MetaFilter posts tagged with Religion and media

The Bully Pulpit

zarq — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 09:54:30 -0800

Late last month, after vocally anti-gay evangelical author and blogger Jonathan Merritt's essay defending Chick-Fil-A appeared in The Atlantic, Azariah Southworth outed Merritt on his blog. An interview with Merritt about his sexual orientation. Follow-up column from Southworth: Why I outed a Christian star. Southworth is the former host and producer of The Remix, a once-popular Christian reality TV show, which was pulled from the airwaves back in 2008 after he came out. Jonathan Merritt is the son of Dr. James Merritt, former President of the Southern Baptist Convention. "Outing" public figures as gay or lesbian (who hide their sexual orientation, typically out of fear of homophobia) without their permission is not a new practice, but it remains controversial. The term "outing" gained prominence in March 1990 after Michaelangelo "Mike" Signorile wrote a cover story for the now-defunct magazine Outweek: "The Secret Gay Life of Malcolm Forbes." (pdf of that issue here, archive of Outweek's entire run, here.) Profile of Signorile from June 1990. In 2007, he wrote about the Forbes story. Throughout his career, Signorile has outed many celebrities and public figures, and was likely one of the first to do so as a form of pro-gay political activism, by outing those whose rhetoric or political policies were anti-LGBT. In 2009, a documentary by Kirby Dick called Outrage was released. (Previously.) It's available in its entirety on YouTube in nine parts. English, with Portuguese subtitles. The movie outed a number of closeted gay politicians who create or vote for discriminatory, anti-LGBT legislation. NPR's review of the film was censored prior to press, to remove the names of three politicians. For American media, there is no industry-wide standard regarding the ethics of outing. Back in 2010, a panel discussion about outing public figures was held during the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association's 20th annual national convention in San Francisco. Signorile was one of the panel members.

And Shopping. Always Shopping.

The Whelk — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 14:24:31 -0800

Propaganda - A film alledged to be from North Korea about the excess of Western decadance and public relations propaganda - hits Youtube (1:35:52)

This is not an uplifting post. You have been warned.

The Whelk — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 09:02:38 -0800

Well, to put it simply, The Big plan is the same as the immediate plan: they want you dead. It’s not that they want to kill opposition; they want to kill the opposition, literally. This country ain’t big enough for the both of you, and they have everything to lose. And they have guns. And the media. And all the keys of power. And you want to overthrow them. How do you think they will react to that? Give you cookies? - an on the ground report of what's going on in Egypt now from a blogger turned parliamentary candidate.

Photographic Immortality

zarq — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 09:35:00 -0800

The Burns Archive is a collection of over 700,000 historical photographs that document disturbing subject matter: obsolete medical practices and experiments, death, disease, disasters, crime, revolutions, riots and war. Newsweek posted a select gallery this past October, as well as a video interview and walk-through with curator and collector Dr. Stanley B. Burns, a New York opthalmologist. (Via) (Content at links may be disturbing to some.) Blog, which notes that an exhibition of photos, "Sleeping Beauties" is currently being shown at the Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery in Baltimore. Books with photos from the collection: * Sleeping Beauty II: Grief, Bereavement in Memorial Photography American and European Traditions * News Art: Manipulated Photographs from the Burns Archive * Deadly Intent: Crime & Punishment Photographs from the Burns Archive * Geisha: A Photographic History, 1872-1912

The Hitchhiker's Guide to Humanity

Rhaomi — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 11:00:08 -0800

Everybody knows TVTropes is the best and most time-killing-est way to learn about the clichés and archetypes that permeate modern media. But dear reader, there is so much more. Enter Useful Notes. Originally created as a place for tropers to pool factual information as a writing aid, the subsite has quietly grown into a small wiki of its own -- a compendium of crowdsourced wisdom on a staggering array of topics, all written in the site's signature brand of lighthearted snark. Though it reads like an irreverent and informal Wikipedia, its articles act as genuinely useful primers to complex and obscure topics alike, all in service of the project's five goals: "To debunk common media stereotypes; to help you understand some media better; to educate, inform and sometimes entertain; to promote peace and understanding (maybe); and... to facilitate world domination." Sounds about right. Click inside for bountiful highlights... if you dare. [note: not all articles are hosted in the /UsefulNotes/ subfolder, but all grew out of the original page and are indexed there. If you find any material that's messy, weak, or inaccurate, remember: it's a wiki!] Main UsefulNotes Index A small sampling from the major categories: Geography: (including detailed subcategories for most major nations) The Americas - Europe - Asia - Africa - Oceania - Major World Cities

Excerpts from an example subcategory: The United States: "The general feeling among Americans about these parties is that one of them is evil, and the other is incompetent. Which is which depends on whom you ask. " Main Index - American Political System - U.S. Presidents - U.S. States - U.S. Military - Legal System - Educational System - Newspapers - Holidays - Weights and Measures - Accents Other major national pages: Canada - Mexico - Brazil - United Kingdom - Germany - France - Spain - Italy - Russia - South Africa - India - China - Japan - Indonesia - Australia

Media: Mainstream Media - Video Games - Subcultures - Irony - Heavy Metal - History of Hollywood - History of Animation - The 50 Greatest Cartoons History: Classical Mythology - Trojan War - Pre-Columbian Civilizations - Economics - American Revolution - Russian Revolution - Cold War - Arab-Israeli Conflict - World War II - 1950s - 1990s Famous People: William Shakespeare - The 47 Ronin - Marie Antoinette - Mark Twain - Theodore Roosevelt - Adolf Hitler - Albert Einstein - Joseph Stalin - Barack Obama Military: Militaries by Nation - Nuclear Weapons - Naval Warfare - Military Aviation - Modern Battlefield Weapons - The Laws of War Religion: Christianity - Islam - Buddhism - Hinduism - Judaism - Atheism - Gnosticism Sports: Football - Baseball - Basketball - Soccer (And that's just scratching the surface...)

It is available through churches and at Wal-Marts....

squalor — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:27:02 -0800

“They are brands that may not be considered cool by the often elitist and self-absorbed standards of New York media,” she said. She had taken a car from Manhattan that morning, and wore a pink wool shirt-dress, patent leather Manolo Blahnik heels, and diamond hoop earrings.

Reader's Digest jumps the shark. (NYT)

Moyers interviews Wright

homunculus — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:23:20 -0800

Bill Moyers interviews the Reverend Jeremiah Wright in his first broadcast interview with a journalist since he became embroiled in a controversy for his remarks and his relationship with Barack Obama Previous post about Wright.

Leave Jesus Alone!

homunculus — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 00:05:30 -0800

Leave Jesus Alone !

...the emancipation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from bigotry disguised as religious truth ...

amberglow — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 15:40:02 -0800

Faith In America asks a simple question: Is using religious teachings to deny equal rights to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people any less wrong than using religious teaching to discriminate against people of color, against equality for women or against people of different cultures wanting to marry? (check their ad campaign too--some great ones) Meanwhile, clueless elected officials like Barack Obama continue to buy into the GOP lies that all people with faith are conservatives/Republicans, and that Democrats are hostile to people with religious beliefs.

Behind the microphone...

wyldeboi — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 11:50:58 -0800

CSN has been called the Clear Channel of the low power FM's. One of the many broadcasting arms of Calvary Chapel. It owns and operates over 400 stations. Apparently its board, consisting of two members, is about to self destruct. But the story doesn't end there. Its president is being accused of sexual harassment and is also being accused of defaulting on a million dollar loan. The loan came from Calvary Chapel founder and Pastor, Chuck Smith, who has a history with the guy. CSN's president wants the board dissolved but that could be a problem. By some accounts, next in line to head the board is one Pastor Skip Heltzig, who seems to be involved in a bit of a scandal of his own. Church defenders say the troubles are private matters, critics say the movement has a history of covering things up. (Some links are .pdf)

...resources that could prove pivotal to understanding and better contending the central struggles of our time are underutilized ...

amberglow — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 08:03:02 -0800

Talk To Action and Mother Jones mag team up for e-conference tomorrow: ...a day of thoughtful reflections on, and vigorous discussion of the role of religion and government -- as intended by the framers of the constitution, and the situation we face today. (MoJo's December issue is all about the role of religion and government, including this on Reconstructionists: A Nation Under God.) New and old media officially collaborating to highlight specific issues and futher debate--a first?

Spengler

IndigoJones — Sat, 14 May 2005 11:00:50 -0800

Spengler of the Asia Times. Right-headed, wrong-headed, at times off-headed, but always interesting. You can spend a lot of time wading through the archives. The fellow, anonymous for whatever reason, has written on US/China trade, Ratzinger as a dark age theologian, the American empire , how Europe might be re-Christianized, US vs Islam, religion vs philosphy, Tolkien vs Wagner, internet stocks , and anti-semitism. A bit of something for everyone. Also runs a lively little forum.

Air Jesus

gsb — Fri, 11 Mar 2005 05:05:57 -0800

With The Evangelical Air Force. "The NRB's influence was best summarized by its new CEO, Frank Wright, who, in describing a recent lobbying excursion to Capitol Hill, said, "We got into rooms we've never been in before. We got down on the floor of the Senate and prayed over Hillary Clinton's desk." I think this is quite funny, not tragic. There's an interview with the author over here [MP3].

Perverted, God-Hating Frenchies vs. Inbred, Sex-Obsessed Yokels

geekyguy — Sun, 23 Jan 2005 20:23:49 -0800

Perverted, God-Hating Frenchies vs. Inbred, Sex-Obsessed Yokels
Truth About Liberals #1: They're Just As Moral As Conservatives
Truth About Conservatives #1: They're Just As Smart As Liberals
An interesting article on the role of faith by Steven Waldman that exposes 'moral values' as not being the sole domain of either side while pointing out that the media continues to polarize by playing tempest. Via Speaking of Faith on NPR.

Religion, Government, and Media

LinemanBear — Tue, 12 Feb 2002 13:07:19 -0800

Religion, Government, and Media When all three are combined, as in Saudi Arabia, you get interesting newspaper articles. It would seem very strange to have a mainstream paper such as the New York Times having a section like this.

National Review Cans Columnist Ann Coulter

terrapin — Tue, 02 Oct 2001 07:26:55 -0800

National Review Cans Columnist Ann Coulter as a contributing editor after her call to "invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity." For a person who makes a living out of being as obnoxious, partisan and mean as she can be will this do anything but put her in the spotlight and help her career? The way she has slammed the National Review since her axing seems to indicate this will be the case. And she's already blaming the "liberal" media and the "anti-Christian bigots."