Christians tattoo crosses
on their wrists to replace those
removed from their necks.
My haiku was inspired by Stuart Hall's idea of fixing terms for meaning and power. I think that the cross is a term that is continuously having to be reclaimed by Christianity. Maybe not necessarily "reclaimed," but it is an icon that Christians have always used to physically represent their identity in the Christian faith. Not too long ago, a significant fraction of the Christian population wore necklaces with crosses on them, and these necklaces were typically a resemblance of their beliefs in the Christian faith. Not too long ago, I remember more and more people began wearing these cross necklaces, including individuals in pop-culture who were commonly frowned upon by the Christian community. In contemporary culture, most people that see a cross think of religion or Christianity. I still remember seeing 50 Cent in grade school with a huge golden cross and chain dangling around his neck and thinking, "wait... 50 Cent isn't a Christian, is he?" Eventually wearing a cross around your neck became a fashion statement, rather than a faith statement.
In hindsight, I think it was incredibly judgmental of Christians to point fingers at people like 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg and claim that they weren't Christians and gave the cross a bad name, but many of them did and still do. Because of people like 50 Cent, I think a lot of Christians felt that they had to find a new way to physically display their faith so that they wouldn't be associated with people who they thought misrepresented the cross; they had to "fix" or "reclaim" the cross for its appropriate use--to represent the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Personally, I hardly see cross necklaces these days. However, I constantly encounter people (who claim themselves as Christians) with a cross tattooed somewhere on their body--commonly on the wrist. I feel like this is the Christian's attempt of "fixing" the representation of the cross, and rendering it the authority of Christianity. Though, I wouldn't be surprised if cross tattoos lost their representation of faith in the next couple of years.
Good idea, but the first line has too many syllables. I do like the movement of the poem.
ReplyDeleteI really love the subject of your haiku. The movement from wearing cross necklaces has transitioned into this "hip" idea of cross tattoos. In Wyoming where I lived before, every country gal--whether she "seemed" Christian or not-- wore a giant cross necklace/belt buckle. There was a transition in that area to the tattoo idea because of the connotations (If you have to wear a cross necklace to represent your faith, are you really a Christian, etc.). Hall's theories compared with the cross are interesting. Indeed the symbol of the cross is constantly being reclaimed by the church. Think of the time after the crusades...
ReplyDeleteI really love the subject of your haiku. The movement from wearing cross necklaces has transitioned into this "hip" idea of cross tattoos. In Wyoming where I lived before, every country gal--whether she "seemed" Christian or not-- wore a giant cross necklace/belt buckle. There was a transition in that area to the tattoo idea because of the connotations (If you have to wear a cross necklace to represent your faith, are you really a Christian, etc.). Hall's theories compared with the cross are interesting. Indeed the symbol of the cross is constantly being reclaimed by the church. Think of the time after the crusades...
ReplyDelete