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April 20, 2005
Catholic Idol
All of the little rituals that surround the papal conclave are pretty entertaining. I tried to ignore the hullaballoo, but then I got sucked in. It's kind of like American Idol -- it's shallow and petty and pointless, but it's completely addictive. It's all in the details:
- The secrecy of the conclave and its rituals -- like stringing counted ballots together just-so, recounting them, then burning two at a time -- provide suspence and drama. And useless trivia!
- There's an ominous photo of a cardinal shutting the big chapel door (cue voice-over from pope wannabe).
- Papal robes are made by special papal tailors in three different sizes (and the press is invited to take pictures).
- The Sistene Chapel is swept for "bugs" every so often to prevent sinful eavesdropping.
- People spend hours speculating about the big event -- Will there be white smoke or black smoke? Who will the next pope be? Will the cardinals argue in secret? Should we start an office pool?
For a few short days, the Catholic Church managed to be current in a media-friendly way. The papers and TV were flooded with pope-abilia. It got out of hand, but you've got to acknowledge this centuries-old establishment for the public relations savvy it has built up. Crowds love a nail-biting spectacle. Too bad the Catholic Church itself, with its new ultra-consevative pope, is completely out of touch with the social needs of those crowds. To drag out the American Idol analogy, FOX doesn't give a damn about their audience either as long as they tune in, right?
Posted by csageday at April 20, 2005 01:18 AM
Comments
It looks like the church is really trying to reach out to all humans this time. They really shook things up by choosing an old, white, male, European Pope. I guess god must have decided that the good Catholics with darker skin must not be ready for prime time yet.
Posted by: D at April 20, 2005 11:26 AM