I am currently reading a book by Gillian Rose called Visual Methodologies: An Introduction to the Interpretation of Visual Materials. According to Rose there are “three sites at which the meanings of an image are made: the site(s) of the production of an image, the site of the image itself, and the site(s) where it is seen by various audiences.” (13) Moreover Rose argues that each of the above mentioned sites has three different modalities all of which can lead to critical insight(s) for understanding images. The three modalities are outlined by Rose as follows:
· technological. Mirzoeff … defines a visual technology as ‘any form of apparatus designed either to be looked at or to enhance natural vision, from oil paintings to television and the Internet’.
· compositional. Compositionality refers to the specific material qualities of an image or visual object. When an image is made, it draws on a number of formal strategies: content, colour and spatial organization, for example. [….]
· social. This is very much a shorthand term. What I mean it to refer to are the range of economic, social and political relations, institutions and practices that surround an image and through which it is seen and used.” (13)
Instead of exhaustively reviewing highlights from the book, I decided to apply some of the insights I gained from the book to the video below where Trish teaches people how to fish (alluding to what Jesus said to his disciples – I will make you fishers of men). Check out the video:
Before I try to apply some of the insights from the book and try to arrive at a critical understanding of the images / video, I want to highlight Trish’s passion for sharing the good news about Jesus Christ. Her passion for sharing the Gospel probably makes most of us pale in comparison. I’ve heard countless times of how God has worked through an evangelistic track in a person’s life. Not only is Trish passionate about sharing the Gospel, but also about giving other Christians tips on how to do so as well.
Enough said - here are some observations. In my analysis I want to focus on the site where the video was seen and meaning of these images. The video has 32766 different social locations where it was seen. I’ll just interpret it from my own social location which is in my home office in Hong Kong (obviously this is also more complex than I am making it).
Here is a quick synopsis of what happens in the video. Trish just got off the air and is on the way to get some food. She says, “What we are going to do is something that you will be able to do really quick when you stop for, you know, fast food.” A friend is with her and apparently filming Trish with her phone. Trish speaks to her perceived audience – people who want to learn how to evangelize. The video is an instruction video on how to share your faith while getting fast food. She hopes for a car to appear behind her while being in line at KFC. She gets lucky! The hoped for car shows up behind her. Talking to the camera she says: “There’s a car behind us we are going to do a 2 in 1 – watch this.” Trish pays for the meal that the person behind her ordered. Trish letting the viewers in on her evangelism tip says “so watch what I am going to do. I am going to give this guy a tract and I am going to tell him to give the car behind me a tract as well. And guess what? They got their meal paid for and they’ve got a tract and so hopefully that will cause them to read the tract even more and give glory to God.” After that she does what she just has explained. The video ends with Trish saying, “The meal’s been paid for and we’ll just drive off” – she claps and shouts – “yeah this is so exciting.”
A lot could be said about her practice theologically – Did Jesus do a “2 in 1”? Did he pay for people and drive (I guess ride) off? Did he share the Gospel “really quick”? However, I want to focus on what the video communicates more implicitly.
Trish has made this video in the US. It’s a pretty common scenario – getting fast food (for some people an almost every day occurrence). So she is teaching people how to turn a mundane and ordinary trip to the fast food place into an evangelistic opportunity. She teaches by example. In the video she does what she seeks to teach – drive through evangelism. The viewer is meant to be in the position of learner. Thus Trish assumes the teaching role. (This does not mean that the viewer necessarily takes on this role – maybe he or she takes on the role of the critic etc.)
One observation that is important is that evangelism is portrayed as taking place in a drive through. The communication is very limited between Trish who hands out the tract and the cashier and the second car. In fact the cashier is in a position where he has no other choice than to communicate with her. Talking to Trish is part of his job (engaging with her, taking money passing out food etc.). He does go beyond his obligation when he accepts the tract for himself and for the next car.
Trish’s relation to the car behind her is that she paid for the food – something that car behind her I’m sure will welcome. This form of evangelism is not very relational and happens while being in a car and literally driving through. The communication with the cashier happens through two windows and there is only indirect communication with the car behind her – she drives off and hopes for the best. I don’t know if she sees if the cashier passes on her tract at the end while she is driving off there is no way to know.
The cashier and the driver from the car behind are totally passive in this form of evangelism (beside taking the tract and perhaps reading it). Trish is the one mainly acting on them – there is no real dialogue.
Does what is seen match with what you know of the nature of evangelism?
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