I am very interested in the global interest in the new
singing sensation from Italy’s version of The Voice. For those who
haven’t seen it, she turned up on stage, all dressed in her nun’s outfit, and
turned out to be brilliant, cool, and hip. In the Voice, the judges all hear
the singers “blind” and all turned wanting her in their teams. They were all
shocked to see it was a nun with this “voice of an angel.” You can see for
yourself here (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2589848/The-Voice-angel-Singing-nun-fastest-growing-internet-hit-performing-Italian-version-hit-TV-talent-show.html).
The thing is, why are we surprised? Just because a person is a Nun, doesn’t
mean they can’t sing. The same reaction came with Susan Boyle when she turned
up on “Britain’s Got Talent” and sang the house down. Susan doesn’t fit the
image bill at all either.
What gets me is why people are surprised. There seems to be
an underlying presupposition in our society’s mythical sub-structure that it
is the young, hot, and “cool” who can sing and act. So, when someone comes
along who breaks the mould, like Susan Boyle, or a Nun, people get shocked and it
goes viral. As I see it, the world of media and arts, funded by the moguls who
know that hot people help them make more money, have created this myth by
making Hollywood and the music industry a place where image dominates. In fact,
a lot of those who “make it” are not that good, but they look good and that is what matters. And unsurprisingly,
but sadly, most people like looking at people who look good. We become so
shaped by this as we grow up, we are unaware of it. So, when someone like
Sister Cristina Scuccia turns up, we get shocked. Because we are inadvertently
shaped by an underlying narrative that young, hot, and cool is where it is at. We
also don’t expect that a person dressed like a nun can really sing – despite Julie
Andrews and Sister Act.
I would imagine, in a world with 1.2 billion Catholics,
there are plenty of Nuns who could sing the house down. They just have better
and more important things to do. There are a myriad of Susan Boyles out there
too. There are lots of older people who can sing, but they don’t fit the story.
What I do like about shows like the Voice and the “…Got
Talent” is that they break the underlying narrative that so-called beauty is important
and allow some to break through. As someone like this wonderful singer turns
up, the narrative is broken as it goes global. May it come to pass that we live
in a visual media that is not dominated by the young, hip, and hot. For that to
happen, a lot of people in the industry have to be prepared to break the
narrative. Some will take a financial hit to do so I suppose. But may more and
more do it. And may we as consumers become a lot more thoughtful about what we
allow to shape us. We can turn our back on that part of our modern story by
being aware of when we are being played by young, hot, and cool, and turning it
off in favour of things that have some depth and reality.
I hope this Nun wins, but doesn’t kick the Habit,
continues to care for those in need, and helps chip away at the narrative.
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