Blog 5: Why we all just can't get along

Realism and Expressionism VS. Comedy and Satire

There are many dynamics of reusing media that I have neglected to notice.  I think a lot of this has to do with the background of my upbringing. On a foundational level, the fact that I’m half Asian probably helped hide racism from my life for a certain period of time in my childhood naivety. Finally this little dream world of mine began to crumble throughout high school and university.  Racism definitely does still exist; it can just be more easily hidden under cultural fundamentalism.

In regards to certain characteristics of whether reuse of media is considered acceptable or not, I think that all the characteristics brought up in the assignment could apply.  More importantly, these characteristics overlap with each other to make reuse acceptable or not.  The foundation for racism has traditionally been due to relative power relations, but through globalization and different uses of media there have been more distinctions between what may or may not be considered racist.  In terms of the uses of media, I think certain forms can definitely dampen down the effects of racism.  In film or on TV, the edge seems to be taken off of anything that could appear to be racist as it gets mixed up into entertainment.  This also touches upon differences between an actual impersonation and a separate form of portraying the reuse.  I think that actually impersonating another ethnicity is a much heavier burden in specific contexts, and should be addressed carefully in order to successfully represent a group without being considered ignorant.

And let us not forget the reuse of sacred symbols.  This can definitely be a touchy subject for people of different beliefs.  It is also a fairly unique case which as mentioned before, comes back down to relative power relations.  Just analyzing Christianity as an example, it can be seen that there was a definitely swap of power relations as the Church separated from the State.  With this separation came more secular world view throughout the age of enlightenment and science.  Christianity today consists of a minority group with a relatively lower level of power compared to the state.

Another thing that makes reuse of media tricky, especially within a Christian context, is the fact that there are so many divisions within Christianity.  What might seem acceptable to one group may not be for another.  An obviously important sacred symbol for Christianity is Christ.  The way that Jesus is represented in various uses of media is definitely contentious for different situations.  One example of a representation that was fairly widely accepted was in Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. It tried to encompass the horrific nature of crucifixion.  Regardless of the brutality of this film, it was generally acceptable for many Christians.

Now looking at Monty Python’s Life of Brian the end crucifixion scene, and the movie as a whole, is largely unaccepted by the Church.  It is in direct contestation with the Church by portraying Brian as the Messiah, and ending with a satirical crucifixion.  A blog tries to unfold whether Life of Brian is comedy or blasphemy, but you can decide that for yourself.

I think there is a loose guideline that can be applied to analyze reuse and determine its acceptability, but it is a complex concept and must be addressed within context.  Starting on a foundational level, it is generally not acceptable for a majority power to reuse media of a minority power.  Live performances are generally critiqued more than uses within media, as seen in the article by David Novak.  Between actual impersonation and a separate form, I think that this is fairly context specific and cannot really be characterized as a specific principle.  Finally, reuse of sacred symbols generally complicates all of the aforementioned characteristics and must be addressed cautiously.  But as I described, it is pretty hard to determine what acceptable reuse is before producing it.  Even with results of how people view some uses of media, it is difficult to imply specific reactions.