My senior year has caused me to set this little blog project on the back burner for a while. That doesn't mean I wasn't thinking about the intersection of faith and television. On the contrary, I actually spent much of the last semester working on a website chronicling the religious messages of Star Trek: Voyager. The site isn't the most advanced (although it does use a lot of javascript), and I'd like to spend some time fixing it up in the coming months, but for now it's at least accessible, so check it out if you're interested.
Religion in Star Trek: Voyager
Thursday, June 26, 2008
I'm still alive and I'm geekier than ever
Sunday, December 2, 2007
"I feel like I'm choosing between jail or hell."
That was a clip from last week's episode of Friday Night Lights. By the end of the episode that young man, Landry, had chosen to tell the truth and confessed to murdering a man that had attempted to rape the girl he loved and had continued to stalk her since. The most recent episode dealt with the consequences of Landry's decision to turn himself in.
Throughout season one Landry was clearly framed as a Christian. A Christian nerd who tried to be cool, but was really just a Christian nerd. He was in a Christian speed metal band called Crucifictorius and the season finale featured him driving an increasingly large group of females to the state championship "because it's the Christian thing to do."
In the first episode of season two, Landry Clarke killed a man by hitting him in the back of the head. The man was attacking Tyra, the girl Landry had been eying since halfway through season one. The man had continued to stalk her and approached her outside a convenience store late one night. Landry heard and what started as him running to her rescue ended with him striking the perp twice with a giant pipe. He proceeded to dump the body into the river, because he and Tyra didn't know what to do. It was a secret he held for a few episodes until his dad figured out he was up to something and burned Landry's car to destroy the only evidence that might lead the cops to the truth.
Destroying the evidence didn't destroy the nagging voice in Landry's head, and after Landry confessed to the crime he explained to Tyra why he did it by saying, "because it was the right thing to do." He couldn't keep lying to everyone, he said. The closed captioning added "and face God in my conscious" before it cut to commercial.
The end of the episode features a baby being christened. The pastor speaks: "Today Gracie Bell reminds us of God's unconditional love for all of us. Love and forgiveness and new life offered by our Lord." The very next scene Landry finds out that the state is not pressing charges against him and he's off the hook. He tells Tyra the news and she hugs him. Landry's not so excited. He clearly doesn't feel vindicated.
Now I'm not going to even begin to pretend that I know what's going on in the minds of the writers, but with Lyla's new-found faith and Landry's murder confession dilemma being somewhat situated in his belief in God and his desire to do what's right, I can't help but think they're up to something. And regardless of their intentions, I would argue that Friday Night Lights offers a more accurate and respectful depiction of the Christian faith than almost any show on television.
Plus, if you wanted to use FNL in a Bible study, you could. For example, the Landry situation could be tied to the difficulty many people have in accepting God's forgiveness. Landry can't get past what he did and he feels like he shouldn't be getting away with it. He needs to remember the namesake of his speed metal band Crucifictorius: the crucifiction. Jesus died to absolve us of our sins if we are repentant and accept his sacrifice. Landry is clearly repentant. And he has done the right thing. He surrendered himself to God as Lyla suggested he do. God let him off the hook, just like he did thousands of years ago through his son Jesus Christ. If only Landry could realize that; remember God's grace. Then again, maybe he will. I never have a clue what might be up those writers' sleeves.
Monday, November 5, 2007
"I think the 11th commandment is my favorite."
Did you know Fonzie got baptized on Happy Days?
I had no idea until I spent an hour and a half one night reading episode summaries of the show (I have my reasons), and last night I was lucky enough to "virtually" attend the baptism thanks to WGN late night reruns.
Here's the gist of what happens (and if you want to avoid spoilers of 30 year old sitcoms, you may want to skip this part):
Fonzie was involved in a terrible accident while racing. He was unharmed, but his car was totaled. After a short stint of living "like the redhead"--"dull," as Joanie described it--Fonzie started losing it and began taking ridiculous risks (when his number is up, he decided, it's up. There's no use living a boring, overly cautious life). When questioned by Richie about his absurd behavior he admits that while he feels like he has his life here on earth figured out and in order, when it comes to the afterlife and "up there" he's not so sure. This leads him to Father Anthony (Al's brother who "used to be his twin until Al got a nose job"--hehe... I love this show). Fonzie talks to Father Anthony about cars and fears and decides to get baptised.
After the commercial break Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli gets sprinkled as godparents Howard and Marion Cunningham look on proudly and Potsie, Ralph, Joanie and Richie sing a hymn;
Faith of our fathers, we will love
both friend and foe in all our strife;
and preach thee, too, as love knows how
by kindly words and virtuous life.
Faith of our father, holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death.
The part that stuck out to me (as it should) is the end. Fonzie convinces Father Anthony to let him give a speech in which he explains that he's been learning about all the ten commandments, but his favorite is the 11th. Love your neighbor as you would want to be loved. He decides that he feels like he's doing a pretty good job of loving others, so he thinks he's got a good grasp on where he's going.
At first I sighed at the generic watered-down version of faith it presented. It took a centuries-old faith and trimmed it down to a simple message: "Be nice." Of course, I hadn't expected much more. But then I thought about it. That's an important message. The most important, according to Jesus. And Fonzie didn't throw that out at the beginning of the episode or after some strange encounter with a stranger, he came to that realization and understanding after proving his devotion to his faith by going through a baptism which he seemed to take as seriously as a popular sitcom character can.
There were some other good points in there, too. Like not living a life of fear, and the importance of friends and family. Of course I'm not saying the episode was a mature investigation into Christianity, and it cut out Jesus for the most part (from what I remember), but all in all, it was a little more than I expected from a show whose very next episode was a three-parter featuring the baptized boy water-skiing over a shark while wearing a leather jacket.
While watching the final scene with Fonzie's lesson, I was reminded of a story I read as part of a Colbert Report taping recap I read written by a fan named Erin. It starts with someone asking Colbert what he would do if elected president and Colbert's answer;
"What would be your first executive order?"
"Uh ... be kind to each other?"
And then he told a story.
He didn't teach Sunday school last year, because he was too busy with the show; but he substituted, and he was subbing on the last day before summer vacation -- when the kids didn't really want to learn anything. And Pope Benedict had just been elected, so they decided to hold a mini papal election.
He and his daughter made a paper-maché miter, with a glitter cross, and then he "very seriously" locked the door, put the key in his pocket, and told the kids, "Okay, nobody leaves here until we elect a Pope."
They started by making a list of qualities that you should have to be a Pope: 'knows the Bible', 'good person', etcetera. "And nobody said 'must be a man', which made me happy." Then it came time to vote, but one kid said "Hey, I'm gonna vote for me," and another said, "I'm gonna vote for me!", and it looked like trouble.
(Stephen digressed at this point to speculate that all the cardinals probably do this on the first round. "Hey, might as well, who knows, there could be a groundswell...")
Daughter to the rescue: "Dad, make everyone vote twice." That way they would all vote for themselves and someone else. The winner was a kid named Gregory (and his daughter had predicted "It's gonna be Gregory, because he always knows all the answers in class." Stephen's daughter sounds like such a cool kid).
So they brought Gregory up to the front, put the miter on his head and the cloth over his shoulder, and said, "Now that you're the Pope, you need to pick a name; what name are you going to have?"
And the kid goes, "Urban III." ("He really knows his stuff!")
What will be his first papal injunction? Gregory holds up his hands (here Stephen holds up his own for a moment, to demonstrate, and then brings the mic back to his mouth), and says, "Be kind to each other."
At which Stephen went, "All right, that's it, we're done, everybody go home!"
Two cute little stories with a good message. A message that's all too easy to forget in a world that moves so fast. Even if it is really simple and generic.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Christian Rock Meets Fake News
Apparently Stephen Colbert's Wriststrong bracelets have made it into the Christian music world via the band Kutless. I don't know why I find this so entertaining.
(hat's off to NoFactZone, from which I stole this story, and uorbulldog07 from the Colboards who passed on the bracelet)
Thursday, October 11, 2007
"Bless us and Keep us Safe"
Anyone here watch Kid Nation? I'll admit with no shame that I do. I watch it, and I love it. Controversy aside, I think it's endlessly fascinating. Sure, it's impossible to know exactly how much of it is engineered by the producers and how much is genuine behavior of the students, regardless it presents issues relevant to America today in a whole new way that not only allows viewers to reassess their beliefs about those things, but also lets us see how some of the nation's young people have been raised to think and act.
I'm being a little overly dramatic and sentimental, so I'll try to lay off, but I did want to present thoughts on this weeks episode of Kid Nation when the town of Bonanza City was forced to confront religious differences. You can watch it here at CBS.com, but if you're not afraid of spoilers, you can continue reading.
The episode begins with various discussions of religion. "Do you think God put me here for a reason?" led into a dinnertime disagreement over whether Christians or the "Jew Crew" are better. The pioneer journal that serves to direct the kids told the town council-members to start a religious service. They decided to do one joint service where representatives of each faith can do a prayer or share a little about their beliefs. The idea didn't go over well. Some were convinced religion was too divisive of an issue and wished not to be a part of the likely conflict and others simply didn't see the point of hearing about other religions if they already know what they believe.
No one turned up at the town religious meeting. One kid did, however, do a survey about the religious beliefs of the town, finding one Hindu, three atheists, some Jews, a few others, and mostly Christians.
Later that night one of the town members decided to start her own optional prayer service out by the bonfire. She invited everyone to attend, and because they enjoyed having an option, many did. Many kids prayed about their experience in Bonanza City and even one of the Jewish boys, who was adamant about avoiding the earlier attempted service, recited a Jewish prayer and was clearly moved by the experience. He cried along with a few of the other kids who found the moment unexpectedly meaningful.
That wasn't it for religion. After the showdown (in which they put together steeple puzzles) they were given the option of which reward to take: a 9-hole mini golf course, or a collection of holy books. Shockingly, they chose the holy books. Even more shocking, there seemed to be less fall-out from choosing the holy book over mini golf than there was last week for choosing a microwave over pizzas. Of course, a lot of that is just framing.
I don't necessarily have a lot to critique or dissect from the show. I'm still just intrigued by it all, but I have one last thought about the reward choice. Many reviews I've read, my roommates and myself all thought it seemed absurd for them to choose holy books. They're only there for 40 days and mini golf seems a lot more enjoyable, however, if I think about it, it seems rather believable that they would want to brush up on religion. It's all about priming. If all you've been talking and arguing about for the last two days is religion, it's on your mind, and your own personal beliefs are probably on your mind. Plus, these kids are all at least a little homesick and no doubt scared in some respects. What do people turn to when they're scared and homesick? Oftentimes religion. It's comforting, and for some of these kids it no doubt brings them a little bit of home. I think any other week and they would have picked mini golf, but they were offered the books in the tiny window of time (manufactured by the producers) when that's what many were craving.
At least that's my theory. What about you? Do you think there were other factors influencing the reward choice? Do you think it's ridiculous for the creators of the show to manufacture these obscure scenarios? Do you think the show has any worth or validity? Do tell.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
"Weeds" and the Religious Right
I watched Weeds on Monday night. I'll admit, I was distracting myself on the computer, and I don't watch the show regularly, so I'm not the most worthy assessor of it, however, what I did see, I didn't like too much.
I have seen episodes of Weeds in the past. It's smart, funny, well-done and has an interesting premise. It's certainly not a bad show from a critical studies perspective, but from a Christian perspective, it made me awfully uncomfortable. Apparently, currently the younger son of Mary Louise Parker's character has been forced into attending a Christian summer school where he has encountered a number of intensely conservative Christians who try to convert anyone they meet and who believe whole-heartedly in evolution. Now I don't want to imply that no Christians are like that, but something about the way the show represents Christians irks me.
Maybe it's because all of the protagonists of the series look at the Christians like a bunch of backwards, ignorant individuals. Maybe it's because I feel the creators are jumping on every stereotype and not presenting a more moderate alternative. Maybe it's because I feel like those involved aren't necessarily interested in painting Christians in a positive, or even neutral, light.
Of course I'm bordering on hypocrisy here. I accept and even endorse shows that poke fun at Christians (The Office and The Colbert Report, for example), so what, do I argue makes Weeds so much different? I don't have a great answer to that other than the ones I've offered, and I admit those might be weak. So rather than completely condemn the show, I'll ask my readers what they think.
Is Weeds fair to Christians?
Is it any different than all the other shows I love?
Discuss
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
USC Knight Chair in Media and Religion
One of my professors at USC, Dr. Diane Winston, holds the Knight Chair in Media and Religion. Her interests focus on the intersection between religion and culture and she and USC have started a website devoted to relevant topics. Think of it as a website that does what I'm trying to do, only much better. I've only glanced around the site, but it seems rather extensive. Check it out.
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