Religious authority can be defined through hierarchy/roles (priests, rabbis), structure (denominations), ideologies
(faith beliefs and shared identities) or texts
(Torah, the Bible, etc.). These different definitions of authority can also be
used to frame authoritative religious figures/ideals online.
The two photos below share a similar theme, alluding to the
Republican/Conservative view that all people should work towards success and
should not be given handouts.
Jesus is the clear source of authority in these photos and is
referred to both implicitly and explicitly. The meme creator references Jesus explicitly
because He is clearly depicted as a leader in these photos. He is also
referenced implicitly because, through the clearly important presence he holds
in the photos, viewers of the meme can infer that Jesus often times offers
words of advice and encouragement to his many loyal followers.
Jesus as a source of authority emerges from offline context through
the meme creator pulling from direct biblical references. This is shown in
several books (for example, Matthew, Luke and Mark) when Jesus speaks to the
masses and gives them advice.
I feel as though there are two types of logic taking place through
these photos.
1)
Logic
of Disjuncture and Displacement - these photos definitely "disturb the status quo" by
taking a sacred biblical reference (not to mention a sacred biblical figure aka Jesus) and turning it something negative
2)
Logic
of Dialectics and Paradox
- because the internet "creates conflicting tensions" by taking something very special and challenging the value behind it.
The way Jesus is framed as an authority figure through these
photos further employs the idea that the creator behind these memes has the
intention of promoting a negative perception of Conservatism/Republicanism. By
using Jesus to discuss current social/economic/political issues, the meme
creator directly influences the current election in order to sway the public’s
votes.
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