Though their ideals often do not reflect those of the greater American public, Mormons are not immune to the trends of modern society. In an attempt to remain culturally relevant while also upholding the values of their religion, the Mormon community has transformed mainstream ideas to fit with their morals. As the Mormon community has grown in number and increasingly spread across the country, it has become more susceptible to the effects of mainstream society. While Mormons are not “in a headlong drive toward cultural assimilation” (Riess 4), they have certainly been influenced by cultural factors present in the rest of America.
Many of these influences have been manifested in various forms of kitsch. T-shirts, posters, jewelry, and films have all been produced by Mormons and marketed toward the Mormon community. While the actual products and slogans have been adopted from the rest of the country, the Latter-Day Saints have molded this merchandise to purport their beliefs. Symbols such as the Nike swoosh, the Calvin Klein typeface, and the Hard Rock Café logo have all been transformed to depict some LDS emblem or teaching. Ideas such as female domesticity, male financial responsibility, abstinence, and other Mormon teachings are emphasized by the different product lines that have been marketed towards this faith based community. However, these products that have been adapted from mainstream culture often carry connotations that do not correlate with the beliefs of the Church. So while utilizing the CK font (a brand which uses racy and sexual advertising to market underwear) to advertise CTR rings (“Choose the Right” rings worn by many young Mormons to often represent chastity and dedication to the faith) may on one hand show that Mormons are attempting to fuse their beliefs with cultural symbols that have influenced many of the young church members, it also represents a certain level of confusion as to the role of Mormonism and its conservative values in a decidedly less traditional modern-day America.
The Mormon struggle to define their place in today’s society is one which every faith and general group of people faces. In a consumer world driven by flashy advertisements, racy television, and controversial celebrities, any group of people who attempts to define themselves by a strict set of morals is sure to find barriers in integrating into this culture.
1-What does the Mormon utilization of mainstream memes (such as Nike or Calvin Klein symbols) indicate about their perception of these symbols in society? What does it say about the way Mormons view themselves as a niche group of the greater United States community?
2-Mormons struggle to identify with popular culture seems to contradict areas of their history in which they have shunned modern society all together and advocated their independence and separation from it. How do you feel about the evolution of their beliefs, and what do you think has caused this change? Does it make sense in the context of having an ever expanding range of followers, or does it represent a more softened and less dedicated community of Latter-Day Saints?
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Although Latter-day Saint kitsch does evince an underlying conflict between modernization and theology, it also aptly demonstrates today’s Mormon’s devotion to their faith. In her paper, Reiss mentions the Mormon “subculture” having “arrived” within mainstream American (Reiss, 9). She attributes the prolificacy of their religious paraphernalia to a desire to physically prove that their people are just as culturally developed. Reiss suggests that this necessity to assert their spot in modern society puts Saints at odds with their religious beliefs. While this is definitely true because many Mormon beliefs clash directly with current societal practices, I believe that it also demonstrates an extreme devotion to their faith and unity. Instead of conforming to mainstream ideals and practicing their religion in the home, Saints create items that announce their beliefs to the rest of the world; I think that we could view all of these products as a way for Mormons to subtly advertise their beliefs. Even though parts of this trend might detract from Latter-day Saint piety, this manner of demonstrating loyalty to the Church, to God and to themselves is an intelligent way for them to maintain devotion proudly in a day and age where running from the law with multiple wives isn’t quite feasible.
ReplyDelete- The utilization of the mainstream symbols such as Nike and Calvin Klein indicate that Mormons perceive that these companies play a huge part in society. Although this utilization of symbols seems to contradict Mormon values, I don’t think that’s the case at all. I don’t think that just because Mormons utilize the Calvin Klein symbol, Mormons support the racy advertising Calvin Klein employs. Instead, I think the reason why they utilize these symbols is that they realize the popularity of these companies. Using the popularity of the companies’ symbols and their beliefs, I think they are able to attract a younger group of people. The fact that they use mainstream icons for their beliefs shows that Mormons believe that they are still unique in their values and beliefs. But, at the same time, they are somewhat integrated in society and they will continue to become more integrated. Essentially, these symbols show “a desire to be accepted into the larger culture, but on Mormon terms. (Riess)”
ReplyDeleteI agree with Maggie that Mormon kitsch’s manipulation of popular imagery to accommodate Latter-day Saints theology is a tangible demonstration that the Mormons have “arrived” in American culture. I also want to take her assertion that LDS kitsch is a demonstration of Mormon cultural development farther; I believe that LDS kitsch is a demonstration of the Mormons’ cultural relevance. Mormonism has expanded its influence in the American context and now encroaches on the national consciousness. The fact that Mormonism has the power to “borrow, and subtly change, symbols from the larger culture” implies the religion has the ability to impact American society; therefore, Mormonism is culturally relevant (Riess 4). By incorporating its values into the realm of advertising, Mormonism is asserting its developing and expanding place in American society.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Maggie and Jacob assessments of the utilization by the Church of popular symbols. I also believe that the use of popular symbols, such as the Nike Swoosh, by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reveals that the Mormon faith community fully realizes that they cannot completely isolate themselves from the negative influences of mainstream society. Certainly in the beginning of their faith, particularly when they traveled to remote Utah, the Saints could control which cultural norms penetrated the boundaries of their religious community. However, as the Mormon faith grew, developed, and spread, this became less true. By the late 19th century, as evidenced in the polygamy debate, the Mormons had to cope with external cultural and social forces that clashed with their established ideals. Today, the Mormons have expanded their church worldwide, and the Church’s adherents certainly are exposed to a variety of mainstream ideals, ideas, and trends that promote, among other behaviors that the Church condemns, sexual promiscuity, women’s liberation, and interracial dating.
ReplyDeleteThe Mormons cannot change that they are exposed to these behaviors and ideas of American culture through popular symbols; however, they can change the messages that the symbols evoke. It is quite interesting how the Church did not change to reflect the potentially negative values and ideals of mainstream society mirrored in these symbols but rather that the Church changed the meaning and the significance of these symbols to reflect their own values and ideas. The Mormon faith community took these icons which originally were “at odds with stated Mormon values such as chastity and modesty” and modified them to reflect their beliefs of appropriate behavior and thought (Reiss). In my Gender and Language class we discussed how this practice occurs everyday with names: derogatory names can be changed (by the victims or receivers of the negative labeling) to reflect positive qualities. Moreover, this process is part of how we create our identity, differentiating ourselves from other people.
The latter half of Lauren's comment is very interesting when she notes how Mormons may "change the messages that the symbols evoke" by rebranding Hard Rock Cafe's name to "hard work all day". I think that when Mormons mimic popular brands or symbols they may be doing so deliberately to make people notice. They use a vehicle which is already readily accepted (the ubiquitous Hard Rock Cafe logo or the Calvin Klein font) but they put a spin on it by changing the message to a move conservative one. By doing this the Mormons show that outside world that they are culturally relevant but they also grab the world's attention with recognizable symbols (pulling them in) and change the message to one more in line with LDS culture and theology. This is a sort of bait-and-switch that brings visability to the LDS. Furthermore by using these well known symbols the LDS may be trying to signal to potential converts all over the world that the Church is "hip" and well in tune with all things "American". I think that the LDS Church elders may recognize this value in using popular symbols and it is for this reason that they do not more heavily regulate products associated with the Church.
ReplyDeleteI think that the Mormon religion utilizes certain aspects of popular culture because it helps the religion appear relevant. As the Mormon religion adopts more and more mainstream and developed technologies, popular culture is at the follower’s fingertips. Instead of letting these outside influences potentially have a negative impact on the Mormon community, LDS leaders have put a religious spin on these mainstream marketing ideas and employed the same marketing techniques any firm would use to promote religious values instead. I see this as very clever and, evidently, it is working just the way they had hoped. I believe the creation of Mormon action figures takes this tactic a bit too far. In my opinion, action figures are connected with violence. To use such sacred religious persons as a model for action figures seems to send a mixed message to young followers.
ReplyDeleteIt appears that the acceptance of popular culture inspired items in the Mormon society is in contrast with previous Mormon sentiment. For its first century in existence, the Mormon faith was secluded from the rest of Americans and tried to be as distinct as possible from the 'American lifestyle'. With the development of Mormon "kitch" demonstrates a new take on popular culture by the Mormons. I agree with Ellie that the popular culture references are made to make the religion seem more relevant in today's world. Mormon leaders have identified that they need to keep up with popular culture themes or else risk losing followers into mainstream society.
ReplyDeleteI found Riess' point on gender roles defined and supported through certain items to be very interesting. The two posters, one for boys and one for girls, delineate the differences between the genders, as expressed by the religion. By providing such supports, the Church gives young men and women an ideal to strive for that is within the expectations of the Church community.
In my opinion, Mormons utilize mainstream memorabilia in order to promote the beliefs and values of their faith and use these items to fuse their traditional beliefs into everyday life, especially in a society that is highly influenced by pop culture. Mormons have realized the distinctions amongst themselves concerning their cultural and religious values in life, particularly amongst their adolescents in the American society, and have utilized this means of merging their core beliefs with the stereotypical American culture and popular objects in society.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I do not agree with the fact that Mormons have struggled to identify with pop culture or shun modern society considering the fact that the emergence of their faith heavily depended on what was considered popular culture during the time. The fact that Joseph Smith made claims to discovering hieroglyphic rocks and translating them and that the rocks helped spread God’s word is a perfect of example of how Mormons used popular artifacts in order to spread the beliefs that they possessed considering that hidden treasures and hieroglyphics were a hot commodity at the time.