Every so often I come across a subculture on the internet and develop an absolute infatuation with understanding its nuances-- the in-jokes, the cultural tropes, the historical context. I find myself watching videos and reading blogs and trying to understand the group, inevitably framing it within the context of my own life. The experience is like stumbling into the identical apartment on the floor below yours and realizing that everything is the same, except with totally foreign furniture, clothes, and knick-knacks. I might not be making sense. The sensation is sort of difficult to describe.
Anyway, for the past few months I've really hooked in to watching these comedy videos on YouTube by the student comedy group Divine Comedy at Brigham Young University, a private Mormon university in Provo, Utah. The videos are wholesome, self-aware, and endearing, and I am pretty sure I would find them hilarious if I grew up Mormon or in proximity to an LDS community. An example of the videos I am talking about (search YouTube for tons more):
Most of these videos are parodies of popular songs or phenomena. I found this interesting because, as both a religion and a culture, my understanding is that Mormonism does not identify with the less-than-wholesome, mainstream pop culture. I thought it was interesting to see a group co-opt something they reject, and use it in a self-serving way. The videos by Divine Comedy are for entertainment, but watching them got me thinking about the relationship between parody and activism.
Initially, I was really into the idea of a group using something that it rejects as a means of proving a point. It seemed cool, innovative, and gently subversive. On second thought, however, I considered the possibility that leaning on pop-culture for parody simply reinforces the system itself.
I am having trouble figuring out how I feel on this topic. What do you think? Is parody an effective tool for fighting the status quo, or does engaging in parody simply reinforce the system by relying on it in a different manner?
Edited to add: It was a bit of a sweeping generalization to assume that ALL Mormons do not identify with ALL pop culture. What I mean by the statement is that a lot of pop culture relies on themes of violence, promiscuity, etc-- themes that lots of Mormons (and lots of other groups) tend to reject.
As a Mormon, I think saying that Mormonism rejects pop culture goes a little too far. The unwholesome parts (things that encourage promiscuity, violence, abuse, etc.), yes. But I don't know any Latter Day Saints that don't swim in pop culture just as much (or little) as anyone else. It's an individual thing, not doctrine.
ReplyDeleteI love silly Internet memes, popular music (some, but based on my taste, not what the church thinks), movies, TV shows, and everything else. I'm not disagreeing with your premise - I think it's very insightful. But I'd gently encourage you to question the generalization that "Mormonism rejects pop culture". I think the truth there is complex and interesting.
Having grown up in the Utah culture, and having lived as an active member in many other places, I can say that the culture of Provo, BYU, and Utah are quite unique. They're not for everyone (myself included). I'm familiar with some of Divine Comedy's work, and sometimes I can tell if they're trying to parody or revel in that culture. Whatever "Mormon culture" is, it's an extension of the common culture that people share in a given community. We watch the same movies, tell the same jokes, and synthesize our culture from that, plus the doctrines and truths we believe. I know that's all beside tyour point on parody and activism, but I hope it's useful background.
BTW, I've been a fan of your writing for a while, and especially interested in your takes on stereotypes of young women. I have a seven year old daughter, and I'd be proud to see her grow up to be an intelligent, confident critical thinker like you. Thanks for writing and sharing what you do.
Whenever you want to have a message, you must base that message on something that your intended audience can relate to. It is no good to construct an elaborate argument putting Nietzsche, Butler and Solanas on some kind of warped feminist continuum and then use that to deduce that say 'moderate feminism' is really what others would call 'extreme feminism' if you are talking to people who lack that frame of reference. Then it may be better to say point to the absurdities of how the 'strong women' in Sex and the city behave.
ReplyDeleteOf course, my "home subculture" is that of science geeks, where it is almost a badge of honour to reject certain parts of popular culture. Then you can't use Glee, but must instead use Star Wars.
Basically what I am saying is that if you want to steer a sail boat you can stand on one side to tilt it, you can even lean over the edge to tilt it over further - but at some point you end up in the water doing no good at all.
As someone who's had about as much exposure to Mormons as you might get in the northeast (Mormon neighbors, classmates, students, and a Mormon govenor a few years ago), in my experience they do NOT reject pop culture. Mormons aren't fundamentalist Christians. They generally send their kids to public school; the kids do sports, music and drama; and they seem to watch movies and listen to pop music at the same rate as other kids. They just reject the sex-drugs-alcohol stuff.
ReplyDeleteI think about this sometimes too, and Divine Comedy actually has some funny videos although my Mormon friends have had to explain some of the in-jokes.
ReplyDeletePerhaps a better example (maybe?) of what you're trying to describe, though, would be the Westboro Baptist Church's use of parody to spread... whatever message they're trying to spread.
@josh thanks for the insight. i didn't mean to be imprecise. that makes sense i suppose, that "appreciation" for "culture" is regionally and community based.
ReplyDelete@mitch is WBC parody? i thought that was serious....
Hold on a sec. I reject the drug use, promiscuity, violence and misogyny in popular music, and I'm pretty sure you do too, Jamie. But we all listen to it anyway. I don't think Mormons are any different.
ReplyDelete@anon- did you read my edit?
ReplyDeletealso i dont reject drug use or promiscuity in music. i dont even reject violence in some contexts. also, i don't listen to popular music.
assumptions go both ways
Mormons are still people. I hate it when some of my non mormon friends have been shocked that I've liked certain movies or books because it's not all rainbows and sunbeams and unicorns.
ReplyDeleteWe're not automatons. There isn't a line that you stand in to get a chip implanted in your brain that automatically makes you a happy go lucky person with no evil thoughts ever and long blonde hair with fluffy bangs.
I'm a mormon teenage girl and I have my own taste. I like alternative rock and read Terry Pratchett and my favorite shows are Fringe, How I Met your Mother, The Vampire Diaries, Buffy... maybe I should stop listing now. My family is a bunch of tv addicts and a full compendium of my tv shows would be horrifying.
The people in the video above represent only a small portion of Mormon culture. (One of them is actually my sister's roommate at college) They just happen to be the ones who make mormon centric videos.
I'm a democrat with a very snarky sense of humor and a bit of a problem with authority. I went to Emerald City Comicon this year dressed as Doctor Horrible. I'm majoring in graphic design and I'm writing a satirical self help book by an incredibly pious fictional pope.
Contrary to popular stereotypes, my family is a bunch of feminists. We enjoy series like Harry Potter.
I don't think that these groups take songs that are "immoral" and then clean them up to make them palatable. I think that they take songs that they already know and love and then use them to gently lampoon the whitewashed culture that they're in. They don't "reject" the original song at all.
With the whole parody reinforcement thing, I think that it depends on how much you're parodying the song or the new subject matter.
I was a little horrified when I watched this video, because the thought that there could be a majority of people in Utah like this was a little frightening.
I think I've wandered far from my original point, but basically, I just wanted to say that the initial premise of the culture's rejection isn't necessarily true. Even the most bleached teeth and hair mormons I know enjoy popular songs- almost annoyingly so.
WBC is real and like, serious, but they do this strange thing where they take Top-40 pop songs and do parodies of them that are all about like, going to hell. And their rationale for doing it is to try to get their message out to youth, who I guess would be more attracted to a Lady Gaga parody telling them they're sinning, than Fred Phelps just preaching at them?
ReplyDeleteOn second thought I'm not sure if it's the same situation as the one you were trying to describe, but I think it's an interesting phenomenon nonetheless.
Christians are known for appropriating pop culture and then remaking it to fit their own standards. Example: www.stuffchristianslike.com (a Christian version of stuffwhitepeoplelike.com). Mormons have a bit of different theology, but they fit into the same subculture in that way. I'm writing my dissertation on Mormons, I'll have to check out those videos!
ReplyDeleteAt least Mormons can make fun of themselves. That's more than can be said for a lot of religious sects these days.
ReplyDeleteMormons are a strange bunch, but I have never found any one, that I've met, to reject mainstream culture. I love and envy that they can balance a somewhat extreme religion with living in today's society. It's not like for the Amish who must reject society in order to follow their beliefs, and it's not like most Protestants or Catholics who say one thing in church and dress or behave against that.
ReplyDeleteBut what's interesting is religious groups all subvert mainstream culture through parody (like your post states). To me, parody does not need to aim for humour. The fact that there's a site called "stuffchristianslike.com" shows a parody that creates room for 'pocket' communities on the web while not necessarily making fun of the original.
Either kind of parody can be perceived as reinforcing the system, as you point out, but I think if it's done correctly then it successfully subverts it. As long as it allows for other voices to be heard by creating those pocket communities, the parody is working correctly.
Unfortunately some people are either stupid or sensationalist and take parody seriously, allowing the creation and sustainability of the entities like the Fox network.
@ Abby. Have you ever been to Provo, UT? As a non-mormon living in Utah I have to disagree with you. You can't be a feminist and believe in a religion that segregates women the way mormons do. You can call yourself a feminist the day I see you out at Temple Square with a cardboard sign demanding women are considered for the next Prophet or Quorum of 12 opening.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it's very easy to write a comic book making fun of other people's religious entities. Write a satirical comicbook about the Prophet?
My comment is above, it wouldn't let me post through my google account. I stand by my opinion and would never not want to have my name attached to it.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Ana :)
This comment isn't related to the above post (sorry). First of all let me just say I love Teenagerie. The posts are all on worthwhile subjects, and what you have to say is always really interesting. However, your blog really doesn't do what it says in the tin. It is supposed to be a blog about how the media represents adolescents, but the majority of posts you have written are about feminism... which is great, I just find your description a little misleading. Have you thought about (a) writing a little more on the subject of being a teenager, or (b) changing the name and description of the blog?
ReplyDeleteOne of my friends showed me this site when we were talking about teen psychology, and since we're both Mormons we thought it was very interesting that you happened to post about us.
ReplyDeleteThere's a common phrase around here: "Be in the world, not of it" -- so have joy in this life but don't get caught up in the world's ways. Personally I'm not really sure what song this is making fun of (probably because I'm in my 30s and my kids aren't that into pop music) but I did think the parody on some Provo girls was pretty funny.
Obviously it's just a caricature of reality, but I think the exaggeration does help some of us recognize the grain of truth behind it, if that makes sense. I was much more like these girls than I would care to admit. :-p
Figured out this was a parody of a Katie Perry song. I'm not a fan of her at all because (at least of her songs I have heard) she seems to perpetuate the idea that a girl's value is determined by her sexuality.
ReplyDeleteHi Jamie, I'm late to the party, but I've been writing a piece about Mormon style bloggers, and my biases against Mormons not being pop culture-savvy have been completely obliterated. It's true that Mormons have quirks and hold modesty to the highest regard, but many of them are insanely cutting edge. With every new blog I read, I feel a little more dorky and out-of-the-loop. The Internet is a great place to not only learn about other cultures, but also to smash our assumptions about them.
ReplyDeletelove ur blog! <3
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