Most scholars agree that Jesus of Nazareth did in fact exist. Christ's message promoted the values of: charity, faith, compassion, and virtue. Christ also established the notion that a personal relationship with god could be achieved by everyone without a intermediary such as a priest or idol. His teachings inspired the teachings of countless christian religions, and has defined spirituality in the western world for the last two thousand years. For this reason Christ serves as an interesting study as both a historical figure, and religious. Christ is many different things to many different people, he is both a symbol of institutionalized worship, and personal savior to many. For this reason analyzing the Christ figure in the digital age raises new questions on the role of Christ in the modern era. Is Christ's message bastardized through the lens of new media? Or does new media only allow Christ's message to me more tailored, and personalized to the individual--perhaps the way he intended it to be.
Manovich principles:
Variability will be a big one.
Transcoding could be interesting
As well as automation.
I absolutely think today's digital era enhances Jesus' fundamental messages of love, charity, kindness, etc. I think even the most rigid Christian individuals would appreciate how digital tools are able to reach audiences across the world in order to share these messages. You've raised some interesting points...I'm excited to see your site!
ReplyDeleteI actually think digital media has probably had both effects on the Christ figure, bastardized and tailored the message. I think with every good comes an equal opposite, and you could find either message today; whereas, before there was a pretty common message carefully portrayed through a priest or idol. Interesting!
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