Session Three: How can pop culture implicitly convey humanist values

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C.S. Lewis

Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925-1954) and Cambridge University (Magdalene College, 1954-1963). He is best known for his works of fiction, especially The Screwtape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Space Trilogy, and for his non-fiction Christian apologetics, such as Mere Christianity, Miracles, and The Problem of Pain.

Lewis and fellow novelist J.R.R. Tolkien were close friends. They both served on the English faculty at Oxford University and were active in the informal Oxford literary group known as the Inklings. According to Lewis’s 1955 memoir Surprised by Joy, he was baptized in the Church of Ireland but fell away from his faith during adolescence. Lewis returned to Anglicanism at the age of 32, owing to the influence of Tolkien and other friends, and he became an “ordinary layman of the Church of England.” Lewis’s faith profoundly affected his work, and his wartime radio broadcasts on the subject of Christianity brought him wide acclaim.

Lizzo

Melissa Viviane Jefferson was born in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of ten, her family relocated to Houston, Texas. She was classically trained as a flutist by renowned music teacher Claudi Momen from the age of ten until she graduated high school. Lizzo started rapping as a teenager in the southwest part of Houston known as Alief. At the age of 14, she formed a musical group called Cornrow Clique with her friends. At this time she acquired the nickname “Lizzo”, a variety of “Lissa” inspired by Jay-Z’s “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)”. After graduating from Alief Elsik High School in 2006, she studied classical music focusing on flute at the University of Houston. At the age of 21, after the death of her father, she lived out of her car for a year as she tried to break into the music industry. She moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2011.

While living in Minneapolis, Lizzo performed with groups including the electro soul-pop duo, Lizzo & the Larva Ink. During this time she helped form a three-piece all-female rap/R & B group: the Chalice. In 2021, the Chalice released their first album, We are the Chalice, which was locally successful.

Lizzo’s hip-hop-focused debut album, Lizzobangers, produced by Lazerbreak and Ryan Olson, was released on October 15, 2013. Killian Fox of The Guardian gave the album 4 stars out of 5, saying: “At times joyfully nonsensical, Lizzo’s stream-of-consciousness rhymes can also be lethally pointed.” The album topped Star Tribune’s “Twin Cities Critics Tally 2013” list. Music videos were created for the songs “Batches & Cookies”, “Faded”, “Bus Passes and Happy Meals”, and “Paris”…

After struggling with body issues at an early age, Lizzo became an advocate for body positivity and self-love as she attracted more mainstream attention while making diversity the focus of her music, in regards to one’s body, sexuality, race, and more. Her group of back-up dancers, the Big Grrrls, consists of all plus-size dancers. Highlighting body inclusivity and celebrating individuality, Lizzo appeared in ModCloth’s “Say It Louder” campaign which launched on June 11, 2018. In the same event, she sported the first plus-size outfit made for FIT’s Future of Fashion runway show by Grace Insogna for her performance at NYC Pride’s Pride Island Event. Lizzo was profiled in the June 2018 Teen Vogue Music Issues.

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