Memorabilia: Just a cheap marketing trick?

As a resident of St Andrews, one could not escape the Royal Wedding celebrations of this past weekend. The multiple parties happening in St Andrews were replicated a hundredfold across all of Great Britain. In unprecedented amounts, there was a great show of patriotism as the Union Jack was displayed in multiple formats — flags, hats, pins, mugs, and shirts just to name a few. A national newspaper on Saturday ran with the headline ‘A Great Day to be British’ and one couldn’t help but be impressed by the display of tradition in Friday’s ceremony.

Separate from demonstrations of Britishness, memorabilia of the Royal Wedding has been vast — scarves, knitting patterns, plates, tea cups, gnomes — anything with Will and Kate was consumed by the public as a way to remember this historic event (or, ironically, as a way to signify non-interest in the event). What was on offer ranged from the beautiful to the banal. We could dismiss this as good marketers playing on the heightened emotions of the moment. Or see it as bad taste. However, is there something more going on? Is there more to be considered for the place of memorabilia in our lives? Does this action of remembering have a place within Christian practice?  A few thoughts to that end.

I start with the obvious. Memorabilia primarily serves as an aid to remembering. I start here because memorabilia is often judged as being aesthetically deficient, which then levies judgment upon the person who purchased the item. Rather, an item’s capacity to call up memories of an event, a shared moment, or a life-changing experience is surely its purpose and how it should be considered. For example, the screen-printed tea towel that I now own will not only remind me of the day of the Royal Wedding in years to come. It will also serve to conjure up memories of friends and my overall experience of being at St Andrews. Secondly, memorabilia provides a means by which we can intentionally make a claim on a particular memory or experience. The decision to purchase memorabilia is an intentional decision to remember the moment attached to the item. Perhaps we are just victims of good marketing in our purchasing. Or perhaps good marketers realise that we want to remember our good experiences and they have capitalised on those moments.

Christianity is not without its ‘memorabilia’, much of which is (perhaps rightly) disparaged for its banality. However, is there something more there? Do Christians just inherently have undeveloped and therefore bad taste when it comes to what they choose to remind them of their faith? Or have we stopped at the aesthetic assessment and missed how the objects could act as a visual reminder of a deeper truth? Could the accessibility of the ‘memorabilia’ be a means by which deeper reflection is given to the complexity and mystery of the Gospel?

Image Credit – Goannatree: Limited Edition Cups by Tea People

Author

  • Sara Schumacher is the editor and a regular contributor to Transpositions. Prior to life in academia, Sara worked as a graphic designer in Oxford where her experience as an artist and a Christian raised many questions, ultimately leading her to pursue further study in theology and the arts at St Andrews. Sara holds a B.S. in Graphic Design and an A.A. in Cross-Cultural Services from John Brown University and has recently completed an M.Litt in Theology, Imagination, and the Arts at St Andrews. She is currently working on a PhD at St Andrews, focusing on church patronage of the arts.

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4 Comments

  1. says: Michelle Roise

    Enjoyed this post and its timing; I am currently in the middle of Betty Spackman’s book: . She addresses many of the questions you have raised with a critical and yet compassionate Christian mind and spirit. If you haven’t seen this, may I recommend it?

  2. says: Michelle Roise

    Sorry about that! The posting process somehow dropped the book title: “A Profound Weakness, Christians and Kitsch” by Betty Spackman.

    1. says: Sara Schumacher

      Thanks, Michelle, for the book suggestion! I have yet to read Spackman’s book and appreciate the encouragement to do so. Frank Burch Brown also has a chapter that explores kitsch in his book ‘Good Taste, Bad Taste, Christian Taste’ if you’re interested in reading more about the topic!

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