Carrie Underwood - Jesus, Take The Wheel

I find it compelling that Carrie Underwood's "Jesus Take The Wheel" video, which not only was an 2006 award winning song/video and Billboard top hit for her, while appealing, provokes hidden anxieties of people and exploits examples of day to day crisis's. Through the uses of Jesus/Christian ideals, values and precepts as a vehicle for her country genre, Jesus is once again commodified with the careful marketing strategies of the music media realm. Both Justin Beiber's "Pray" video and Underwood's video force and/or manipulate their respective audiences emotions to take in the kid/girl next door look which keeps the window open to "others" that are beyond their traditional genres.Through many of the readings assigned for this course thus far, our readings call us to form an opinion or judgement on how and where we stand within the boundaries of popular culture and faith. Music, art and literature surround both the rich history of Christianity and how popular culture has evolved, yet its imagery lures us in to commodify everything we can to re-live the emotion tied to our popular culture experiences/icons. 

In class we saw the different images/pictures of Jesus presented to us and if we think that this does impact us in how we perceive Jesus and Christianity, than we need to think back of how these images were collected in the first place. This video acts like one of those Christian tracks handed out to invite people to participate in the Christian faith but falls short to actually include a image of Jesus in the video, just a narrative. 

More importantly I have to respect the fact that Underwood does not have to seduce her audience with lewd, revealing or "offensive" sexual controversy in her videos and keeps her personality true to her roots. I have seen in Tyler Perry's Madea movie series, where in using the character "Cora", and other media spaces, people saying, "what would Jesus do?", but in all honesty " What does Jesus think of having his images, pictures and precepts used without being paid any royalties like Underwood and Bieber are for employing His unpatented lifestyle? Where do you, me and others draw the or a line in the sand to the access to our vulnerable emotions that we so loosely carry in our handbags? 

This is where I question media marketing strategies even more so when videos like Underwood's give the okay to capitalize on Jesus' narrative and being, "sold like Gaga's image of Judas", but to abstain from presenting a Jesus Christ image within Underwood's video. Buying into that kind of controversy may surely be bought for a price can't it? Look at the industry that has been built around scholarly critiquing of Christianity as a niche market and then add media to the mix.....why has been this boundary been invisibly placed? John Locke's philanthropy and freedom theology may have limits to what is consumed in the American cultural sphere. But what does Jesus think?


Sources:


Perry, Tyler. Tyler Perry Website. Tyler Perry Studios. 2012. February 14, 2012. http://www.tylerperry.com/

Underwood, Carrie. Carrie Underwood Fan Website. Sony Music Entertainment. 2012. February 14, 2012.http://www.carrieunderwoodofficial.com/ca.