was intentional. Both Bell and Bullhorn Man are Christians, and any negative feelings that a person had towards what Bullhorn Man was doing would most likely be applied to Bell (guilty by association--they both serve the same God, right?) But, as Bell talked, he began to distance himself from Bullhorn Man with his attitude and words, so that by the end of the video, we know that the two men really don't have the same things in mind.

Nooma videos are interesting, because if you take away the pictures, what you have left is not much different than your typically Sunday night sermon. However, the makers of these videos employ different film techniques to get their points across in a way that I believe is much more effective than words alone would ever be.

I'm ready for my close-up...

Try to imagine American Idol without the close-up shot... It doesn't really work, does it? The close-up is used to show emotion, and the makers of American Idol take full advantage of this. For example, on last night's episode, they showed a young man whose parents had been ashamed of his singing talent. Earlier, when he made it "to Hollywood," he had called his mom to tell her. On this episode, he made it past the first audition, and naturally, the producers of the show wanted the viewers to witness his phone call to his mom. The camera zoomed in nice and close so that we could see the emotion brimming in his eyes--the look of relief on his face when his mom said she was proud of him. It was a scene designed to tug on the hearts of the viewers. I'm pretty sure the tugging on our heartstrings would've been significantly less forceful, had the shot not been so up close and personal. Also, at both the beginning and the end of the show, they used close-up shots to highlight the anxiety of the contestants. Actually, for most of the show, I found myself uncomfortable close to someone's face. They want the viewers to feel the sadness or frustation or disappointment, or joy that the participants feel, whether they move on or get cut.

Churchianity

offering
benediction
doxolgy
fellowship hall
narthex
coffee hour

As a regular chuch-goer, I am a part of a semiotic domain that employs its own symbols and its own codes. For me, following these symbols and codes is a natural thing (I have acheived "fluency"). For some, however, stepping into a church is extremely awkward simply because they are not familiar with the implicit and explicit codes that exist.

For example, in some churches the pastor says, "This is the Word of the Lord" and the congregation replies with "Thanks be to God." This is not written anywhere, not explained--unless someone is already familiar with the code, they wouldn't know to say it.

Which book is the hymnal? Why are there candles up front? How do you know when to sit and when to stand? What am I expected to do during communion? How does everyone know the words to this prayer?! And the list goes on...

I can understand why so many people feel like outsiders when they come to church. A congregation is an affinity group with certain rules and standards. Of course everyone is welcome (technically), but how is a person supposed to feel welcome when their lack of knowledge of the codes the church follows makes them feel like an outsider?

As a Christian who has grown up in the church, I believe it is so important to realize that, yes, Churchianity is it's own semiotic domain, and to be sensitive to the fact that this can be intimidating and confusing to those who have not attended church all their lives.

In the midst of all the research I've been doing lately, I ran across an article about the way prisons are portrayed in the media. The main point that the author was making was that, for most of us, the only experience we have with correctional institutions like prisons is through what we've seen in movies, or on television shows, etc.

If someone were to ask me if I knew what a prison looked like or what it was like to be there, I would probably answer yes. But have I ever been inside a prison? No. Do I have any firsthand experience with what that kind of environment looks or feels like? No. How, then, can I say that I know what one is like?

This got me thinking... What else have I only experienced through media? What else do I fool myself into thinking I understand, when actually the only view I have of it is the subjective view that some author or producer or reporter has given me?

I think this is a very important distinction to make. We need to be able to differentiate between what is truth and what is fiction. This goes for both entertainment and the news. I think it's so easy to forget that seeing is not believing. I'm not saying that we're naive enough to think that everything we see in the movies is true. What I am saying, using the previous example of prisons, is that we let what we view on the screen influence our idea of reality--I've never been inside a prison, but I believe that the movie sets I've seen of these facilities are true to life. Are they?

Hmm.

The Possibility of Success

This myth is not only present in our media, it is prevalent in all aspects of our culture. This idea that a normal, everyday, working class man can rise to a position of wealth and power is one that is deeply engrained in our nation's history. Americans believe in individual freedom and the power of believing in yourself. The myth of the possibility of success serves an important purpose in our society: it motivates. We have been taught (through real-life experience and through stories of fictional characters) that we have the power to change our life situation--to overcome whatever obstacles are in our way. With hard work and determination, we can attain a life of success and happiness. This is both an encouragement and a motivator. It gives us hope and encourages us to keep on trying because, no matter how hard the road may be, there is always the possibility that we will get that big break we've been waiting for.

This myth, however, is not always true. Hard work does not always lead to monetary gain. There are people who work and work and struggle to provide for their family and still end up on the streets. There are musicians who play night after night in clubs and never get discovered. There are talented athletes who practice and practice and never make it past the minor leagues. And the way this myth, this peconcieved notion that hard work always leads to success, can hurt, is when we measure how hard someone is trying by the level of success they have achieved. I think we, as middle- and upper-class Americans, often disregard poverty because deep down we believe that the poor are poor because they don't work hard enough. We think that they should be able to pull themselves out of their situation--that they are in this situation because they somehow deserve it.

Another way that this myth can hurt is that it can mislead us in our idea of what brings true happiness. We can place too much value on the American Dream and, consequently, mistakenly think that money and status bring with them happiness. This possibility of success lurks in the back of our minds and we think, "If I just had _____, I'd be happy." The characters in these myths get the money, or the dream job, or the position of power (against all odds), and with these things comes happiness. But in real life, happiness does not automatically follow theses things, and unfortunately, many do not realize this until after they have wasted their lives stiving for "success."