LCAS Ovations: Inaugural Address 30Sep2022
Dear Students,
We all are inspired and guided by the motto of Loyola: Let your light shine. It is coming from the words of Jesus who said: No one lights a lamp and hides it but displays it so that its light enlightens all people (Lk 8:16). We are gathered here to showcase our talents, often hidden within ourselves. Some of us would display our wonderful talents but most of us would witness and appreciate the talents of our fellow students. There are two aspects to this display or showcasing our talents: i. We grow in self-confidence when we showcase our light of talents; and ii. we grow in appreciation of others who also would display their admirable talents. In this process of mutual appreciation and acceptance, we build up teams that would help us achieve greater things, even impossible ones. However, small or insignificant our talent might be, we realize that what a tooth-pick can do, a bulldozer or a JC Penny cannot do.
Choice or Chance:
Quite a few of us would enter the world of media or entertainment. This entry for some would be by choice but for many by chance. We have many examples in real time. Actor Sivakumar came to Chennai seeking job as a painter since he was good in drawing but he landed as an acclaimed actor. Singer Balasubramaniam was an accomplished electrical engineer – One day he was invited to do play-back singing as the expected one did not turn up. That changed the current of life for him. Administrator Irai Anbu, the present Chief Secretary of TN Govt, has written many motivational books and he continues to inspire myriads of people, especially the youngsters. So, whatever be your profession or vocation, you could still excel in your talents. All you need to do is feel great about your talents; strive consistently to become an expert; and keep going upward and forward to the top of your dream pyramid. Regularity and resilience are very much necessary in mastering any art: Whatever happens, you need to get up, dress, up, show up, and walk up along the road of your dream till your go beyond your own expectations.
GenZ and PopCulture:
People who are born between 1997 and 2012 are labelled as Generation Z or GenZ – It is colloquially known as zoomers. They are a generation after the baby boomers known as Genertion X or Millennials (who were born between 1981 and 1996). From a comparative study of the Zoomers with the Boomers, we understand, that GenZ are digitally literate as they grow up with Internet and portable digital technology. And they are influenced or even controlled by media opinion; they do not want to take risk as GenX generation; and they are more concerned with academic performance and job prospects.[1] Now, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, GenZ face a future more uncertain than many previous generations encountered. All the same GenZ are more social minded and they are focused on several key social issues, such as healthcare, mental health, higher education, economic security, civic engagement, race equity, the environment, etc.[2]
As GenZ seeks their identity, one of their search is focused on pop culture: Pop culture introduces diversity, implementing different meaning, ideas, and issues into pop, whether that’s through a book or music or TV shows or folk art or performance. It is educating the youngsters in a digestible manner bringing in acknowledgement and empathy for the fellow human beings. We recognize the individual uniqueness and we try to find unity in diversity. We become convinced that we need a team to enrich our own talents: One could make the best arrow; another one might design an artistic or elegant bow; but we still need one to shoot the arrow accurately. It is a team of designing, planning, and performing.
Today we are talking about the butterfly effect. It is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions that have greater impact later or elsewhere in the globe. In the 1990 movie Havana, in which Robert Redford, playing the role of Jack Weil, a gambler with a knack for math, proclaims to his costar, Lena Olin, that “a butterfly can flutter its wings over a flower in China and cause a hurricane in the Caribbean”.[3] We are affected, influenced and impacted by what happens around us – It is very much true in pop culture as well. In the past 25 years, Hollywood movies give predominance to Asian-origin-movies such as ‘Crazy Rich Asians’, and ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’ based on romantic comedy novels by Asian authors Kevin Kwan and Jenny Han. ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ brought in a total of USD 34 million in box offices in the first five days alone. Films like ‘Coco’ and ‘Black Panther’ took the box offices by storm because people of color finally feel like they have a place to belong in pop culture. It’s important to show everyone that one does not have to look a certain way to get a fairy-tale ending or to be a superhero. What matters most is that the possibility should exist for everyone — no matter their skin color or where they come from.[4] What is important is to find unifying factors in the pop culture that brings in harmony and understanding building a global bond and sense of belonging to each other.
Swimming Upstream:
We also need to pick our choice whether we align with the popular stream or we swim upstream. We need to know what is good and essential and what is unnecessary and misleading. Today there is the onslaught of substance abuse and alcohol – While the social barrier is weakening, we need to have the inner strength to choose the right road to go forward. We need to be aware of crowd-mindset or sheep-trend, where we are just led in (saying, all do and so I do), instead, we should be able to go by conviction and decision. Instead of being led by others, as Loyolites we should be able to lead others. We could observe others; we should listen to others; we might take advice from others; but we should finally decide for ourselves. In this process of growth, we need mentors and companions as friends to tell us what is good and what is not so good. We need to often pause, reflect on the past, listen to the present, and then proceed into the future.
Jesuit Formation:
Jesuit formation has all along encouraged promotion of culture and music. The annual school drama (along with the culturals) in the schools was introduced by the Jesuits as part of the curriculum and students formation. During the colonial period in South America, the Jesuits promoted native music in their colonies, known as Jesuit Republics or Jesuit Reductions. Some of the popular movies indicate how the Jesuits integrated culture with their mission. A few of the movies are The Mission (1986), Silence (2016), Black Robe (1991), The Exorcist (1973), Mission to Glory (1976) etc.
In the New Testament of the Bible we read a parable narrated by Jesus. A rich man, before his long travel, gives his servants gold coins: one he gives 10, another 5, and a third one, one coin (called talent). On his return, the first two have doubled their investment, while the third one just preserved the given coin. While the first two are rewarded for making good use of their talents, the third one is punished for taking efforts to develop his talent (Mt 25:14-30). We are here to showcase our talents and to climb the ladder of expertise and experience. This celebration of talents will promote togetherness fostering a culture of encounter and integration. Wish you all the best. Have an enjoyable and fun-filled Ovations2022.
Francis P Xavier SJ
30Sep2022
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Z
[2] https://www.investopedia.com/generation-z-gen-z-definition-5218554
[3] https://www.americanscientist.org/article/understanding-the-butterfly-effect
[4] https://dailyutahchronicle.com/2018/08/24/why-we-need-diversity-in-pop-culture/