{"id":76468,"date":"2010-08-24T13:56:57","date_gmt":"2010-08-24T20:56:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lookingcloser.org\/?p=76468"},"modified":"2012-10-04T17:51:01","modified_gmt":"2012-10-04T23:51:01","slug":"ask-me-anything-8242010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lookingcloser\/2010\/08\/ask-me-anything-8242010\/","title":{"rendered":"Ask Me Anything – Toy Story 3, Inception, “Hipsters”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

On my new Tumblr site<\/a>, there\u2019s a feature called \u201cAsk Me Anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nobody ever uses it.<\/p>\n

And yet here at LookingCloser.org, people ask me things all the time.<\/p>\n

So, I figure I\u2019d better answer the questions where they\u2019re being asked.<\/p>\n

And in this new, recurring \u201cAsk Me Anything\u201d series, I\u2019ll often consolidate questions for the sake of convenience.<\/p>\n

Like this question, which has come up frequently both here and on Facebook:<\/p>\n

Q: When will you review Toy Story 3<\/em>?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

A:<\/h3>\n

I\u2019ll review Toy Story 3<\/em> when I have time to write a review, and when I think of something to say about it that, to my knowledge, hasn\u2019t already been written. Did I love it? Oh yes. Was it the best Toy Story<\/em> movie ever? No, but it was still fantastic. I can\u2019t think of another American-made trilogy that is as consistently awesome as this one.<\/p>\n

Q: What did you think of Inception<\/em>?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A:<\/h3>\n

Check my review archive. I wrote a two-part review<\/a>, which was published at Image<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Q: Is there another book in The Auralia Thread and when is it coming out?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A:<\/h3>\n

I\u2019ve been surprised by how many people want to know this. Raven\u2019s Ladder<\/em> ends with some rather severe cliffhangers. Did anybody really think that was the end of the series? Yes, there\u2019s one more on the way. The Ale Boy\u2019s Feast<\/em> arrives in March 2011, if all goes according to plan.<\/p>\n

Q: Will you be reviewing the book Hipster Christianity<\/em>?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

No, not until I\u2019ve read the book.<\/p>\n

But since I\u2019ve seen so much online marketing for the book, and since I\u2019ve read excerpts, and since somebody at Gospel.com asked me to respond, I\u2019ll share here what I posted there.<\/p>\n

The question there was this: Do you think Christian hipster-ism is a dangerous trend?<\/em><\/p>\n

I should have responded with this:<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t understand the question. Define \u201chipster.\u201d Define \u201cdangerous.\u201d Define \u201ctrend.\u201d If by \u201chip\u201d you mean \u201ccool,\u201d well, what do you mean by \u201cChristian hipster\u201d? A Christian seeking to adopt the cultural idea of cool? Or a Christian seeking to be cool among fellow Christians? Do you mean \u201cdangerous\u201d to the church? To other Christians? To culture? To themselves? By \u201ctrend\u201d, do you mean to assume it *is* a trend? What is your evidence? Do you mean in recent months? Years? Decades?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But I didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Since I think the definition of the word \u201chipster\u201d is very vague, I found it difficult to respond. But here is what I posted (in a hurry):<\/p>\n

Is \u201chipster Christianity\u201d a dangerous trend? I think it\u2019s as risk-prone, and trendy, as any movement to resist, avoid, or condemn the \u201ccult of cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

I think youth of every generation, in their enthusiasm and eagerness to develop their own generational community, and in their concerns about peer pressure and status and acceptance, embrace \u201ccool\u201d just like any other social group. The ever-changing landscape of \u201ccool,\u201d impossible as it is to define, is fraught with pitfalls, and full of wonderful surprises. That\u2019s true for Christians\u2026 and the rest of the world.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t see the embrace of \u201ccool\u201d among Christians as an increasing trend. I don\u2019t know how to measure such a thing. Looking back at the pop culture paraphernalia of my parents\u2019 generation, I see that some Christians were busy making cheap ripoffs of what was cool back then, and that some were just embracing cultural trends. Some savored \u201cthe taste of new wine\u201d in a desire for what was \u201creal\u201d\u2026 while others savored it because it was an excuse to indulge.<\/p>\n

Nothing new there.<\/p>\n

In the same way, some embraced the Reformation because they sensed a new opportunity for a deeper engagement with the Scriptures, while others embraced because it was an opportunity to lash out at authority. Were they all hipsters? Or just some of them? Does it matter? Is the term useful?<\/p>\n

As long as I\u2019ve been in churches (since I was a kid), I\u2019ve seen churches occasionally embarrassing themselves in attempts to market the Gospel. Since long before I became a teenager myself, I saw kids striking poses and accessorizing in a desire to be cool. And, since long before I noticed dishonest marketing techniques in Christian publishing, I\u2019ve seen Christian communities and organizations stooping to promote themselves in trendy, superficial, \u201cworldly\u201d ways. How is this news?<\/p>\n

I haven\u2019t had time to read it all yet, so this isn\u2019t a review. But the \u201chipster\u201d characteristics described in the excerpts of this book I\u2019ve read so far \u2014 the music preferences, the styles, etc \u2014 are embraced by many people I know for many reasons, many of them sincere, authentic, even admirable. To slap a label on the lot of them as if they\u2019re all alike is, I\u2019m afraid, misleading and damaging.<\/p>\n

For example, I know that many churches are showing and discussing movies simply because they aren\u2019t crippled by the societal fears and the separatist instincts that hurt so many churches I observed. They\u2019re engaging in a meaningful discussion of the stories being told by, and about, our times, our culture, our history, our hopes. Others may, perhaps, merely show R-rated films to look \u201cedgy\u201d\u2026 but I haven\u2019t encountered that yet.<\/p>\n

And I know that some of the titles McCracken singles out (like Lauren Winner\u2019s book) are meaningful, thoughtful publications. To say that putting \u201csex\u201d in the title is a brash attempt to achieve \u201ccool\u201d is quite a rash judgment, I think. (We might as well criticize those who established the Biblical canon for including The Song of Solomon, as if they were attempting to give the Scriptures street cred.)<\/p>\n

I must say that I\u2019ve been a fan of McCracken\u2019s film reviews \u2013 his own prolific work exploring the meaningfulness of art and pop culture \u2013 for quite a while. I read all of his reviews at CT Movies, and I look forward to what he writes in the future.<\/p>\n

But while I share his dismay over the occasionally embarrassing, fumbling attempts of some Christians leaders to appear cool, and the occasionally atrocious consumer-driven ventures Christians carry out in Christ\u2019s name (http:\/\/www.fuzzycross.com , anyone?)\u2026 I think that a healthy Christian community will be deeply involved in the vocabulary and art of its culture. Instead of censoring, they\u2019ll shine bright lights on the details of their culture, exposing the truth of it: both the diseases in it, and the surprising glories. That\u2019s not \u201cselling out.\u201d It\u2019s a way of living in the belief that God is alive and involved and moving in the lives, trends, traditions, and expressions of our culture.<\/p>\n

I have a great dislike for labels that contribute to the ways in which we divide ourselves into camps, make gross generalizations, dismiss each other, and marginalize each other.<\/p>\n

A fellow I know who is continually striving to divorce himself and his community from all of the trappings of \u201csecular culture\u201d has embraced this new term \u201cChristian hipsters.\u201d He is suddenly using it a lot, with great condescension, clearly enjoying this convenient way to criticize and dismiss pretty much all Christian youth who are interested in the culture around them. (For example, he sneers at Christians who admire the music and activism of the band U2 as if they\u2019re all idolators. According to him, if something is popular with non-Christians, than it\u2019s a worrying sign if Christians like it too.)<\/p>\n

(And yet, he watches pro football.)<\/p>\n

While it can be helpful to recognize and consider trends, I think it\u2019s a good idea to think about the consequences of the names we pin on people, and to consider whether our vocabulary is contributing to the divisions within an already fractured, already divided church, or if we\u2019re presenting a vision that will encourage humility and transformation.<\/p>\n

We *should* think about our decisions, and whether we\u2019re making choices for the sake of ego or the sake of Christ. And I have no doubt that there are teenagers who are too worried about \u201ccool\u201d and not worried enough about truth.<\/p>\n

But to start telling us how to recognize these folks based on what\u2019s on their iPod? That might be very misleading. Better to deepen the discussion about motivations, fruitful cultural engagement, and lessons learned in the history of the church, than to give us checklists by which we can recognize those among us who are probably superficial.<\/p>\n

(Has anyone commented on the extremely \u201chip\u201d style of the \u201cHipster Christianity\u201d book cover and marketing plan, and how it draws attention to the author\u2019s work by embracing and employing mainstream marketing trends? I\u2019m not saying that\u2019s wrong. I\u2019m asking if there is any irony in the fact that a book criticizing \u201chipsterdom\u201d might appear to be presenting itself in a method that is about as hip and attention-grabbing as they come. My compliments to the designers. Seriously. That book practically leaps off the shelf at me.)<\/p>\n

If I see an online quiz that claims to show me whether or not I am a \u201cChristian hipster,\u201d I\u2019m going to ignore it. I don\u2019t believe a checklist can tell me what I am, why I make the decisions I do, or whether or not I am selling out. It will probably only *encourage* me to look to such surveys for self-definition, to worry about what I *look* like to the culture around me.<\/p>\n

Personally, I love the vibrant, exciting, ever-changing landscape of art, style, and pop culture, and how it expresses the longings, heartaches, discoveries, and passions of the world around me. I love a lot of the music that\u2019s been recently flagged with \u201cHipster Alert\u201d warnings; and I love a lot of other things besides. If you want to trouble yourself with whether or not that makes me a \u201chipster,\u201d that\u2019s your deal. Frederic Buechner says that the world speaks of the holy in the only language it knows, which is a worldly language. That\u2019s a language I want to understand, and I\u2019m going to go on being \u201cbilingual,\u201d if you will, so I can love my neighbor, and so I can hear God when he speaks in that language.<\/p>\n

In summary, I am pleased that the subject of Christianity and \u201ccool\u201d is on the table for discussion. I hope it encourages all of us to think about our choices, our sincerity, and our priorities. I share McCracken\u2019s concerns about that, and I mean to go on reading him, as I have for years. But I have concerns about the \u201chow\u201d and the \u201cstuff\u201d of this discussion. I hope it leads us to a place of greater unity, and greater apprehension of God\u2019s work in the world around us\u2026 even the world of pop culture, art, style, and \u201ccool.\u201d<\/p>\n

I pray that, by God\u2019s grace, these hastily offered words don\u2019t lead to any hurt feelings or misunderstanding.<\/p>\n

Sincerely,
\nJeffrey Overstreet
\n(who was born with a long list of characteristics that guaranteed him
\na life of un-coolness)
\nhttp:\/\/lookingcloser.org<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For further reading on this question, see David Sessions\u2019 review at Patrol<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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