I am out of touch with the American public. I know this
because I did not know there was a reality television show named “Duck Dynasty”
until the Robertson family patriarch was interviewed by GQ, and made all kinds
of people upset.
I read the Washington Post blog by Dylan Matthews about the
questions we have about A&E’s Duck Dynasty that we are too embarrassed to
ask (read here). I learned that Mad Men is a flop in comparison to this show I
hadn’t even heard of until the GQ incident (involving the following sentiments:
black people were happy before civil rights, any religion not involving Jesus
is prone to violence, vaginas are better than anuses, and I’m sure some other
gems). Here's the link to the original interview, although I haven't read it (suffering is optional, I say).
(To be clear, I don’t think the brouhaha is real news. Also,
is anyone really surprised that Phil Robertson holds these views? This isn’t
the first time Phil Robertson said something homophobic. A&E knew what they
were getting into.)
The buzz this whole thing generated, when compared to, say,
the ongoing real persecution of Christians in certain countries, or the number
of people the U.S. military drones have killed, I just wonder about how shallow
we really are. But since we’re spending time talking about reality television,
I have a few observations.
My first observation: I’m definitively an “out-of-touch
coastal elite.” I was born in San Francisco, grew up in eastern (rural) Oregon
and western Washington, then lived for a year in New York (the city), before
going to seminary in Chicago (which involved a year in San Francisco). One of
my reasons for even considering a seminary in Chicago was my awareness that I thought
of the middle of the country as flyover land, and I thought I should get away
from the coasts for once in my life. Now that I’ve left, I can’t seem to get
back.
(There are a few other possible reasons for my ignorance… I’m Asian American, and while I do not speak
for Asian Americans, the other Asian American women I know do not watch this
show. Oh, and given that I try to avoid shows that are exploitative or rely on
stereotyping based on gender/region/class/race, I limit my reality television
watching to the Food Network. I am out of touch in soooo many ways.)
My second observation is about what seemed to upset people.
Most of the people on my social media newsfeed were upset about the racism (you
know, that black people were totally cool with the Jim Crow era, and now that
they have all their rights, they are unhappy freeloaders.), or about the homophobia
(What is wrong with gay men that they prefer anuses to vaginas? Because sex and
love are only about genitalia, apparently.), or about the
anti-Shinto/anti-Muslim sentiments (Because religions lacking the Jesus
connection are more prone to violence. No one told Mr. Robertson Muslims
believe Jesus was born of a virgin and was a great prophet.). I wasn’t happy
with his statements, but I think they were pretty standard coming from that
particularly context. Plenty of churches and politicians hold these same views.
What upset some people was his suspension from the show. Many
of the religious right have defended Robertson’s rights to his beliefs. They
might have forgotten that cable television has almost nothing to do with the
right to free speech (protection from government infringement for citizens), and
everything to do with profit (gay people, people of color, and people who are
religiously Muslim or Shinto have been discovered to have lots of capital). Robertson
apologists are either ignoring the racist stuff he said, or they have melded
their religious conservatism with contemporary political racism, and agree, at
least implicitly, that black people were just fine before civil rights.
As a person in ministry to the wider church, I know I need
to be “up” on what is of concern to the people. But I have to admit I might be
drawing the line at reality television. I do not worry about my television
ignorance. I grew up without television, thanks to my parents’ philosophy of
childrearing (insert jab at coastal elites here).
Reality television is not really real. It is produced, scripted,
manipulated to maximize viewership. Do you remember the original reality
television? MTV’s Real World, the early seasons. I hear from friends that it
was boring (cf. my lack of access to television as a young person). But it was
honest. It was reality. Reality is not terribly outrageous. But the television
version can take a family of college-educated country-club-wealthy white
Southerners with a successful business and turn it into a spectacle that has the platform to exploit stereotypes about white southern people, and makes lots of money for
both the network and the family.
Why do so many people love it?
Reality television is a means of escape. It’s nice, isn’t
it, to get worked up about who is going to date a single rich man, or the
packaging on a duck-hunting product. It’s a lot more fun than thinking about
children who go hungry whenever school and school meal programs are on break,
or about the devastating impact we have on our planet. Many of us work on or
think about or experience real problems every day, and sometimes we want a
brain break. We want fluff.
But every once in awhile, someone made famous by money,
business, and reality television gets a lot of press for doing or saying
something controversial or just stupid. And then we wrap ourselves into knots over
a television show.
What is the responsibility of the church in speaking to
this? What can the church say about what matters to us as Christians? And when
is it ok to watch fluff?
I love some fluff, you know. But I also know that media has
a huge impact on my perception of reality, and my viewership is quantifiable.
Maybe being a Christian means I do not necessarily have a right to watch
whatever I want.
Want to have a conversation about reality television in your
community? Here’s a Thoughtful Christian downloadable study for adults. It’s
older, but still a helpful guide for conversation.
Comments
Post a Comment