Notes on four dubious cultural products:
Another nude Jesus. The Brooklyn Museum is at it again. No, it's not porn photos and elephant dung on a painting of the Virgin Mary. This time it's a naked female Jesus at the Last Supper. Mayor Rudy Giuliani took the bait and called for a decency commission. Better to let it go, or next year the museum will come back with a statue of Jesus as O.J. Simpson in drag or a painting of Mary as a WWF wrestler about to hit Jesus over the head with a chair.
The demeaning of Christian symbols is a mainstream activity in our art world. Nude female images of Jesus are old hat in this game. So are send-ups of the Last Supper. Many versions are available, including one with Jesus and the apostles as dogs. One on display in Chicago features Jesus as Mrs. Butterworth, the syrup lady. The same alleged artist has a crucifixion scene starring the Pillsbury Doughboy. Are these feeble blasphemies political acts by the massively untalented? Oh, no. They're art.
Eminem. A new Eminem problem confronts the cultural left: He may represent the crude beginning of a big backlash among the young, not against gains by women and gays, but against the regime of political correctness. Students in high school and college face the most politically repressive atmosphere America has seen in almost 50 years. Jokes, rumors, questions in class, comments by teachers are all tightly monitored. That work is accomplished by the use of speech and behavior codes, zero-tolerance policies, heavy indoctrination at freshman orientation and the sexual harassment police.
Everybody knows that teen-agers are apt to rebel. Why hasn't it occurred to people that they might want to rebel against the smog of orthodoxy that hangs over their schools? Eminem's fans include millions of young people who clearly aren't interested in hating women or gays. But they may be thrilled that he can get away with breathtakingly unorthodox (though stupid) opinions, and force the establishment to give him awards for it too. If so, the backlash against PC may be less dependent on the Bill Bennetts and Irving Kristols than on a musically talented dolt who thinks he should have killed his mother.