Fundamentals of Interactive Journalism

Here is my latest blog post.

Justo Botanica Inc. has been selling hope since 1930, says shop owner, Jorge Vargas.

“Everybody needs hope,” says Vargas, 60.  “It means having faith, and well, has to do with the depressed we have in this city, who look for hope in order survive and pass the times in this universe.”  

Located in East Harlem, every inch of the small religious and spiritual store is covered with beads, plants, stones, and prayer cards.

The scent of burning incenses fills the room and shelves are crammed with tiny bottles of oils that ward of jinxes, or promise: success, protection, and love. 

CLICK TO VIEW SLIDE SHOW

Last weekend I saw the movie Religulous. I recommend everyone to go see it. It’s my current favorite movie. First of all, it is really funny and makes you laugh a lot. Secondly, I love it when people who say they are dead serious about something are put on spot, and questioned about their beliefs… more often than not, it turns out the people don’t really know enough about their topic (in this case their religion) to really be so serious about it. And yet they would die for it! Wow. That scares me.

Maybe that is the reason why I am not religious –I don’t feel like I know enough about any religion to feel confident about siding with them. Then again, the things I do know about the different religions are all the more reason for me to not swear by them. Religion reminds me of network marketing –both are systems based on group euphoria and unreal expectations. But hey, maybe that’s just me.

Anyway, back to the movie Religulous. Even if you don’t agree with Bill Maher on a lot of things, the movie is a great eye-opener for anyone. Granted, Religulous reminds you of the works of Michael Moore, but hey, so what? His movies are great too. If you feel offended by these movies, just relax and don’t take it so seriously!

You can learn a lot from watching Religulous, and if you feel like Bill Maher is questioning your beliefs, then all the better. That is his point. Maybe that will give you a reason to conduct some research of your own, rather than automatically adapting the religion of your family/hometown/husband/wife (if that is what you have done, as so many do). And if you do look into your religion, and you find that Bill Maher was wrong about something, then that is great too! I am not saying everyone should be an atheist, I just think everyone should be open to questioning things.

You can check out the trailer here, but I am warning you… it is not for the faint hearted: