Television has been knocked around pretty good in most Christian circles for a good while, thanks to books like Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death as well as countless warnings from Ft. Dobson and any number of watchdog organizations who constantly remind us that people not like us are trying to brainwash us.
Truth be told, alot of Postman's stuff is legit and if you can wade through the apocalyptic nature of much of what passes for 'upholding family values', there actually is some truth to what we're hearing about the lunacy of television.
So my interest was peaked when I read a quote by Alan Sorkin, discussing the opening sequence to the pilot of his new series on NBC, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which communicates 'how TV has failed society.'
Early in the episode, the producer of the fictional sketch-comedy show (played by veteran actor Judd Hirsch), fires off the following tirade:
This is not going to be a very good show tonight. And I think you should change the channel...Better yet, turn off the TV. I know it seems like this is supposed to be funny. But tomorrow you're oging to find out that it wasn't, and by that time I will have been fired...
This show used to be cutting-edge political and social satire, but it's gotten lobotomized by a candy-assed broadcast network hellbent on doing nothing that might challenge their audience...We're all being lobotomized by this country's most influential industry, that's just thrown in the towel on doing anything that doesn't include the courting of 12-year old boys...
There's always been a struggle between art and commerce. But now I'm telling you art is getting its ass kicked. And it's making us mean...It's making us cheap punks. People are having contests to see how much they can be like Donald Trump. We're eating worms for money...Guys are getting killed in a war that's got theme music and a logo. That remote in your hand is a crack pipe. We're pornographers. And it's not even good pornography...just this side of snuff films. And, friends, that's what's next. Because that's all that's left.
Now interestingly enough, the reason that Hirsch's character fires off that salvo is because a network censor cuts out a skit entitled 'Crazy Christians,' fearing the power of a potential boycott. The skit becomes a recurring undercurrent of the episode, that also introduces us to a major character who is an evangelical Christian and just broke up with her boyfriend (the guy who wrote the 'Crazy Christian' skit) because she had appeared on Pat Robertson's 700 Club (the boyfriend - played by Matthew Perry of Friends - calls Robertson a 'bigot,' which is actually kind of funny given the rather obvious intolerance of Robertson's accuser).
Now I'm pretty sure that Sorkin will screw this up (I'm not a huge fan - I thought that The West Wing was a rather pompous show, but that just might be because Martin Sheen comes off as remarkably pompous) but I'll give him this: he has the guts to put the issue on the table.
Here's the question I've been thinking about this afternoon: what does it look like for Christians to renew culture within the television media? Is it redeemable and worth investing in, or should we just trade in our flat-screens and boycott the small screen?
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