Response: Annie's Blog [Week 9]

In response to Annie McLaren's response to Emmet's blog post on young women's identity as sexual objects the Merchants Of Cool video labeled "midriff" in the investigative piece we have been watching in class, I would like to echo Annie's thoughts and add another avenue where the Church can communicate to this youth going down a typically plastic path.


I would propose focusing on each person's talent and beauty as an individual. Last week, I attended the screening of the video documentary Soul Searching: A Movie about Teenagers and God, shown in Fuller's own Travis Auditorium. The film, based on research and a book by Christian Smith, offered a survey of the ways teenagers perceive God and religion. One of the main themes that emerged from the footage was societies obsession with performance and how today's teenagers are depressed about how they stack up to this performance driven culture and are increasingly turning to suicide as a final answer.

It is a scary correlation to the same epidemic we have been discussing. By focusing on each person's self worth and talent, teenagers can find their passion their gifts, and more importantly passion for life. I believe everyone has a passion and purpose for their beautifully created unique self just waiting to be discovered and unleashed. As concerned citizens of the Church and the Earth, we must find alternative means of finding and cultivating these passions in our youth.