What Does This Say About Us? A Little Exercise In Culture Watching. . . .

A couple of weeks ago someone sent me a heads-up about the new commercials for Facebook Home. If you're on Facebook, the social media giant has most likely hit you up with a few of their ads for Facebook Home during your own Facebook experience. The TV commercials are clever. . . not at all surprising. But could there be more to them than just an attempt to inform?

Here at CPYU we are constantly reminding you of culture's two-fold power to serve as both a map and a mirror. As a map, it is directive. It tells how to live in the world. As a mirror, it is reflective. It tells us how we are already choosing (most likely unconsciously) to live in the world. Culture has power. As cultural artifacts, the Facebook Home ads certainly function in this way. . . they are both maps and mirrors.

As followers of Christ, we are - or should be - committed to Kingdom of God oriented living. This requires us to listen to both the Word and the world. Listening to the Word hones our ability to discern what we see and hear in the world. It helps us to evaluate the accuracy and appropriateness of the maps we encounter. . . while helping us to evaluate the accuracy and appropriateness of the maps we've already chosen to follow. And, where adjustments and corrections must be made, we should make them.

So. . . back to the map and mirror of the particular Facebook Home ad that takes us into the dining room and the family dinner (see the video below). . . What is it telling us? What does it tell us about ourselves? How does it tell us we should live in the world?Does it tell us about how
we are already living in the world? Should we be concerned? And finally, how could we use this ad with our kids?