A few weeks ago I did a post titled 5 things I hate about the Jonas Brothers. A few of my readers with a basic jr. high school education understood that I was talking about the commercial empire that is the JoBros (since I came right out and said "5 things I hate about the Jonas Brothers -the JoBros commercial empire, that is"), and that I was criticizing the music industry and the effects that it can have on a pop star. Not criticizing the band.
For the rest of the commenters ... well, let's just say that I learned a few things from the Jonas Brothers fans.
1) You risk life and limb when you come between an 11-year-old and her favorite pop star. I was called lame, a hater, gay, jealous, stupid and told to shut my dumb mouth. And those are just the comments from pre-teens that didn't contain four letter words. At least I'm in good company. Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jim DeRogatis, who kindly referenced my blog post in his column, also took a beating from JoBros fans.
2) The youth of America couldn't spell their way out of a dictionary factory. From accusations that I wish I was as "famouse" as the Jonas Brothers to variations on words like wat (for what) and sumthing (for something), I needed a teen dictionary just to get through some of the comments. Has anyone has ever explained to these jr. highers the difference between their, there, and they're?
3) The vast majority of young people don't know how to formulate a persuasive argument. A few did a great job of going point by point to show me what an idiot they thought I was, and they did it respectfully and calmly. The rest only TYPED IN CAPS, called me names, used curse words, and basically ranted and raved about how HOTTTTTT the Jonas Brothers are and how STUPID I was. Can someone please teach these kids how to share an opinion without resorting to yelling? (Just a thought: since school is starting up again, this would be a great writing exercise for English class. Take my original post and have students write an essay either agreeing or disagreeing with me. If you're a teacher and do that, let me know. I'd love to see how that works out.)
4) Despite the fact that I was roasted for suggesting that the teen magazines' constant coverage of the guys as sex symbols was in conflict with their purity rings - something I never said the boys were guilty of doing themselves, but there's no question the magazines print what sells, and today it's sex - more than a few teens actually understood my point. That makes me optimistic that some JoBro fans actually think about their media choices and the effects that media can have on them.
5) Somewhere in the media hype, more tweens than I thought get the connection between the JoBros and God. They might not fully understand the gospel, but the band has opened the door to at least be able to share the message, if the mainstream media ever gives them a chance.
In any event, just to clear the air: I don't hate the Jonas Brothers. I hate what the industry is doing to them - running them ragged, exploiting them, treating them like a commodity. And I hope that they come out on the other side intact, and aren't sacrificed on the altar of the record industry's almighty dollar. I appreciate that they've been able to not only get the attention of, but develop relationships with, folks like Ellen DeGeneres. If three teen guys can use some bubble gum pop music to tell people that God loves them, well then, I'm behind it.
But I will be praying for them. The music industry is as harsh a mission field as any African desert.
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5 things I hate about the Jonas Brothers (commercial empire, that is)
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Joc, that was a very thoughtful response and I thank you for it! You made a great point about them being good role models for things like respecting their family. That's something I really hadn't thought about. In today's pop culture, it's cool to diss your parents and be at odds with them, but these guys really do respect their parents and each other.
Thanks for such a well-written comment! Very nice!
Joanne
host of the GS blog
Okay I just read the other article you wrote about the 5 things you hate about the Jonas Brothers. One I am glad you made it clear on what you don't like, I think you are right the media tends to stray away from their purity or make fun of it (which I don't get). Two, I am still a little confused about the whole kissing thing. I get that you aren't suppose to go around making out with everyone, but what if you think you are meant to be with someone and you date them and you realize they aren't? Three, I agree with you a lot of fans of theirs make us (other fans) look bad.
I think they are trying to stay more mainstream because they can get more publicity and give Christianity a good name and help lead people to the Lord. They did for me in fact. I do worry sometimes that they aren't spiritual enough, but hey I don't know their lives. Their father is a pastor so he probably helps keep them in line throughout the day.
I completely aggree with almost everything you said in both articles. I am not a big JB fan so you don't have to worry about me screaming at you lol. I did want to point out though that even though the Jonas Brothers claim to be Christians,they seem to have strayed away from the whole Christians in a band image and more to a sex symbol image like you said. I have never seen them thank God at an awards show even though many of the non-Christians thank Him. I also read the Brio Magazine where many fans asked for them to be interviewed. Their publicist responded that the boys would not do the interview because they were focusing more on music now instead of their religeous beliefs. This leads me to believe that they have in fact strayed away from the path of righteousness. The only place I do dissagree with you in is the part where you said, "The music industry is as harsh a mission field as any African desert." These boys are incredibly rich now and are probably enduring very few hardships so I wouldn't compare them to the many missionaries giving up so much to do the Lord's work.
You're right, being a missionary in Africa is definitely more difficult physically than being a missionary in the music industry. But the spiritual battle, the struggles and temptations, the mental exhaustion - you'd be surprised how similar environments that are hostile to the gospel can be from that perspective.
Thanks!
Joanne
host of the GS blog
Trust me the Jonas Brothers DO take the time and devot it to God. They are wonderful and amazing guys. And they haven't forgotten who they are as individuals or where they came from.
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