Week 8 – Cobb Chapter 8

The analysis of the various themes within song was rather insightful. As is the recognition of the power (and danger) of ecstasy as “litmus test” of things salvific. An interesting question in light of current trends might ask how concepts like the recently popular “Secret” relate to confession in religion(3). There seems to be an element of self-trust and hubris in this approach (i.e. I can change my circumstances by how I think about them), and yet at the same time a certain amount of self-distrust (i.e. my normal mode of thinking about things is causing problems and must be changed).

Week 7 – Cobb Chapter 7

It’s interesting that both the Gothic and covenant/jeremiad approaches to sin seem to suggest a humanity that has not merely fallen, but ultimately prefers fallenness and darkness (yet for different reasons). For the Gothic:

…dark as it is, offers epistemological certainty; it allows us to believe that we’ve found the truth.

And for the jeremiad, darkness is preferred over the “almost Eden” that seems to fall short. Thus, we’d rather “hope again in wretched darkness” than live in a paradise that is not quite satisfying (again “hyperreality”: we’d rather imagine paradise than live in a good world that falls somehow short of perfection).

Week 6 – Cobb Chapter 6

The discussion on “accessorized identities” raises some very significant questions. Cobb notes:

Commoddities serves as out autobiographical markers. Therein lies the danger.

It seems that in a world identified by what it consumes, there is very little need for one to understand one’s ultimate source. That is, one need no longer find belonging or identity in the appeal to one’s Creator. It seems much more tempting to claim the “creator” title ourselves.

Week 5 – Cobb Chapter 5

Coupland’s comment seems to characterize well most of the images of God outlined in this chpater:

I think the price we paid for our golden life was an inability to fully believe in love; instead we gained an irony that scorched everything it touched. And I wonder if this irony is the price we paid for the loss of God.

Indeed the stories of a God who “turned away,” committed sacrificial suicide, was proven mathematically valid and then hidden for fear of chaotic consequence, all seem to suggest both a glorification of irony and a resentment toward God. The sentiment seems to be: “God” as we know it has failed us.

In reflection, one wonders, as did CS Lewis so many decades ago, how exactly it happened that we placed “God in the dock” and ourselves became the judges and justifiers.

Week 4 – Cobb Chapter 4

Tillich’s conception of “the two poles of the holy” and the related analysis of ontological and moral faith makes one wonder how those elements relate to the Christian understanding of “law” and “grace.” In particular, it seems noteworthy to reflect upon how Cobb describes culture’s criticism of institutionalized religion: an appeal to moral faith is used to reject religious hypocrisy, and an appeal to ontological faith is used to reject the overemphasis on sin and underemphasis on “abundant living.” It seems that the poles of “grace” and “law” could be used in similar veins. And in both cases each element “is in need of the counterbalancing effect of the other.”

Week 3 – Cobb Chapter 3

I thought the progression of Tillich’s views on theology and culture was really interesting. In particular, I noted this comment about Picasso’s Guernica:

…it shows the human situation without any cover. It shows what is now in the souls of many Americans as disruptiveness, existential doubt, emptiness and meaninglessness.

This recognition of “doubt” and “meaninglessness” is essentially what Tillich sees as the religious element of the painting. These traits are what make it a “primordial source of meaning.” I think this suggestion is significant because it so resembles some of the arguments made in the “high art vs pop culture” debate. That is, one argument for the validity of “high art” was the suggestion that it is more meaningful because it portrays both sides of reality, both good and bad (as opposed to pop culture which doesn’t strike this balance or overemphasizes the good). I think the parallel here is worthy of further reflection: is the presence of realism, or the authentic recognition of that which is corrupt/bad an element which provides meaning?

Week 2 – Cobb Chapter 2

This chapter is one of the most interesting and well-written texts that I’ve read in some time. The focus on consumption as a factor in producing meaning was particularly interesting. Cobb used some very aptly chosen contemporary examples to illustrate what Eco called “semiotic guerrilla warfare.” What’s interesting is that even in reading about the “magical appropriation” of goods and symbols by consumers, I found myself secretly “rooting for” the consumers. It’s an easy-to-embrace image: the “bad guys” try to force their ideals on society, and the “good guys” take those idealogical symbols, turn them upside down, spray some paint on them, and use them to portray something entirely different.And yet, one wonders if this image is entirely complete: we are quick to jump on the bandwagon with the anti-consumerist “cool” subgroups, who choose what and how to appropriate into their “style.” And yet, in doing so I think we unconsciously romanticize contemporary culture. It seems to me that the focus on the this triumph over commercialism begs the question: what subcultures are we actually analyzing? I would argue that those most likely to respond to capitalism in the manner describe in this chapter are necessarily those with spare time and disposable income (i.e. the young and the middle-class). Does this analysis, therefore, minimalize other parts of society?

Cobb’s discussion of “hyperreality” was also very thought-provoking. His description of “images of images” and the “simulacrum” of society seems to illustrate with extraordinary insight certain peculiarities of today’s culture. And his conclusion that cultural studies thereby ends up with something “flat” and lacking depth finds particular resonance in my own perspective. Indeed it seems that the “simulacrum” leaves us with something less than substantial, a seemingly attractive world that, when actually held, ultimately slip’s through one’s fingers and leaves one grasping at air.

Week 1 – Cobb Chapter 1

Cobb’s introduction to popular culture was helpful and thought-provoking. His reflections on media and pop culture, and how both influence society as a whole, was insightful. I particularly like this comment by Iris Murdoch: “Man is a creature who makes pictures of himself and then comes to resemble the picture.” The assertion suggests an oft-disregarded interplay between what we produce/perceive and how we interact as a society. I agree with Cobb’s assertion that the Frankfurt school’s approach to popular culture seems both elitist and somewhat paranoid, though I also admit that their approach likely contains some element of truth.