Sarah Clementson- Technopoly- Outside Reading #3

In Neil Postman’s book he addresses the idea that every form of technology is not only a burden or a blessing but both. An example of this was the mechanical clock, originally invented by the monks in monasteries to structure prayer times. Little did the monks know that this idea of tracking time would be transferred to the general public and be used to structure their lives. There was then a scheduled time for work to start and stop, and trains ran on a specific time table. When considering this article in terms of religion in film, I immediately thought of American filming styles. The length of a movie that comes out now is generally between an hour and a half and two hours. If it is longer than that it has to have a strong plot line generally with lots of action to hold the viewers in their seats.
Movies in this day and age are not known for doing well unless they attract the general public’s attention with something distinct. This makes me wonder what it is about technology that needs to be constantly improving in graphics, stunt doubles, outrageous plots and become less and less about the actual psychological background. Religion in films is not going to always be an outright statement or practice, instead symbolism and lighting and relationships are important to grasping the religious concepts. Although Postman is not specifically talking about films, I wonder if films will soon set the precedent for how to portray ideas that those at the head of our country want to portray and influence the American perspective.
Also, since there are also blessings with the changing technology, I wonder if the present American style films allow for a wide variety of films to be created, all dealing with an eclectic array of belief systems and symbolism to be exposed to the general public. It is through this increasing industry that all of our classes use films to portray concepts and ideas. Just this year alone in college, about half of my classes have used movies or clips in order to be made more relevant to students.
In this class specifically we were asked to watch films that we would not normally see as religious and analyze them based on the readings and lectures on what religion is defined as. It was very difficult for me to think in terms of religion when I began watching the films, but as we went further into the class, the more I realized I was starting to analyze all films based on the religious symbolism or concepts portrayed. Thus, just as Postman says, all technology contains both a burden and a blessing. The American films, although maybe not as thought provoking as foreign films, are able to use the increasingly improving technology to communicate ideas subtly. An example of this, I think would be the Chronicle of Narnia Series that is being re-filmed and is rooted deeply in Christianity, along with the Lord of the Rings series. Film is slowly invading all aspects of our lives from raising children to being used as an educational tool and it subtly places religion throughout it, thus impacting the next generation.