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The KE7 VCF is made up of a bunch of dedicated Christians eager to place the Lord first in all that we do.
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ." Romans 3:17 (NIV)
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Wednesday, June 15, 2005
They say that kissing involves tongue excerise...but excuse me, I was being impertinent.
Interesting that the more 'mature' one (i.e. the model) got a 'less demanding(?)' scene. The guy just stroked her hair while the 'innocent' little doe was instructed to do 'heavy duty'. So much for lost innocence...I guess the filmmakers were trying to make a pretty big statement, a very big splash: It is more erotic to see a young girl lose her innocence. The director and the scriptwriter are not dumb, they know what people want, and how to deliver.
The industry players know what the consumer wants and gives to them. Media thus becomes a reflection of society in this sense. The challenge really, is that when we stand up, we are standing up to a consumer society who pays the director for his work. Little chance that the director will be impressed. He can always say, " Who's paying?" It's not about the money, but about the power money gives. The consumer now can demand 'professionalism' from the actress i.e. that she submits to the will of the director, who actually submits to the taste of society.
Standing up for Christ (not Christian Ethics by the way) involves challenges the darkness, and the double faced deceit of society. It is not easy. We maybe sucked into that very web of deciet that we so try to defeat with our criticism. For different people, it's not a matter of speaking up and out, but submission may be the lesser of two evils for many reasons. For instance, the 15 year old girl, it is probably from the fear of offending her superiors and getting scolded, but for the 21-22 ish girl, it is a different story.
Her's is the story of fragmentation. Self-image is cleary important to her (she is after all a model). Consumer perception is the reality to her. Her professional image must be crafted, she is a commodity. It is crude but true, her actions in her working life determine her continued employment in that area. In modelling, the base assumption is the commodification of the human body, it is a marketable product. Therefore, she is split down in two: One, the model-her professional image, the second, the real her who enjoys the fruit of her labour.
Those of us who criticize her do so because we see no split between the professional life and the real us. But in her line of work, such a split is required of her. She must do so. One part of her submits to consumer wants, the other is part of that whole system. For us, what we do in our workplaces reflects on our inner self. But maybe for her, this does not follow, she may as well think," Who I am in my working capacity does not necessarily reflect the way I am in day to day social intercouse." So don't think that any guy can just stroke her hair even though she allows it on the film set.
The true center of our critique actually lies in this question: Should films, theatere, dance, modelling and any sort of performing arts be erotic? We live in a non-christian world, even if we qualify our 'yes' with 'God made sexuality good', the world need not qualify their 'yes'. And so the inevitable clash. If we feel that we need to enter the arts, we must be prepared to submit under such people, otherwise we should not even be in that line of work.
Modern media is erotic only because modern society is first deeply eroticized. We, who have tasted the glimpse of heaven, are in tension with society. But yet we are also part of it. No easy answers here: Some will say that Christians should not do performing arts, some prefer a sanitized performing arts, and finally some will plunge head on into it. Romans 14 comes into play here...
Interesting that the more 'mature' one (i.e. the model) got a 'less demanding(?)' scene. The guy just stroked her hair while the 'innocent' little doe was instructed to do 'heavy duty'. So much for lost innocence...I guess the filmmakers were trying to make a pretty big statement, a very big splash: It is more erotic to see a young girl lose her innocence. The director and the scriptwriter are not dumb, they know what people want, and how to deliver.
The industry players know what the consumer wants and gives to them. Media thus becomes a reflection of society in this sense. The challenge really, is that when we stand up, we are standing up to a consumer society who pays the director for his work. Little chance that the director will be impressed. He can always say, " Who's paying?" It's not about the money, but about the power money gives. The consumer now can demand 'professionalism' from the actress i.e. that she submits to the will of the director, who actually submits to the taste of society.
Standing up for Christ (not Christian Ethics by the way) involves challenges the darkness, and the double faced deceit of society. It is not easy. We maybe sucked into that very web of deciet that we so try to defeat with our criticism. For different people, it's not a matter of speaking up and out, but submission may be the lesser of two evils for many reasons. For instance, the 15 year old girl, it is probably from the fear of offending her superiors and getting scolded, but for the 21-22 ish girl, it is a different story.
Her's is the story of fragmentation. Self-image is cleary important to her (she is after all a model). Consumer perception is the reality to her. Her professional image must be crafted, she is a commodity. It is crude but true, her actions in her working life determine her continued employment in that area. In modelling, the base assumption is the commodification of the human body, it is a marketable product. Therefore, she is split down in two: One, the model-her professional image, the second, the real her who enjoys the fruit of her labour.
Those of us who criticize her do so because we see no split between the professional life and the real us. But in her line of work, such a split is required of her. She must do so. One part of her submits to consumer wants, the other is part of that whole system. For us, what we do in our workplaces reflects on our inner self. But maybe for her, this does not follow, she may as well think," Who I am in my working capacity does not necessarily reflect the way I am in day to day social intercouse." So don't think that any guy can just stroke her hair even though she allows it on the film set.
The true center of our critique actually lies in this question: Should films, theatere, dance, modelling and any sort of performing arts be erotic? We live in a non-christian world, even if we qualify our 'yes' with 'God made sexuality good', the world need not qualify their 'yes'. And so the inevitable clash. If we feel that we need to enter the arts, we must be prepared to submit under such people, otherwise we should not even be in that line of work.
Modern media is erotic only because modern society is first deeply eroticized. We, who have tasted the glimpse of heaven, are in tension with society. But yet we are also part of it. No easy answers here: Some will say that Christians should not do performing arts, some prefer a sanitized performing arts, and finally some will plunge head on into it. Romans 14 comes into play here...
U-Liang at 8:27 PM
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
ChewBites
As cliched as this sounds, as we enter the real world, it is inevitable that our life as a Christian will be put to the test. Christian Ethics becomes more pertinent. Enough talk about making Christianity relevant, let us be brave enough to confront these issues with a stand. Just this week, a friend of mine is the casting director for an upcoming tv drama that is probably targetted at teens begged me for help, so i grudgingly agreed to be an "extra" or "kelafeh" for the tv drama. During the 1 day shoot, I met various people and had engaged in quite a number of serious conversations. However what struck me most were 2 girls that I met from a modelling/ productions agency.
One girl is 21+ turning 22 soon. The other barely 15. Both were asked to star in particular "pub" scenes which required them to act as the current squeeze of some guy. Both girls are sweet and nice, no offence. Still, as a Christian, should one be involved in the media such as theatre or television, where do you draw the line between "professionalism" and "too much". I distinctly remember being involved in a musical production once, I had to be a barmaid- thank God there was no sleazy or provocative moves. Just some sashaying, sultry music and moves and the occasional tapping of a guy's shoulder. Still had there been "more" in store, such as a physically intimate scene such as fondling of hair, body or worst still- a kissing scene... Where would you as a Christian draw the line? I know that many of you Ke7Vcf-ers reading this now will probably never enter media related professions (by sheer fact, most of you are in non-arts faculties) but do take time to think about it...
Is it about the act, is it about the age or is it both? For those of you who have 15yr old turning 16yr old sisters, how would you react if she had to engage in a professional kissing scene for a very legitimate tv drama? Barely done with 'O' levels, face caked with makeup, decked in dangly accessories and a highly trendy outfit that I only dared to wear at age 19+ (at the risk of being called "brazen" at home) heading straight with cameras rolling, boom mic up close, a hundred eyes gawking or staring- for a kissing scene. "There goes her first kiss", J commented. Internally, I thought "There goes her innocence". I spoke to her a couple of times in the midst of filming, during on the spot rehearsals etc, she's a lovely girl. Rather doed-eyed individual with bright hopes, she didn't come from a bad school, her school is actually pretty decent. A rather soft spoken girl with demured speech, your good 15 year old girl. I was once a 15 year old girl, unlike her I was just scrawny, bespectacled and often scruffy-looking. Still, had I been in her shoes at 15, would I as a Christian agree to such a physically intimate scene that invokes much instant physical gratification and even glamourising lust? Would one be naive/ innocent enough and let it pass thinking it to be the "norm" in a society that constantly modernising and developing and going the way America has travelled some decade or two before?
And there was this 21 turning 22 year old, our peer, someone just about our age. One can hardly call her naive, she isn't new to the industry of media. She made the covers on "Funkygrad", modelled for various fashion shows, magazines and photoshoots. Yet, what troubles me is how one can allow a distant stranger whose name you barely know stroke your hair oh-so-affectionately? I am not chanting the return of the medieval or middle ages. Instead, what I am advocating is that we become more aware of the world standards around us and how Christians stand in comparison with the world. Theatre or Film are artistic mediums that we can use to glorify God, through our bodies and voices. However, if these very temples of God is used for objectification purposes that perpetrate worldly values that lie in great contradiction to the kind of doctrine that Christianity, isn't it time we started swinging alarm bells in our heads?
As a fellow sister in christ, I urge you to take a stand and make it known. Too many times, we are afraid of standing up for what we believe, lest we be seen as "uncool" "not hip", "pious" and other names. Or do we simply blame our "Asian-ness" or our "reticent nature", its often upsetting to see many ethically debatable issues past by our eyes often undiscussed or at best whispered behind closed doors. I am not asking for matyrdom, I am asking for the Christian Voice. Where has it gone or has the convincing theories of post modernism sucked us all in? Hopefully, this platform will serve as an active place for forum discussion- as artists, as engineers, as life scientists, as mathematicians, as doctors, and above all else, as dear brother and sisters of christ congregating under the Ke7 Vcf Umbrella to make each other grow stronger in faith.
What would be an appropriate Christian action? A media artiste who was a regular attendee of Sunday Worship services at my previous church once told me about the various means in which she dealt with castings and shows that she was offered as an artiste. She said that she bravely told the then- SBC, now TCS that she would only star in certain television drama serials and would have nothing to do with joss stick burning, incense, idol worship and if possible no sexually arousing scenes, that would have caused her to be axed from many productions, but till this day, she manages to survive on whatever roles she's given doing it to the best of her ability and God has seen her through the past decade in a media industry where artistes come and fade away.
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given unto you" Matthew 6:33
Even as we continue on our spiritual journey with the Lord, this deeply relational Father that we serve and worship, may we continue to draw strength from one another, challenge one another, keep one another on our toes lest we slacken in our spiritual hunger and thirst, and more importantly doing our best so that the others that walk behind us will find us faithful.
As cliched as this sounds, as we enter the real world, it is inevitable that our life as a Christian will be put to the test. Christian Ethics becomes more pertinent. Enough talk about making Christianity relevant, let us be brave enough to confront these issues with a stand. Just this week, a friend of mine is the casting director for an upcoming tv drama that is probably targetted at teens begged me for help, so i grudgingly agreed to be an "extra" or "kelafeh" for the tv drama. During the 1 day shoot, I met various people and had engaged in quite a number of serious conversations. However what struck me most were 2 girls that I met from a modelling/ productions agency.
One girl is 21+ turning 22 soon. The other barely 15. Both were asked to star in particular "pub" scenes which required them to act as the current squeeze of some guy. Both girls are sweet and nice, no offence. Still, as a Christian, should one be involved in the media such as theatre or television, where do you draw the line between "professionalism" and "too much". I distinctly remember being involved in a musical production once, I had to be a barmaid- thank God there was no sleazy or provocative moves. Just some sashaying, sultry music and moves and the occasional tapping of a guy's shoulder. Still had there been "more" in store, such as a physically intimate scene such as fondling of hair, body or worst still- a kissing scene... Where would you as a Christian draw the line? I know that many of you Ke7Vcf-ers reading this now will probably never enter media related professions (by sheer fact, most of you are in non-arts faculties) but do take time to think about it...
Is it about the act, is it about the age or is it both? For those of you who have 15yr old turning 16yr old sisters, how would you react if she had to engage in a professional kissing scene for a very legitimate tv drama? Barely done with 'O' levels, face caked with makeup, decked in dangly accessories and a highly trendy outfit that I only dared to wear at age 19+ (at the risk of being called "brazen" at home) heading straight with cameras rolling, boom mic up close, a hundred eyes gawking or staring- for a kissing scene. "There goes her first kiss", J commented. Internally, I thought "There goes her innocence". I spoke to her a couple of times in the midst of filming, during on the spot rehearsals etc, she's a lovely girl. Rather doed-eyed individual with bright hopes, she didn't come from a bad school, her school is actually pretty decent. A rather soft spoken girl with demured speech, your good 15 year old girl. I was once a 15 year old girl, unlike her I was just scrawny, bespectacled and often scruffy-looking. Still, had I been in her shoes at 15, would I as a Christian agree to such a physically intimate scene that invokes much instant physical gratification and even glamourising lust? Would one be naive/ innocent enough and let it pass thinking it to be the "norm" in a society that constantly modernising and developing and going the way America has travelled some decade or two before?
And there was this 21 turning 22 year old, our peer, someone just about our age. One can hardly call her naive, she isn't new to the industry of media. She made the covers on "Funkygrad", modelled for various fashion shows, magazines and photoshoots. Yet, what troubles me is how one can allow a distant stranger whose name you barely know stroke your hair oh-so-affectionately? I am not chanting the return of the medieval or middle ages. Instead, what I am advocating is that we become more aware of the world standards around us and how Christians stand in comparison with the world. Theatre or Film are artistic mediums that we can use to glorify God, through our bodies and voices. However, if these very temples of God is used for objectification purposes that perpetrate worldly values that lie in great contradiction to the kind of doctrine that Christianity, isn't it time we started swinging alarm bells in our heads?
As a fellow sister in christ, I urge you to take a stand and make it known. Too many times, we are afraid of standing up for what we believe, lest we be seen as "uncool" "not hip", "pious" and other names. Or do we simply blame our "Asian-ness" or our "reticent nature", its often upsetting to see many ethically debatable issues past by our eyes often undiscussed or at best whispered behind closed doors. I am not asking for matyrdom, I am asking for the Christian Voice. Where has it gone or has the convincing theories of post modernism sucked us all in? Hopefully, this platform will serve as an active place for forum discussion- as artists, as engineers, as life scientists, as mathematicians, as doctors, and above all else, as dear brother and sisters of christ congregating under the Ke7 Vcf Umbrella to make each other grow stronger in faith.
What would be an appropriate Christian action? A media artiste who was a regular attendee of Sunday Worship services at my previous church once told me about the various means in which she dealt with castings and shows that she was offered as an artiste. She said that she bravely told the then- SBC, now TCS that she would only star in certain television drama serials and would have nothing to do with joss stick burning, incense, idol worship and if possible no sexually arousing scenes, that would have caused her to be axed from many productions, but till this day, she manages to survive on whatever roles she's given doing it to the best of her ability and God has seen her through the past decade in a media industry where artistes come and fade away.
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given unto you" Matthew 6:33
Even as we continue on our spiritual journey with the Lord, this deeply relational Father that we serve and worship, may we continue to draw strength from one another, challenge one another, keep one another on our toes lest we slacken in our spiritual hunger and thirst, and more importantly doing our best so that the others that walk behind us will find us faithful.
a tinge of faith at 1:41 AM
Saturday, June 04, 2005
Huh? what's this, a new blog in town? U-Liang left his paw print here.
U-Liang at 10:21 PM