TV, Culture and the Human Heart
Have you ever noticed the kind of things that entertain us as Americans? We are a culture no longer amused by I Love Lucy, The Brady Bunch, Leave it to Beaver, and Gilligan’s Island. In the 70s, a shift was taking place toward a more racy type of fair. Archie Bunker, Fred Sanford, and the cast of Three’s Company were sharply different than what had ever come before. In the 80s we saw the advent of the prime-time soaps like Dallas, Dynasty, Knotts Landing, and Falcon Crest, as sitcoms and dramas grew a little more risqué. In the 90s, we saw the first “R” rated television show in NYPD Blue along with other programming which pushed the envelope. In the past decade there has been an even more interesting shift through the advent of the “Reality” show. Ironically these programs are anything but reality!
These shows depict everything from Simon Cowell telling a poor, sweet young lady she cannot sing on American Idol to people chewing up and swallowing worms on Fear Factor, to mothers trading places for a week with another family on Wife Swap. In fact, these days, sitcoms have largely died out. Prime-Time programming is made up, for the most part, of reality shows, dramas, and some news programming which costs the networks a fraction of the costs to produce over and above other programming.
People empathize with what they see on television. Some argue that TV is like a mirror, reflecting what is taking place in culture, whereas others argue that is ultimately “drives” what goes on in our culture. I would say that it ultimately does both, however I believe it more than anything “drives” what takes place. We are a long way from 10 year old girls wanting to pretend they were Wonder Woman and 10 year old boys dreaming of being Bo or Luke Duke, or the Incredible Hulk. Now they want to rule the house like other TV characters they see portrayed in reality shows and in other programming. All types of aberrant behavior is piped right into our living rooms for our convenience. Even well-meaning people can easily get sucked in if they are not careful.
We are further entertained by hearing of Lindsay Lohan going to jail, Mel Gibson being in serious trouble for his threatening phone messages, O.J. Simpson on trial for murder, the latest politician to be caught up in a sex or ethics related scandal or the latest celebrity to have a sex tape hit the internet for all to see. The tabloids have loved the on-again, off-again relationship between Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston. Shouldn’t there be more concern and less entertainment value? Instead of praying for these people, instead of expressing concern for these people, Americans are buying copies of The National Enquirer to find out the latest and somehow be “tickled” by it?
How would the average American like it when they were going through a great struggle if it were on the front page of the local paper? How about if it was on the front page of a national paper? What if it led the evening newscast and thousands of websites were posting it? Our culture has become one that glories in the shame of others. Somehow, perhaps others feel better if they can say, “Wow I have problems, but at least they are not as bad as her/him.” Is that really a good place to be? I hardly think it is. As believers in Christ we need to be carful that we do not allow ourselves to laugh at sin, be entertained by the peril of others, that we do not fall under the sway of the world and the “god of this world,” Satan.” Our enemy, according to the New Testament, “Walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” That is an enemy/threat we must take seriously. We need to encourage one another in love and lift one another up in prayer. It is the right thing to do. It is the moral thing to do. It is what God expects us to do!
In Christ,
Pastor Allen Raynor