Media & Ministry

Finding time to blog

2005-11-29T14:09:00.000-08:00

Finding time to blog…
Okay Okay! I know it has been a month and a couple of days since I blogged! Life always had a way of interfering with some of the tasks that are set out in front of you… the need to work, and do other homework, spend time with your family over the holidays, even though they live in the same house as you, wake up one morning and realize that you haven’t seen them in about 5 days. Then when the internet goes down and your wonderful DSL provider doesn’t come out for three days, you feel a little cut off from the world.

Back to a common topic… The Passion of the Jew! And The Passion of Christ! The two movies we were assigned to watch over break. I had not yet seen the Passion of Christ, and I was just pushing it of with every excuse due to the fact that I did not want to give into the mass cultural calling to see the movie and fall in love with in. So I broke down and my mom bought it for the family and I watched it, I will admit that I was glad to have gotten the DVD, I did fast forward through a good deal of Christ trip up to Golgotha. The violence for me was over the top, but I understand more clearly that was really what happened back then. But I will admit it was not that great of a movie. I was disappointed in the ending just leaving it all out there with nothing else, but he rose from the dead. Being a Christian I knew the next part, but what about those who did not. During our class discussion the common theme was a little let down. I remember Ryan stating that as a movie, it sucked. The story the plot, as a movie was a let down.

The Passion of the Jew by the creators of South Park hit it on the head when Stan and Kenny wanted their money back. Now I can see why people don’t like this show, but I find great humor and good conversations come from South Park. If you can get passed the bad language and nasty humor… the themes and ideas are good conversation starters.

Okay, my ramblings are a little too much right now for me, my coffee is cold, and my feet are cold, so its time for wool socks and more of Starbucks Christmas Blend Coffee!! I heart Coffee and Starbucks!

Live your life at the point of impact!

2005-10-27T09:49:00.000-07:00

“Partner’s may collide” this is a little joke at Starbucks that those who work at my store always talk about. Collide with each other is a daily task that brings much laughter and sometimes big bruises. I have been thinking about colliding all week, since watching the movie Crash, where a group of people were colliding together in different situations and for different reasons. The theme of racism, and how culture deals with it or doesn’t was the primary theme in the movie. It made me think about the colliding that happens each and everyday in our lives. We might run into someone on the street or walk away from the possibility of even walking in the direction of a person.

Even within relationships we collide in different ways, either living with a problem or not being able to be 100% honest with someone and needing to keep things from that person. Colliding in relationships is bigger than just race and ethicist. Rising above seeing who people are just from their skin color is something that our society needs to continue to rise above.

I went to the greatest movie database ever, www.imbd.com; I was searching around finding out more about the movie, and ran across a section about taglines. They had one tagline that struck me and I have decided that this might be a good mantra to have for a while… it was “Live your life at the point of impact” be someone who will not be afraid of confrontation and be someone who will live their life for the greater good in the world.

Just thoughts on people colliding in the world!

Saying thank you sometimes is not enough...

2005-10-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

I have been working so hard on homework and school stuff all day, even though it is a "reading day" at Luther and have been given the day from classes, it seems to never stop.

But I was thinking during one of my frequent breaks about people in my life who have helped in the middle of my own school chaos right now. I lean on these people for a lot of support and encouragement, and I sometimes forget to say thank you.

Last night is a perfect example, I have failed my oral mid-term for my confessions class and have until Thursday to try and re-take it. I explained all of this to two of my dearest friends, and they both said let me know if I can help. I am not one to show weakness by asking for help, but I relaize that this task set in front of me was to great to not ask for help. So they both say yes, not knowing what they were getting themselves into! We met last night at a great coffee shop in Dinkytowm, Esspresso Royal Cafe, and sat outside and they help create ways for me to memorize the things I needed to get done. Julie won't let me quit, and Justin created great stories about how Wal-Mart is evil and that I was purchased by Jesus Christ.

A small token of THANK YOU! on my little blog right now is all I can put together. If they were not able to take time out of their own crazy busy lives, I know I would not be able to at least give a 100% effort on my retake.

The other person who totally deserves a great big THANK YOU! is my prof for this class, Mary Hess! She has taught me so much not only for this class on proactive ministry in a media culture, but as my advisor and discipleship leader she has taught me how to be present in the midst of chaos, as our last discipleship group was about!

I know that these three people may not always know how much I appreciate their involvment in my life, but I thought this could be a little way of thanking them.

Logos that we live by...

2005-10-17T16:22:00.000-07:00

Images, Logo’s and Icons!

What do you think of when your see the color green? I think of two of my favorite things Marshall Fields, and Starbucks. What about a red bull’s eye?? Of course Target! Another one of my favorite stores to shop at! Thinking about images and icons and how those images need to be interpreted was a great topic for class today. Maybe when you see the color green you think of a tree or of being Irish. It is all through the context and the culture that one person in surrounded by that makes them interpret some thing differently!

What my mom and I call “Marshall Fields Green” is the color of their shopping bags. Why you might ask, because we love to shop there! Even to the point that I started to work there! There mantra, Go, Be Great, Be Green! Now when I think of green, I think Starbucks! Yes, I now work there, but have been a loyal customer of their Venti Americano with room for quite some time.

I have also had a great interest in religious art for some time after a great Art History Course at Augsburg taught by Kirsten Anderson. I have been interest in the interpretation of different religious art for some time now. Look at the different angles of a piece or asking someone else what they think, help my own thought process.

Images are funny things sometimes; one person might see a girl dance with a mascot, and for people who know me they see Sarah dancing with her best friend Justin who just happens to be Fairborne the State Fair gopher who she “married” one year. (See the picture from a previous post). Images pictures, logos, everything we see with our eyes are open through interpretation.

I remember when my friend, who is 4 years old, when he was just a little tike, like about 2 years old he started to see my everyday since I worked with his mom, and I can remember the day he wondered into my office and saw my Scooby Doo collection for the first time, and was shocked that I has a 3 foot tall cut out of a dog. To see things through the eyes of a child is they way to look at the world, especially when you might not understand something for the first time.

Sound Tracks of our lives...

2005-10-11T11:08:00.000-07:00

The current soundtrack of Sarah’s life! After class yesterday, I had to take an oral mid-term, which it was safe to say I was not prepared and thus failed it. After that time, I was so upset and disappointed in myself. After talking to my two best friends, I took off from school and headed home. I started to think about the soundtrack of my life, at that moment my soundtrack was Metallica Black CD in my radio, heavy angry rock metal music as loud as I could. After getting my anger out, it was back to my favorite CD for the moment, John Legend, which I am listening to right now. The track that I keep sitting and listening to is called Ordinary People. It is a soothing song with mainly piano and John singing. It is just a song that calms my down.

Thinking about sounds within my life, and taking time to think if my life was a soundtrack, who crazy it may seem to people. Going from heavy metal rock, to R&B, to rap, to acoustic, to country, and almost everything in between in the whole music spectrum of my life. I have decided that this week I will be focusing on how sound impact my life, from the special ring tones for my friends, to the music I am forced to listen to a Starbucks, and seeing how those sound affect me life.

Requiem For A Dream

2005-10-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

Requiem For A Dream: A movie people should see at least once

This film was a disturbing honest look at what drugs, sex, and desire to be something that you are not can do to a life. Living with in a world of entrapment; having so much in your life that traps you in, is something that when you are so deeply embedded into what traps you, you might never make it out. Which I saw in the 2000 film called, Requiem For A Dream directed by Darren Aronofsky.

This film is one that is shocking, honest, and is in your face about the things that a person’s life can get wrapped up in, and how those things can eat away at your own reality and send you down a self-destructive path of self-loathing. The underlying theme of wanting to show the world that the characters in this film are somebody, is the main drive in their chosen addictions, they feel they are not good enough for the world to notice themselves so they have to work hard at getting noticed.

Each person in this film is trapped within their own passions, own addictions, their own dreams, and the own sins. This film opened my eyes to seeing what traps a person in their life, whether that be something good or something bad, like drug addictions. I also saw how not having something “positive” within their lives to help break away from that negative roller coaster that you might be going on. Would these characters in this film have a different outcome if they had a positive force in their reality?

Made me to think about the things that trap me in my life, and how those things are so hard to break from. This film does show an extreme that my life does not compare to, but I feel that I did learn more about how to let go of the things that trap me in my life from taking time to reflect and pray after this film. I have taken a moment to look deeper into my life, and the things that trap me, and work toward asking God to help me break those things in my life that are self-destructive.

This film is a deep story that did impact my life in a positive way, it is a film that left me thinking, praying, reflecting, and asking God is grant me some clarity. I am not sure if I could watch this film again, but I hope to have some good discussions with fellow classmates about this film.

Koyaanisqatsi - images on film

2005-09-26T10:50:00.000-07:00

Koyaanisqatsi – made in 1983
Directed by: Godfrey Reggio
Can be found on DVD @ Local Library

Cosmic Disorder & “Life out of Balance”

This was a film that was not something that I thought would move me the way it did. I was prepared for it thanks to a friend of mine who has watched this film. Having someone give you a heads up about the film is helpful. Knowing that there is no dialogue & just powerful images and music helped to set thought process for this film.

This film was very powerful for me. The reflection of the start of creation through the images of beautiful scenery, nature, and God’s creation through the sights of the world set these images of peace and tranquility in motion, and the perfection of God’s creation within the world. Then the introduction of destruction, and new technology into the peaceful world of creation, changing the original landscape of the creation, taking advantage of what was given to us through God’s creation. Taking this creation in all of its perfection and injecting into not only destruction, but also through the evolution of technology and the changing world around us.

At first my interest was peaked at the buildings being destroyed, but then came the part where they showed the people who possibly lived in those buildings, lived within the poverty of the world. It made me to think that this film could be re-made with the current times that we live in, through the destruction of 9/11, the Tsunami, the latest two hurricanes to hit the US, the war in Iraq, and just every day life of abuse of not only the creation, but also the abuse of the human beings to each other in the world.

After the impact of the nature, and the destruction of the buildings, came the images of people. The images of people who are rushing everywhere, crowded in the streets, crowded in their cars, unhappy in their lives, unhappy in their jobs etc. The emotions that their faces evoked, those of unhappiness, anger, confusion, there were so many ways these images could be taken; it seems to me that they were of negative viewpoint.

How is the Spiritual Disorder within my life? This is a question that this film begs to be answered, but I am not sure I am able to answer it. It is something that needs more reflection from me. The spiritual disorder from this film is one that rings so true in the world today. Our world is in chaos in every sense of the word. Natural Chaos, Physical Chaos, Spiritual Chaos, Personal Chaos. All of these different needs of the world call Christians to bring forth some type action. Prayer is the focus from the exercise, but I am feeling called and pulled in so many different ways after this film. The images brought on so many different feelings, and connecting them to the images that are going in our lives in our world today bring a whole different set of feelings.

This film affected my life in a greater way than I thought it would. I hope that this film affects others in the same way.

2001: A Space Odyessey

2005-09-25T18:50:00.000-07:00

2001: A Space Odyssey

Taking a rainy Saturday afternoon to watch a film and work on my Ignatius Spiritual Exercises was a good way to spend my afternoon. The reflection that I have had from this movie and the questions that we asked within the reading from Finding God in the Dark are pretty personal, but the reflections from the movie were not necessarily too personal. I think for two main reasons my reflections changed during the movie were, I didn’t understand the movie, and the second being I didn’t enjoy the movie. In fact, the movie was nothing I had ever experienced before in my life, and I could not get “into” the movie. Movie for myself are very moving experiences, I lose myself in the story and the characters and the plot, but with this one, it was something that I just did not understand.

I do want to share my thought from one of the reflection questions that were given in the text, and that question had to deal with who “HAL” would represent in your life. I spent the rest of my evening evaluating my relationship in light of this question of who I would put in as “HAL”. For those who have not seen the movie, HAL is a computer that runs the space ship, and is basically the “brains” of the operation. It has way too much control and to much power in the characters lives.

Thinking about who has too much power, was easy, I see those people who surround me in my life have power like HAL. Within my life, there are times where I let those friends have that power and control over me, and there are also the people in my life who take advantage of that power and control. During the film I kept thinking about HAL as both good and evil. I kept going back and forth between HAL being God and HAL being evil or even maybe Satan. The control and power that HAL has over those in HAL’s control is great.

Did Kubrick mean to have this computer represent what might keep us from seeing the other intelligent lives that are out there or maybe the true peace and grace that we receive from God? This is where the movie and I got along. I started to see HAL as all those things that at the beginning were so great and wonderful for your life, then when it takes total control it becomes out of control. It runs your life stopping you from seeing all that God’s has planned for you.

Even though this movie would never be on my list of movies that I have to see again and again, it was interesting to watch the film in light of the Ignatius Exercises. Some of the emotion that was brought up were heavy and deep, and so things with the film, just made me say “WHAT!?!?!”

Conversations

2005-09-21T11:54:00.000-07:00

Media, Society and the little boxes that we put them into!

After class on Monday (9/19) my mind was flying through a lot of different ideas when it came to media, and what we as a society define media etc. It took sometime for my thoughts to clearly come together and I still don’t think that are.

I took time of Tuesday to try and locate some of the films that are required for this class, and got a little frustrated and could not find them. So the search does continue. I had the chance to have lunch with my best friend and took him up on the offer, since I did not have the drive to continue to do my homework on such a beautiful fall/summer afternoon. So we met over some Don Pablo’s, and started to talk about religion, media, society and all the crap that goes on in the world that he would like to control at some points.

The first hurdle that we had to overcome in have an honest and thoughtful conversation was what his definition of media was. From my class on Monday, my definition was media is a meaning-making process. It could be anything that causes meaning to happen in your life. He just could not understand where I was coming from. So, I asked him, what his definition of media was; it boiled down to people in society wasting their lives on the TV and mindless and sometimes harmful programs. Media for him was “mass commercial media”, which we started to talk about how wasteful TV is for a society that does not seek out community interaction with other people outside of their household. People are glued to their TV and what do they learn from it? Prime example of American Idol and Simon, he take young people’s dreams and breaks them down if they are not what he is looking for, and what do the people out in society do, laugh right along with them.

By the end of the conversation we were talking more broadly about media as a process of meaning making and how can that be done in a positive light through the world and through the “mass commercial media”. How it takes people who see what is wrong with what’s going on, and it take those people to stand up for what they believe is right.

Just some thoughts on media that I had, sitting having a conversation with a friend, when I could have been doing homework instead.

2005-09-19T11:39:00.000-07:00

Sarah and her Fairborne the Gopher. Her State Fair husband

First Take

2005-09-19T11:08:00.000-07:00

Blog Entry First Week

I entered into this class with out any clue of what we would be doing. I remember Mary talking about this class and how it would be offered in the fall. The first session brought into my focus the idea of media-making and the way in which it affects our lives in every little aspect of our lives.

A prime example that came into my head during this week was what happens when you are closed off from certain types of media for a certain period of time. I have had the privilege of working the MN State Fair at the end of August for 11 years. This year’s fair was a prime example of what happens when your life is consumed by something else. I work 12 hours shifts in my position, 11am-11pm, and basically “live” at the fair. During the 12 days of the fair, it seems as thought I’m home only to sleep and get ready each day. My normal TV watching is down to almost nothing, besides watching a little Vikings Pre-Season game. I am cut off from the news and the TV media due to working in an open tent in a parking lot. We have the newspapers each day so that can keep us close to what is going on in the “outside” world, but sometimes the “fair” world consumes everything that is going on in your life. The example would be Hurricane Katrina; I remember some one had to tell me what happened? I did not receive the TV overload coverage of what happened like some of my friends told me about, and it took me seeking out the newspaper to find out what was going on. I’m not saying that not have a TV is an excuse not to know when some thing terrible happens, but sometimes it will take more time to receive the information that was going on in the world.

Being cut off from the TV media was something that I have always loved to have during the fair. It helps me to realize that the TV is not that important in my life and that this one small force in the media is something that I can give up. I know that this class is not about how to give up on the media, because I see media being something that is very important in the lives of people. I look forward to infusing my faith life and God within the secular media culture.

One of my favorite nights while I was working with youth in a local congregation was when we had lock-ins! Not that we got to drink a lot of pop and eat snack food! That was always fun, but it was the choice in movies that I got to make. The kids never really realized that I picked them for one certain theme or idea that I saw within the movie that might have an impact on their faith life. Those who were still awake after the movie, would always come up to me and ask questions and we would talk and have an informal bible study about the movie, and they would always be amazed with how something that was not purposely religious had in fact some religious themes or undertones put in it.

The exercise for this class with the text Finding God in the Dark will be my favorite part of the class. I know this because it is something that I have a huge passion for. I am excited to actually get my first movie done which I plan on starting tomorrow! So more to come.

Welcome to my Blogg!

2005-09-12T11:39:00.000-07:00

This is my first post for my bolgg for a class titled Proactive Ministry in a Media Culture! This class main repuriment is keeping a web-blog! So here it is!

Sarah