My fiancée recently brought the Souper Bowl of Caring to my attention as a possibility for our junior high youth group to participate in.
I have to admit that I said "sure thing" and kind of put it on the back burner at first. But she persisted and when I went to their website and researched what they were about, I was struck by two things. First, I was struck the fact that the Souper Bowl of Caring insists that everything you collect go directly to a local charity—the Souper Bowl of Caring defines itself as a movement. Second, it hit me that this was a perfect first project to kick off the interfaith youth program I'm trying to get off the ground.
The interfaith piece is happening on January 23rd; a panel discussion featuring representatives from Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Unitarian Universalism. I am elated and excited by the prospect of it going off—and terrified that something will go horribly wrong! Ah, the joys of being in charge...
In any case, here's a wonderful video about the history of the Souper Bowl of Caring movement and the effects it has on its participants. My experience with it so far is absolutely fantastic, and I would encourage any group at all to try out the Souper Bowl of Caring!
Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
011111
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Thursday, December 09, 2010
Don't Let Them Lie To You!
Short. Sweet. To the point. Enjoy!
Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
120910
Don't Let Them Lie To You from United Church of Christ on Vimeo.
Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
120910
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Everything's Coming Up Zombies
I've been thinking a lot about zombies lately. And no, I'm not talking about musician, movie director, and scary movie buff, Rob Zombie, although I'm sure he'd be able to add some interesting points to the conversation! And yes, I suppose the fact that Halloween is around the corner might have something to do with my current ponderings, but really, it's so much more than that. After all, if I can find wisdom in Silent Hill, why not zombies? Theologically speaking, it's really not that big of stretch—we were all made in God's image, one of the ways in which we were created in God's image is that we are ourselves creative, therefore we can find God in our creations. Including horror genre and... zombies!
So what wisdom hides in such horror gems as Romero's indie classic, Night of the Living Dead? Ok, ok, purists will point out that Night of the Living Dead does not deal in traditional Hatian-style zombies, just go with me here, ok? In one interview, Romero said, "I wanted something that would be an earth-shaking change. Something that was forever, something that was really at the heart of it. I said, so what if the dead stop staying dead? ... And the stories are about how people respond or fail to respond to this. That’s really all [the zombies] ever represented to me."An earth-shaking change that people either respond or fail to respond to—I think we may have something here. My observation has been that the base human reaction to earth-shaking change is fear. How we deal with this fear becomes the important question.
Some people mask their fear in laughter, sometimes cruel laughter. One of the most quoted lines from Night of the Living Dead, "They're coming to get you, Barbara!" is said by Barbara's husband as he derides her fear of graveyards. Laughing at your own fear can be a powerful tool (Riddikulus!) but when you turn that laughter into a weapon to belittle others it's hardly helpful. It is perhaps a piece of poetic justice that Barbara's husband is killed by the zombies soon after delivering this line.
Some people simply refuse to face their fear in one way or another. Barbara later allows herself to descend into hysteria followed by pure disassociation. We can hardly blame her, she's taken a great blow to her psyche, but in the end it isn't helpful and reduces her character to an old-fashioned stereotypical "useless female."
And of course, some people respond to fear with violence. Sometimes the underlying fear is obvious, as when the main characters fight—at times with words, at times physically—over how to best survive the night. Sometimes the fear is less obvious—hidden behind a screen of dehumanizing pragmatism. Like this:
More and more we see headlines about people acting out of their fear in unhelpful ways, from Qur'an burnings to helicopter parents.
How do you deal with your fear? Would you survive a zombie infestation with your morals intact?
Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
102610
Monday, October 11, 2010
National Coming Out Day
Happy National Coming Out Day, the internationally observed civil awareness day for coming out and discussion about gay, lesbian, bisexual, asexual and transgender (LGBT) issues.
And let's face it, there are still issues to discuss. I'm sure we could all name several, but today I'm willing to jump on the bandwagon and talk about the recent suicides that have been all over the media as if suicide among queer teenagers is a new epidemic. Truth be told, though, as long as our society considers it ok to tell people that an integral part of themselves—that a deep part of who they are as a person—is disgusting at best and sinful evil at worst, then the queer community will still have to deal with this kind of tragedy on a higher than average basis. And as long as ineffectual methods of dealing with bullying in our school systems are in place, it'll be that much worse for our queer students.
The statistics quoted in the United Church of Christ statement concerning this issue are absolutely sobering, "Nine out of 10 LGBT youth report being verbally harassed at school; 44 percent say they have been physically harassed; 22 percent report having been assaulted; and 60 percent say that when they report abuse, no one does anything to help or protect them." I don't care what your theology is, or how you interpret Leviticus, that is unconscionable!
The good news—and there is good news‐is that our society's culture is slowly but surely changing. I think R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, probably saw that this is true, as he shifted his sights from issues surround gay marriage to his issues with divorce in a recent article about "the marriage crisis." Even Exodus International has been making some new and interesting decisions, distancing themselves from a counter-rally aimed at Day of Silence. In a recent article, Alan Chambers, President of Exodus International was quoted as saying, "All the recent attention to bullying helped us realize that we need to equip kids to live out biblical tolerance and grace while treating their neighbors as they'd like to be treated, whether they agree with them or not."
I couldn't have said it better myself.
Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
101110
And let's face it, there are still issues to discuss. I'm sure we could all name several, but today I'm willing to jump on the bandwagon and talk about the recent suicides that have been all over the media as if suicide among queer teenagers is a new epidemic. Truth be told, though, as long as our society considers it ok to tell people that an integral part of themselves—that a deep part of who they are as a person—is disgusting at best and sinful evil at worst, then the queer community will still have to deal with this kind of tragedy on a higher than average basis. And as long as ineffectual methods of dealing with bullying in our school systems are in place, it'll be that much worse for our queer students.
The statistics quoted in the United Church of Christ statement concerning this issue are absolutely sobering, "Nine out of 10 LGBT youth report being verbally harassed at school; 44 percent say they have been physically harassed; 22 percent report having been assaulted; and 60 percent say that when they report abuse, no one does anything to help or protect them." I don't care what your theology is, or how you interpret Leviticus, that is unconscionable!
The good news—and there is good news‐is that our society's culture is slowly but surely changing. I think R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, probably saw that this is true, as he shifted his sights from issues surround gay marriage to his issues with divorce in a recent article about "the marriage crisis." Even Exodus International has been making some new and interesting decisions, distancing themselves from a counter-rally aimed at Day of Silence. In a recent article, Alan Chambers, President of Exodus International was quoted as saying, "All the recent attention to bullying helped us realize that we need to equip kids to live out biblical tolerance and grace while treating their neighbors as they'd like to be treated, whether they agree with them or not."
I couldn't have said it better myself.
Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
101110
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Ground Zero Mosque—Not.
As I spoke to in an earlier post I've been educating myself so I can engage in interfaith work as part of my position as Associate Minister for Youth. I've specifically been learning more about Islam because I haven't had the opportunity to interact with many Muslims, because one of the leading national voices in the Interfaith Youth Movement is a Muslim named Eboo Patel—but also because, quite frankly, Muslims may be the most unfairly hated folk in the United States today.
Judging all of Islam on the basis of the September 11th 2001 Al Quaeda attacks is like judging all of Christianity on the basis of the April 24th-30th 1916 armed insurrection in Ireland known as the Easter Rising. Both events, while differing in scale, have both political and religious components. Neither event is indicative of their parent religion as a whole. And both occurred on dates where a major religious holiday will occasionally fall. Easter will fall on April 24th (not to mention the 25th, 26th, etc.) every so often, depending on the given year's lunar cycle. And the Islamic feast of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan will fall on or near September 11th every so often, depending on the given year's lunar cycle.
It's coincidence. And when you hear fearful people hate-mongering about it this year, I hope you remember that it is only coincidence.
I was also going to say something about the "Ground Zero Mosque" that folk are so riled up about. But then someone I have the utmost respect for posted the below video on Facebook today, and it says it much better than I ever could—even if the arguments are based in patriotism and not the hospitality that lays at the heart of my religion.
Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
081710
Judging all of Islam on the basis of the September 11th 2001 Al Quaeda attacks is like judging all of Christianity on the basis of the April 24th-30th 1916 armed insurrection in Ireland known as the Easter Rising. Both events, while differing in scale, have both political and religious components. Neither event is indicative of their parent religion as a whole. And both occurred on dates where a major religious holiday will occasionally fall. Easter will fall on April 24th (not to mention the 25th, 26th, etc.) every so often, depending on the given year's lunar cycle. And the Islamic feast of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan will fall on or near September 11th every so often, depending on the given year's lunar cycle.
It's coincidence. And when you hear fearful people hate-mongering about it this year, I hope you remember that it is only coincidence.
I was also going to say something about the "Ground Zero Mosque" that folk are so riled up about. But then someone I have the utmost respect for posted the below video on Facebook today, and it says it much better than I ever could—even if the arguments are based in patriotism and not the hospitality that lays at the heart of my religion.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
081710
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Children Can Handle It
I recently ran across this wonderful story of heroism involving the actions of an eight year old boy. It's actually not all that uncommon to see stories of young children behaving heroically—I suspect that you can come up with several examples just within that last week or so.
So what struck me about this particular story? Well, it is amazing to think about an eight year old minimizing the damage caused by his mother having a seizure on a four-lane highway through his own driving skills. But for me, the icing on the cake is this quote:
Our every instinct is to protect our children from the world. But sometimes the best way to do that is to give them the information they need—even if that information might be considered scary. Children can handle it.
Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
061510
So what struck me about this particular story? Well, it is amazing to think about an eight year old minimizing the damage caused by his mother having a seizure on a four-lane highway through his own driving skills. But for me, the icing on the cake is this quote:
Prokos thinks her story provides a powerful message for other parents. A week earlier, she had experienced a seizure for the first time at her home, which her children had witnessed. Though she didn't yet have a diagnosis, Prokos made a point of speaking to Nicholas and his 14- and 17-year-old sisters about what had happened, and instructed them on what they should do in the event a seizure reoccurred. One of the scenarios they discussed was what to do if they were in the car at the time, and she recalls gratefully that Nicholas executed their instructions perfectly.
She urges parents to speak openly with their kids, prepare them for emergencies and teach them how to remain calm in the face of danger.
"My son saved my life, and he wouldn't have been able to do that if I had not been upfront and honest with him," she explains. "Children need to understand the reality of things, and should know that if a situation should occur, they need to be prepared to do a, b and c."
Our every instinct is to protect our children from the world. But sometimes the best way to do that is to give them the information they need—even if that information might be considered scary. Children can handle it.
Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
061510
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
On Bullying
Over the last couple of months I've seen and read a lot of articles about bullying, its affects on youth, and the many social and legal ramifications surrounding it. It's a heavy topic, frequently accompanied by the assertion that bullying has gotten somehow worse in recent years. From the suicide death of Phoebe Prince and its legal ramifications for the South Hadley school system to the young man who was recently tattooed against his will, the news media seems to be telling us that bullying is an escalating issue—in frequency and severity.
I, for one, am shocked.
Quite frankly, I'm shocked that we (that would be today's adults) have fooled ourselves into believing that bullying was ever anything less than the intentional mental, emotional, and physical abuse of a student by other students. I'm shocked by our apparent surprise that bullying might result in the suicide of a teenager—have we already forgotten the murder-suicides of April 20, 1999?
I find it interesting that in the case of the tattooing, the bullies weren't juveniles. And they've been charged with actual criminal offenses:
I'm tired of hearing how surprised we are that bullying is as bad as it is. I'd rather see more articles on what to do about it. And I'd really love to see some theologians tackle the common moral issues around the whole thing. Common wisdom is to "stand up for yourself" by beating on the next bully that comes after you. Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek. I know that I found ways to survive bullying with my self-worth more or less intact—but I didn't do it by stopping the bullies.
Any constructive thoughts out there?
Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
052610
I, for one, am shocked.
Quite frankly, I'm shocked that we (that would be today's adults) have fooled ourselves into believing that bullying was ever anything less than the intentional mental, emotional, and physical abuse of a student by other students. I'm shocked by our apparent surprise that bullying might result in the suicide of a teenager—have we already forgotten the murder-suicides of April 20, 1999?
I find it interesting that in the case of the tattooing, the bullies weren't juveniles. And they've been charged with actual criminal offenses:
Charged in the incident are Blake VanNest, Donald "D.J." Wyman, Ryan Fisk and Travis Johnston. None of the suspects are juveniles. Police tell the Union Leader a 15-year-old juvenile -- who allegedly bought the tattoo gun for $30 as a souvenir -- also will be charged.And that's interesting to me because I have been saying for years, that if an adult had said and done to me the things that some of my peers did in high school, they would go to jail for abuse. Out in the "real world" the things that happen in our schools have names like "assault" and "battery" or at the very least "slander" and "libel."
VanNest was charged with two counts of simple assault, endangering the welfare of a minor, tattooing without a license, indecent exposure, criminal threatening and breach of bail.
Fisk was charged with two counts of simple assault, endangering the welfare of a minor, tattooing without a license, sale of a controlled drug, criminal threatening and breach of bail.
Wyman was charged with conspiracy to commit criminal liability for the conduct of another and conspiracy to endanger the welfare of a minor.
Johnson was charged with conspiracy to endanger the welfare of a minor.
Fisk allegedly did the actual tattooing. When he was done, he and the others reportedly took the boy outside Johnston's home where a group of students waited to look and laugh while the victim was forced to drop his pants. Fisk allegedly gave the victim a bag of marijuana as payment for the humiliation.
I'm tired of hearing how surprised we are that bullying is as bad as it is. I'd rather see more articles on what to do about it. And I'd really love to see some theologians tackle the common moral issues around the whole thing. Common wisdom is to "stand up for yourself" by beating on the next bully that comes after you. Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek. I know that I found ways to survive bullying with my self-worth more or less intact—but I didn't do it by stopping the bullies.
Any constructive thoughts out there?
Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
052610
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Orangutan and the Hound
I ran across this video on Facebook today, and it completely made my day! When was the last time you greeted someone with the loving abandon that these two have? I wish I could embed the video in my blog, but you'll just have to click the link instead. You won't be sorry!!
Orangutan and the Hound
Posted using ShareThis
Be good to each other!
Rev. Josh
051110
Orangutan and the Hound
Posted using ShareThis
Be good to each other!
Rev. Josh
051110
Monday, May 10, 2010
Mother's Day Complete with Children!
Sheldon asked me if I would do a Children's Sermon on Mother's Day, and of course I said "yes." Then I called my mother! I asked her if she was willing to send me some old pictures of herself with little me to use for the Children's Sermon—so she agreed not only to do some scanning for me but to have pictures of herself shown to my new congregation! I'm so thankful for her willing helpfulness!! The pictures below can be en-biggened by clicking on them, and what follows is the way the Children's Sermon ran—to the best of my memory.
I made a simple PowerPoint presentation with some of the many pictures my mom e-mailed to me. I carried my laptop from work into the sanctuary and sat down in one of the huge wooden chairs in the chancel. Emmi says that I was quite a sight, booting the thing up in my lap while sitting in that old chair, in that old space, fully robed for worship. We may reenact it so she can do some photography! In any case, the time came for the Children's Sermon and I sat on the front step with the laptop in my lap, facing the children. At this point, I can't see what's on the screen, and neither can most of the congregation.
"So you're going to have to help me." I tell the children before asking them, "What do you see in this first picture? Describe it for me."
"A girl with a baby!"
"Do they look happy? Sad?"
"They look sleepy!"
"They look sleepy?"
"Yeah!"
"Ok, what's happening in this picture?"
"Christmas!"
"Christmas is happening! Do they look happy?"
"Yeah!"
"Ok, what's in this picture?"
"The girl and the baby in a bean bag!"
"A bean bag chair? That dates it a bit!" says a woman sitting in a pew in the congregation.
"You know what? I put a bean bag on my list for my birthday!" says a little girl sitting on the floor in front of me.
"You want a bean bag for your birthday?" I ask, ignoring the horrified looks coming from the little girl's parents.
"Yeah!"
"Ok, what's in this picture?"
"A mom and her son sitting on a couch!"
"Do they look happy or sad?"
"HAPPY!!!"
"How about this one?"
"The mom is kinda looking at the son!"
"They're on the same couch!!"
"Ok, what's in this one?"
"The same mom and son in another chair."
"Is that the one that looks like it might have a tent in the background? Do you think maybe they're camping?"
"Maybe."
"I think that's the last picture! So let me ask you this: who do you think that baby is?"
"You!" this said with a definite undercurrent of "duh."
"So who do you think that lady is in the pictures with me?"
"Your mother!"
"Yup! That's my mother. And based on what you saw in those pictures, do you think she loves me?"
"Yeah!"
"Me too. I think she loves me very much. So one of the things I like to do on Mother's Day is thank God that I have a mother who was there for me, and is still there for me, and who loves me very much. But another thing I like to do on Mother's Day—and this is a little sad—but there are people who don't have their mothers anymore, and there are people who don't get along with their mothers very well. But God is there for them, and loves them very much, just like a mother. So on Mother's Day I like to pray that God will be a Mother for them. So please pray with me: Loving Mother God, we thank your for our mothers, who are always there for us and love us very much. And we pray for the people who don't get along with their mothers, or whose mothers aren't here on earth any more, that you would be their Mother. And we pray these things in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
And I do have something for you to help you remember what we prayed about." I hand out bright yellow pencils with writing on them. "Can someone tell me what that says?"
"Smile. God loves you."
Smile, God loves you,
Rev. Josh
051010
I made a simple PowerPoint presentation with some of the many pictures my mom e-mailed to me. I carried my laptop from work into the sanctuary and sat down in one of the huge wooden chairs in the chancel. Emmi says that I was quite a sight, booting the thing up in my lap while sitting in that old chair, in that old space, fully robed for worship. We may reenact it so she can do some photography! In any case, the time came for the Children's Sermon and I sat on the front step with the laptop in my lap, facing the children. At this point, I can't see what's on the screen, and neither can most of the congregation.
"So you're going to have to help me." I tell the children before asking them, "What do you see in this first picture? Describe it for me."
"A girl with a baby!"
"Do they look happy? Sad?"
"They look sleepy!"
"They look sleepy?"
"Yeah!"
"Ok, what's happening in this picture?"
"Christmas!"
"Christmas is happening! Do they look happy?"
"Yeah!"
"Ok, what's in this picture?"
"The girl and the baby in a bean bag!"
"A bean bag chair? That dates it a bit!" says a woman sitting in a pew in the congregation.
"You know what? I put a bean bag on my list for my birthday!" says a little girl sitting on the floor in front of me.
"You want a bean bag for your birthday?" I ask, ignoring the horrified looks coming from the little girl's parents.
"Yeah!"
"Ok, what's in this picture?"
"A mom and her son sitting on a couch!"
"Do they look happy or sad?"
"HAPPY!!!"
"How about this one?"
"The mom is kinda looking at the son!"
"They're on the same couch!!"
"Ok, what's in this one?"
"The same mom and son in another chair."
"Is that the one that looks like it might have a tent in the background? Do you think maybe they're camping?"
"Maybe."
"I think that's the last picture! So let me ask you this: who do you think that baby is?"
"You!" this said with a definite undercurrent of "duh."
"So who do you think that lady is in the pictures with me?"
"Your mother!"
"Yup! That's my mother. And based on what you saw in those pictures, do you think she loves me?"
"Yeah!"
"Me too. I think she loves me very much. So one of the things I like to do on Mother's Day is thank God that I have a mother who was there for me, and is still there for me, and who loves me very much. But another thing I like to do on Mother's Day—and this is a little sad—but there are people who don't have their mothers anymore, and there are people who don't get along with their mothers very well. But God is there for them, and loves them very much, just like a mother. So on Mother's Day I like to pray that God will be a Mother for them. So please pray with me: Loving Mother God, we thank your for our mothers, who are always there for us and love us very much. And we pray for the people who don't get along with their mothers, or whose mothers aren't here on earth any more, that you would be their Mother. And we pray these things in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
And I do have something for you to help you remember what we prayed about." I hand out bright yellow pencils with writing on them. "Can someone tell me what that says?"
"Smile. God loves you."
Smile, God loves you,
Rev. Josh
051010
Monday, April 19, 2010
The Language of God
You can click on the movie to see it larger on YouTube! Enjoy!
Be Good to Each Other,
Rev. Josh
041910
Friday, April 02, 2010
Thursday, April 01, 2010
On the Home Flood
I grew up in North Stonington. It is very strange to see the surroundings changed so very much over a single weekend...
Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
040110
Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
040110
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Girl Scout Safety?
I just ran across this debate on Safety Clicks and they make a point that neither The Today Show nor the Girl Scouts seemed to have described accurately. The big issue with this "infraction" is that a young girl states her full name on camera on the internet—which is a pretty standard example of "risky internet behavior."
Is the vigilance of her father enough to keep her safe after spreading her image and full name all over the internet? I have no idea. What do you think?
Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
033010
Is the vigilance of her father enough to keep her safe after spreading her image and full name all over the internet? I have no idea. What do you think?
Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
033010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Busy, Busy Boy
I have indeed been a busy, busy boy. And you must be dear and faithful readers indeed if you are seeing this apology for the infrequency of my blog posts! But maybe if you see just a little bit of what I've been up to, you'll forgive me?
One of the things I've been doing is educating myself in how to do interfaith dialogue. To that end I recently attended an event held at Hartford Seminary that focused on dialogue between Christianity and Islam.
We were greeted by this looping video:
World of Islam
Krista Iman | MySpace Video
We watched the first few minutes of this video:
And we watched all of this one:
We also had the opportunity to speak with and ask questions of four eloquent and intelligent Muslim folk—each with their own background and experiences ranging from growing up Muslim in Turkey to growing up Catholic in California and converting to Islam later in life!
We even got to eat some awesome Mideastern food! Omnomnom! Seriously though, I was touched and inspired by these people—and one concept that really resonated with me was the idea of working towards a more fair representation of Islam in all media—not just the news but also movies and television. It reminded me a lot of Jay Silverheels working towards finding more and better roles for Native Americans in movies and television.
Just to show you how quickly I have to shift gears at times, I was also working on a sermon for Palm Sunday! And no, I did not find a way to link Islam or Jay Silverheels to Palm Sunday. I did, however, end up utilizing My Chemical Romance, believe it or not. For the online posting of the sermon, click here or click on Rev. Josh's Sermon Archive in my sidebar under the heading "Church."
Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
032910
One of the things I've been doing is educating myself in how to do interfaith dialogue. To that end I recently attended an event held at Hartford Seminary that focused on dialogue between Christianity and Islam.
We were greeted by this looping video:
World of Islam
Krista Iman | MySpace Video
We watched the first few minutes of this video:
And we watched all of this one:
We also had the opportunity to speak with and ask questions of four eloquent and intelligent Muslim folk—each with their own background and experiences ranging from growing up Muslim in Turkey to growing up Catholic in California and converting to Islam later in life!
We even got to eat some awesome Mideastern food! Omnomnom! Seriously though, I was touched and inspired by these people—and one concept that really resonated with me was the idea of working towards a more fair representation of Islam in all media—not just the news but also movies and television. It reminded me a lot of Jay Silverheels working towards finding more and better roles for Native Americans in movies and television.
Just to show you how quickly I have to shift gears at times, I was also working on a sermon for Palm Sunday! And no, I did not find a way to link Islam or Jay Silverheels to Palm Sunday. I did, however, end up utilizing My Chemical Romance, believe it or not. For the online posting of the sermon, click here or click on Rev. Josh's Sermon Archive in my sidebar under the heading "Church."
Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
032910
Monday, February 22, 2010
Youth Director
Friday, February 19, 2010
One Great Hour of Sharing
One Great Hour of Sharing from United Church of Christ on Vimeo.
Share your resources,
change some lives,
be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
021910
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
The MPAA
In a previous post I said that the Motion Picture Association of America has "...no set standards for their ratings, but rather a secret cabal of industry insiders and extremist social conservatives who dole out ratings apparently based on how funny it makes them feel." I also said that this was a rant for another day, and I think maybe that day is today! So let me explain.
I said that the MPAA has no set standards for their ratings because there is way too much wiggle room for subjectivity and outright bias in the way they define their categories. For example, the MPAA says that "...depictions of activities related to a mature theme may result in a restricted rating for the motion picture," but nowhere defines what these "activities" or "themes" may be—leaving the ratings board carte blanche to define them on a case by case basis in secret.
Which brings me to the next point, where I called the ratings board a secret cabal of industry insiders and extremist social conservatives. The secrecy of the board is one of my biggest pet peeves concerning their system. They claim that it is to avoid bowing to outside pressures—which should beg the question of who gets to be on the inside. This is one of the many subjects tackled in the 2006 film This Film Is Not Yet Rated, wherein filmmaker Kirby Dick hires a private investigator to find out who is on the both the ratings board and its board of appeals.
I used the term "industry insiders" because the appeals board (the only recourse a filmmaker has to argue against the rating their film has been given) was found to have The President of Trans-Lux Theaters, a film buyer for The Movie Experience, the chairman and CEO, Metropolitan Theatres, a film buyer for Regal Entertainment, the President of Archangelo Entertainment, the CEO of Fox Searchlight Pictures, the COO of Maya Cinemas, the vice president of sales for Sony Pictures, a vice president and film buyer for Landmark Theatres, the CA/NV chapter president of North American Theatre Owners, the VP of operations, west coast division for Loews Cineplex Theatres, the director of American Film Market—and two clergy, one Methodist minister and one Catholic priest. (What? No UCC? On second thought, that's not so surprising...) So while the MPAA says that "No one is forced to submit a film to the Board for rating..." it does so with the knowledge that the people who buy and distribute the movies to the theaters are sitting on its appeals board.
I used the phrase "extremist social conservatives" based on the differences in ratings and feedback between Hollywood and independent films, between homosexual and heterosexual sexual situations, between male and female sexual depictions, and between violence and sexual content. While this clearly has no baring on the difference between a G and a PG rating, it plays a huge role in the difference between an R and an NC-17. And while the MPAA says that "NC-17 does not mean 'obscene' or 'pornographic' in the common or legal meaning of those words, and should not be construed as a negative judgment in any sense," the truth is that their appeals board—sorry, I mean distributors, you can why I got confused there. The truth is that movies with an NC-17 rating will not get widespread distribution. Which means that the appeals board—sorry, I mean studio executives—won't support them.
Even putting aside the infected, ingrown nature of the ratings board and its board of appeals aside, I think that many parents aren't utilizing the MPAA ratings for their stated purpose any more. Why? Well, at best the MPAA is claiming that that all parents have the same rules concerning the appropriateness of movie elements for all children. Reality is that every parent has different rules—hopefully based on the fact that every child is different! That's why websites like Kids In Mind have come to the forefront. Kids In Mind has detailed synopses of films so parents can make informed decisions concerning the appropriateness of the film for their children.
In case you haven't noticed, I love movies. I really don't want to malign the studios, distributors, and theaters. But in all honesty, until the MPAA improves their entire process for ratings, I'd like to have as little as possible to do with them. If you're a parent, go to Kids In Mind and take the time to make your own informed decisions. If you're an adult, or your parents say it's ok, rent an independent film every once in a while. Maybe if we all do, things will change.
Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
021510
I said that the MPAA has no set standards for their ratings because there is way too much wiggle room for subjectivity and outright bias in the way they define their categories. For example, the MPAA says that "...depictions of activities related to a mature theme may result in a restricted rating for the motion picture," but nowhere defines what these "activities" or "themes" may be—leaving the ratings board carte blanche to define them on a case by case basis in secret.
Which brings me to the next point, where I called the ratings board a secret cabal of industry insiders and extremist social conservatives. The secrecy of the board is one of my biggest pet peeves concerning their system. They claim that it is to avoid bowing to outside pressures—which should beg the question of who gets to be on the inside. This is one of the many subjects tackled in the 2006 film This Film Is Not Yet Rated, wherein filmmaker Kirby Dick hires a private investigator to find out who is on the both the ratings board and its board of appeals.
I used the term "industry insiders" because the appeals board (the only recourse a filmmaker has to argue against the rating their film has been given) was found to have The President of Trans-Lux Theaters, a film buyer for The Movie Experience, the chairman and CEO, Metropolitan Theatres, a film buyer for Regal Entertainment, the President of Archangelo Entertainment, the CEO of Fox Searchlight Pictures, the COO of Maya Cinemas, the vice president of sales for Sony Pictures, a vice president and film buyer for Landmark Theatres, the CA/NV chapter president of North American Theatre Owners, the VP of operations, west coast division for Loews Cineplex Theatres, the director of American Film Market—and two clergy, one Methodist minister and one Catholic priest. (What? No UCC? On second thought, that's not so surprising...) So while the MPAA says that "No one is forced to submit a film to the Board for rating..." it does so with the knowledge that the people who buy and distribute the movies to the theaters are sitting on its appeals board.
I used the phrase "extremist social conservatives" based on the differences in ratings and feedback between Hollywood and independent films, between homosexual and heterosexual sexual situations, between male and female sexual depictions, and between violence and sexual content. While this clearly has no baring on the difference between a G and a PG rating, it plays a huge role in the difference between an R and an NC-17. And while the MPAA says that "NC-17 does not mean 'obscene' or 'pornographic' in the common or legal meaning of those words, and should not be construed as a negative judgment in any sense," the truth is that their appeals board—sorry, I mean distributors, you can why I got confused there. The truth is that movies with an NC-17 rating will not get widespread distribution. Which means that the appeals board—sorry, I mean studio executives—won't support them.
Even putting aside the infected, ingrown nature of the ratings board and its board of appeals aside, I think that many parents aren't utilizing the MPAA ratings for their stated purpose any more. Why? Well, at best the MPAA is claiming that that all parents have the same rules concerning the appropriateness of movie elements for all children. Reality is that every parent has different rules—hopefully based on the fact that every child is different! That's why websites like Kids In Mind have come to the forefront. Kids In Mind has detailed synopses of films so parents can make informed decisions concerning the appropriateness of the film for their children.
In case you haven't noticed, I love movies. I really don't want to malign the studios, distributors, and theaters. But in all honesty, until the MPAA improves their entire process for ratings, I'd like to have as little as possible to do with them. If you're a parent, go to Kids In Mind and take the time to make your own informed decisions. If you're an adult, or your parents say it's ok, rent an independent film every once in a while. Maybe if we all do, things will change.
Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
021510
Friday, February 12, 2010
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Haiti Aid
Good afternoon everyone! I found out this morning that a blog has gone up chronicling an aid trip to Haiti. One of the members of the group is also a member of the congregation I serve. I've been following along and it has been very down to earth and eye opening all at the same time. Please take a moment to check it out! I've added a link to the blog in my sidebar. It is under the heading "blogs" and is entitled Haiti Marycare.
Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
020910
PS Yes, I posted twice in a day, so don't miss the post under this one!
Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
020910
PS Yes, I posted twice in a day, so don't miss the post under this one!
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