In a series called Mondo Bullshittio, let’s talk about some of the most glaring hypocrisies and faux pas in pop culture… and all that it affects.
Everyone has taken it upon themselves to use 2020 as an effortless scapegoat for rage. To say, in effect, “It’s already been a pandemic year, do you have to take one more thing away?” For Catholics everywhere, it seemed what was being taken away from them this Christmas was a much needed dose of “normalcy” by way of “classicism.” So it was that the nativity put on display in the famed Piazza San Pietro this month (unveiled on December 11th) has been cause to funnel some of that “pandemic fatigue” frustration toward Pope Francis and the Vatican. While Papa Francesco might be of the Silent Generation, he’s certainly not “silent” on matters pertaining to his baby boomer affinity for space exploration. Perhaps that’s why he selected pieces for the manger that were crafted between the years of 1965 and 1975, by students and teachers at the art institute in Castelli, better known as being part of the Abruzzo region.
Among the towering fifty-four pieces (only nineteen of which are included in the scene), some of the most “offensive” to those who have seen it include the one being compared to “Darth Vader” (will the school sue George Lucas for plagiarism?). Marcello Mancini, an art teacher who works at the institute where the ceramic pieces were made, remarked, “…it is a nativity scene that must be framed in the historical period in which it was produced.” Alas, part of the affront people feel is that the 60s could not be a less relevant time to them right now. But those who think such a thing fail to recognize that the decade was filled with political unrest, uncertainty, racial reckonings, a challenging of the status quo and overall turmoil. Apart from the pandemic factor, many scenes of 2020 could have been easily inserted among images of the 1960s. Yet still, the devout Catholics seem to harbor a Morrissey take on the situation–namely the lyric, “It says nothing to me about my life.”
Obviously, those still barely clinging to their faith at this point must surely have been insulted by how Francis seems, in their minds, to be going “against God” in terms of alluding to the fact that it will only be science that saves us from eternal damnation… in other words, to being stuck on this increasingly defunct planet. If that’s the case, they might assume deep down, then why bother with the frivolous ceremony of religion? What is the point of having faith, if the only true knowledge does not rest with the lack of scientific logic and evidence presented by religion?
In lashing out at that which was not deemed simple and straightforward enough, the critics of the presepe (that’s “crib,” but really “nativity scene,” to those who only know how to say “pizza” in Italian) echoed the fear-based reaction of those who saw it as yet another source of unexpected and uncontrollable change since corona came to roost. Counting on the consistency of the same old tired tropes, the public felt 2020 was a salt in wound sort of moment to throw people for a loop with defying expectations. And so, many, like an art historian named Elizabeth Lev, were all too eager to malign the presepe with such comments as, “The misshapen figures in the Nativity scene lack all the grace, proportion, vulnerability, and luminosity that one looks for in the manger scene.” Talk about body shaming. Of trying to make something be a certain way just because “tradition” (which has clearly worked out so well for us all thus far) dictates it.
But Pope Francis’ entire papal reign has been characterized by defying convention (at least, where a religion as conservative as Catholicism is concerned). Why would he bother stopping now, especially during a season when people are supposed to be their most forgiving and generous? Pandemic excuse be damned–that makes it all the more important for Christmas to embody the Christ-like message of acceptance. Particularly of those deemed “outsiders.” And the pieces in this manger are the most outsider-y of all (unless, underneath it all, the “space dude” is a thinly veiled homage to Elon Musk and his vast increase in wealth this year, in addition to every other billionaire… because capitalism).
The brainchild of Stefano Mattucci, the art institute’s former director, the lack of cohesion over time as different students and teachers worked on the project seemed to make it all the more “thematic” to the schizophrenic decades from which it was spawned. And we are certainly about to embark upon the most schizophrenic decade of them all. Lev, however, wasn’t having it, shutting down any sense of appreciation for a nativity that showcases our society’s chaotic, unpredictable nature with the “boo-hoo, poor me” line, “We keep beautiful things in there so that no matter how awful your life is, you can walk into St. Peter’s and that’s yours, that’s part of who you are, and it reflects who you are and the glory of who you are.” Girl, the more you peddle lies to people, the more upset they get when the veneer invariably gets ripped off. Have you not seen The Matrix (side note: a Ne-Yo inspired character would look right at home in this crèche)?
Mancini, almost as if to offer a definitive defense, also added, “It is rich in symbols and signifiers that offer a non-traditional reading of the nativity scene.” And considering what a non-traditional year 2020 has been, why should the Vatican not choose a nativity that reflects that? So enough of giving them shit for this. They’ve only been so bold as to position themselves as a mirror to the time we’ve just lived through. Give them shit for pedophilia and hypocritical intolerance, okay? But not this.
