New Bliss
We all need faith, a higher power to worship, no matter who or what the object of worship is.
The objects created by human beings are worshipped as gods, whether the religion or those virtual images. As long as people are willing to believe, they don’t care about true or false, right or wrong. Perhaps, there is no true or false, right or wrong at all. It is hard to tell if our faith guides us, or if our preference becomes our guide. But one thing is for sure common believes tend to bring us together. It becomes the center of the group, being worshipped.
You can feel the transformation of people’s belief objects from ancient times to now by watching New Bliss. From traditional religion to some virtual images, or the internet, the technology. And it would still change in the future.
Are the virtual realities embodied in the internet and other forms of media such as TV now the object of our worship?
New Bliss portrays a television held in the hands of the Buddha, signifying the central position these media hold in our lives.
When the People’s Republic of China was first established, compared to phones that appeared later, TV was the symbol of development, it is the only way for the remote villages to be connected and learn about the world at large. Most of the time, one would find the TV at the center of the whole village, where villagers would form a crowd in front of the TV, sometimes pulling all-nighters watching and absorbing. After the TV was popularized in every household, it still occupies the prime location in our house, as many families choose to place it in the center of their living room. People gather in front of the TV and receive information as they gather in front of Buddha, from whom they hope to acquire information about things they don’t know, begging for information. The platforms and channels for information dissemination are our new objects of worship.
New Bliss in Meng-Hua
Instead of locating in the highest position like usually does, the statue of Buddha here locates at the foot of the mountain, as well as the condition of the Buddha statue being damaged, was to explain that the status of traditional religion had dropped in Chinese people’s hearts.
The ancient town on the left-hand side of the Buddha statue and the escape ladder on the right-hand side, represents the alternation of new and old, and the changes in people’s mood - from the relaxing life in ancient times to fast-paced life nowadays.
