The following is part of a wonderful post from last week by fellow blogger Brian Cromer. Whatever your religious beliefs, or even if you don’t have any, this is definitely a post that will give you food for thought, as well as a potential debate starter: do we inspire pop culture, or should pop culture inspire us?
Can we please start to set trends?
I have noticed a cultural trend that disturbs me greatly.
How many have you seen a “Christian” copy of something that has already been successful in pop culture? You know, when something becomes very popular or successful in culture and then Christians come right behind that product and make a “Christian” version of that thing. I have got to be honest here…that drives me absolutely crazy. Here are some specific examples:
MYSPACE/GODSPACE
Around 2005 MYSPACE.COM started becoming the most popular social networking website. After the website exploded in popularity, some people launched GODSPACE.COM, which is a social networking website (just like myspace) for believers. The godspace home page states, “Godspace is the only social networking website for believers of all faiths. At Godspace you can discuss all aspects of religion, gain new insights, and share your opinions with others that are passionate about their beliefs.”
(…)
Now, I have no problem with these products themselves. I do have a problem with Christians sitting back, relaxing, and waiting for pop culture to set the trends and produce great products that Christians can merely copy with a Christian twist. Can Christians please start setting the trends in pop culture instead of ripping off the ideas from the secular world? Can we not be creative? Can we not be original?
Read the rest of the post here.
[…] the rest of this great post here […]
That’s actually how I always felt regarding Baha’i music. I keep hearing this rehashed, unoriginal stuff that’s just trying to be a carbon copy of something mainstream, and it bothers me to no end because I know how much potential there is for truly original music to be made by Baha’is.
The other interesting thing is that often, things like YouTube etc start as the creation of one or two people, then are bought up by companies. So the potential to create something with the scope of popularity of YouTube etc is within our grasp.