Pope vs Pop… (Culture)
We had such a good response to Jason’s “Pokemon is the devil … Apparently” post, I decided to look into the matter further. It has been interesting looking into the pop culture subjects that religious groups take to far, (I’m not talking about extremists, I’m talking about petty fundamentalists). Things that become popular with the masses are always going to be easy targets for certain devote groups. I’m a firm believer that people should be allowed to make up their own minds, especially what to let their children see or read. Here are a few of the little things that are upsetting relgious groups around the world at the moment.
The latest thing to get the old religious feathers fluffed up is Avatar! The Vatican has actually accused James Cameron of trying to lead the flock away from God, with his nature worship. The Vatican has not gone as far as declaring a full blown boycott but gave the movie a stinking review.
Avatar has also sparked off a debate between christians, some believe it is an anti christian film and others believe that James Cameron is really retelling a christian story in a modern format. Let us not forget that there is also a small group of Hindus out there claiming that the word ‘Avatar’ is for their own exclusive use.
Avatar is not the only thing upsetting people at the moment, Disney’s new movie ‘The Princess and the Frog’ is also causing a stir. It has been criticized for it’s hints of voodooism and dark forces. The story’s plot was scrutinized because of its underlying message that ‘the only counter to the forces of evil is the good inside the human heart,’ with no mention of God. This apparently does not send the right message.
The continuing row over Harry Potter shows no sign of slowing or stopping anytime soon. The Harry Potter books, seven in total have always caused some controversy within religious groups due to their magical content.
A number of different groups have been trying to ban the books from public school libraries, claiming they have ‘evil themes’. Most children can tell the difference between what is real and what is fictional these days. Never the less these slightly fundamentalist groups seem to think that the contents of Harry Potter is real, and will warp the minds of those who read it.
An example of this was when a British teaching assistant had to resign from her post at a school for telling a child she would be ‘cursed’ for reading Harry Potter. In turn the teaching assistant tried suing the school for £50,000 claiming she had been discriminated against because of her religion. She said…
“It’s a book of witchcraft, and witchcraft is an abomination to God.”
Others have similar beliefs, Christian film reviewer Phil Boatwright believes that Harry Potter books and Films are all part of a satanic plot. He asked people to consider other aspects of the film…
“Is it merely entertainment? Or is there a dark spiritual source feeding and supporting it?”
Twilight is another franchise that is getting up peoples backs. Minister Bill Schnoebelen, a former Satanist who actually practiced vampirism for years, said Christians should avoid Twilight altogether.
Kimberly Powers, co-founder of ‘Walk the Talk Youth Ministries’ and author of ‘Escaping the Vampire’ wants her book and talks to inspire twilight readers to see Jesus as their hero not a Vampire or Werewolf (depending who’s team they are on).
Tracey Bateman has also written a book entitled ‘Thirsty’ which targets customers interested in the Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series, It is being dubbed ‘Fiction with redemption’. This is one of only a handful of books that aims to shed a new light on the vampire genera.
It’s not just the film and literary industries that are feeling the brunt of religious rage, they are after pop stars as well. Lady Gaga is currently the main target in the firing line. This is one of those not so rare occasions where a celebrity is getting a real slating by an extreme religious group for no good reason that I can see. Westboro Baptist Church released an invite to others to join them in protesting against Lady Gaga outside of The Fox Theatre. The invite also said that, ‘God Hates Lady Gaga’ and ‘You’re Going To Hell’ along with branding her a hussy, slut, whore, and a lady of the night. It is one of the harshest things I have seen in a while, you can read it for yourself here.
I feel that with all the problems in the world, Avatar, Harry Potter and Twilight should be the least of our problems. People should be able to make up there own minds on what is good for them. This is especially true within the entertainment sector, as everyone takes something different away from their experience. Whether theses’ experiences are good or bad is down to the individual.