Religion In the Media
Section A
Introduction: Religion is widely spread in the media and has
influenced allot of people's views and perceptions of religion in
general. When televisions first started it was expected that most
channels would be hugely influenced by religion and have some form of
religious content. It was also expected that Sunday TV, would be
totally dominated by the main religion of that time Christianity.
However as time has gone on the amount and type of religious
programmes on Sunday have changed. Even though there is still
Christian programmes such as 'songs of praise' still running Sunday TV
has adapted to the country's multi faith society and screen things
such as the 'god slot' where documentary's from different faiths are
screened each week. Even though Britain is multi faith a large
percentage of them consider themselves vaguely religious. This has
influenced the time that some religious programmes have been screened,
for example some religious programmes have been screened in prime time
purposely so that they could target people who call themselves vaguely
religious that they might stumble upon the programme. There are many
types of religious programmes that are now screened such as worship
and magazine programmes, religious documentaries and soaps and dramas.
Religious TV Programmes: BBC and ITV set aside worship and magazine
programmes for Sundays mornings. The worship is aimed at regular
church goers who call themselves Christians and the magazine
programmes are aimed at a wider audience because it has a variety of
items on the show for different age groups and
Magazine programmes: BBC i...
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...also made fun of religious cults and movements such as the
Mormons. In this episode the Simpsons have been brainwashed by the
'movement Arians' and are forced to give away all their possessions.
Eastenders: is a soap opera that is not centred on religion and does
not have many religious characters. A character that is religion is
Dot Cotton, she regular makes references about her religion and more
recently when she caught cancer she keeps repeating 'that the lord
will take her through' Dots life is let by her religious beliefs and
she believes that anyone who does not have religious morals has
something wrong with them. Eastenders have chosen to make Dot
religious out of the whole cast because they are trying to portray how
religion is not seen as a popular thing for the younger generation but
a thing for old people.
American’s nation-wide did a disbelieving double take when they were heard that Jim Carrey was going to be playing the role of God in Universal Pictures summer 2001 movie Bruce Almighty. Millions of American’s have found themselves near-obsessed with the engrossing epic Lord of the Rings, Dogma has been welcomed into the Cult Films Hall of Fame, and Mel Gibson’s The Passion stirred an overwhelming amount of religious, cultural, and ethnic criticism. When looking at the recent array of films that either present or suggest religious themes – whether it be allegorically, evangelically, or satirically – we find ourselves asking the question “why now?” Is the reason for this upsurge sociological, psychological, philosophical, or historical? Is there perhaps a political or economic reason as to why American’s today are so eagerly consuming films that are looking at the timeless battle between good & evil, questioning organized belief systems, or presenting religion in new and contemporary ways? From critical analysis and research done on this subject, as well as much pondering and theorizing, it could be said that the question of “why now” is more philosophical, and value oriented, than anything else. The religious content that is present in modern American films is indicative of a more general discussion & questioning of values and resonates with the post-modern, religiously pluralistic mindset that American’s have come to embody.
In his classic work Christ and Culture, H. Richard Niebuhr asserts that the relationship between earnest followers of Jesus Christ and human culture has been an "enduring problem."1 How should believers who are "disciplining themselves for the purpose of godliness" (1 Tim. 4:7) relate to a world whose culture is dominated by "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life" (1 John 2: 16)? Culture is God's gift and task for human beings created in His image and likeness. At creation humanity received a "cultural mandate" from the sovereign Creator to have dominion over the earth and to cultivate and keep it (Gen. 1:26, 28; 2:15). But sin's effects are total, and culture—whether high, popular, or folk—has been corrupted thoroughly by rebellion, idolatry, and immorality. How, then, should Christians, who have been redeemed, "not with perishable things like gold or silver . . . but with precious blood, as of a lamb, unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ" (1 Pet. 1:18-19) live in relation to culture? According to Jesus in His high priestly prayer, believers are to be in the world but not of it (John 17:11-16). But in what way? How do believers act in and interact with the "crooked and perverse generation" (Phil. 2:15) that surrounds them and of which they are a part?
Same sex marriage has been a controversial issue since homosexual couples started to petition for their civil and marital rights. Even though homosexuality existed long before our society labeled it, it is still not socially accepted by many groups as well as individuals. As a result, people tend to be biased when reporting facts concerning homosexual marriage. Biases can be hidden in many literature works like books, journals, magazines, and articles. Through these documents writers try to provoke an emotional response from their readers in order to influence their view of a usually highly debated matter. An example of this would be three articles through which the rhetors dissimilarly influence the opinion of their audience by omitting or emphasizing certain facts about the legalization of gay marriage in New York State.
Islam is portrayed and is commonly accepted as the most violent and largest direct threat to the West. This is a generalization made by most of the West, but it is not particularly the West or the Islamic people’s fault. There is constant turmoil in Islamic countries in the Middle East and these conflicts are what make the news in the West. The only representation in the media that the Islamic nation gets is that of war. Though most Islamic people are not violent, the select few that do participate in terrorist groups give the rest of the Islam nation a bad image.
Portrayal of Christianity in the Media In this piece of coursework I am going to write an essay about how Christianity is portrayed in the media. I'm going to write about mainstream shows such as Songs of Praise and Paradise found. I am also going to write about how a Christian issue is dealt with on Eastenders which was Euthanasia. Then I am going to write about how Homosexuality is looked upon in the film Philadelphia.
I'm not a tremendously religious person. I don't attend religious services, I don't say prayers before bedtime (or much of any other time), I don't read a section of my holy book on a regular schedule... you get the picture. The closest I'd come to claiming a personal faith is to call myself a sort of armchair Daoist.
Portrayal of Religious Individuals by Television The recent series of the BBC2 show, Coupling, presented an episode where a very religious Christian, James, was presented. In this episode, James was a presenter for a religious programme at a radio station, and meets Jane, who has an extremely stereotypical view on Christians. Jane is non religious herself, which is assured when she mentions that "I'm Christian too, I just happen to dress well" - which presents the typical outlook of many people nowadays, that believe Christians tend to wear 'out of fashion' clothing. James informs Jane that he is anti-premarital sex, which shocks her.
“Those of us who trust sexuality must not allow ourselves to be controlled by those who fear it (Marty Klein).” In America censorship has affected various mediums: print, art, television, and internet, as it pertain to sexuality. However the first amendment “protects” the right to free speak, and press. Congress has tried to pass bills to outlaw pornography, (but have failed) ban books for sexual content, and dictate what can be said on TV and radio. If the government is allowed to censor these ways of communication then we, as citizens of a democracy, will be treated as citizens under a dictatorship. “Censorship may even suppress new and different ideas, keeping them from being made public. It may also set limitations, which stifle the creativity of authors and prevent them from thoroughly expressing their ideas (anonymous)”. The religious groups, parent groups and feminist, are the factor in pressuring governments to implement stricter moral codes. The problem is that these groups view sex as a means of procreation. Yes we are mammals, but we do not have sex just to mate like hors...
Media bias is the bias in journalism and news production for the mass media inside selections of cases and stories and how they are addressed. Media bias can be found anywhere in the media related to very controversial topics such as, abortion, gun control, and majorly in politics. This is nothing new but what is new the shameless ways of blurring/nudging the truth in line with marketing. The blurring of truth hinders the average consumers mind and blurs all the facts and different perspectives to only the side the consumer has read/watched.
They are on Sundays on the BBC, which has God slots at A.M and P.M.
It's clear to see the media focuses on various reports, television shows, and even sitcoms regarding all forms of psychology. While watching television one can say media basically relies on psychology. The media of psychology views psychology through means of common sense versus an actual science. Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processed. Behavior is anything you do that can be observed. In the media we can observe people through the television screen. Through our observations we learn from their behavior. For example in a famous experiment conducted by Albert Bandura called, "Bobo Doll Experiment," a preschool child is working on a drawing. An adult in another part of the room is building with Tinkertoys. The child is watching this adult through a television screen and watches as the adult gets up and for nearly ten minutes pounds, kicks, and throws around the room a large inflated Bobo doll, while yelling hurtful sayings such as, "Sock him in the nose" or "Hit him down" and even "Kick him". After the adult was done, the child was taken to another room and demonstrated the same actions as they have seen through the television screen to the Bobo Doll. It's clear to see from the experiment the media teaches society many aspects of psychology. From a psychological aspect we see a child observing violent behavior from what the media has presented. Humans learn through observation and in a world where technology is advancing, the media plays a large role.
Nearly all religious programmes are aired in non-prime time slots. with the exception of Songs of Praise on Sundays. 17.45 - 18.15 p.m. This suggests that the TV companies see broadcasting religious programmes as something they must do, and not something. they wish to do, he said.
Religion as defined in, You May Ask Yourself, is a system of beliefs, traditions, and practices around sacred things, a set of shared stories that guide belief and action (Conley 613). Meaning, religion, is the way people can navigate their world and distinguish right from wrong, and good from bad. Everyone has their own belief system and often that belief system does not go with the norm of the rest of society but, what happens when a person 's belief system based off of that of the social norm? That is what society considers religion. Religion, not only in America but also the rest of the world is the basis of not only peoples beliefs but also the way they choose to live their lives. Majority of all people in the western world
is a vicar who preaches to you about god and how he created all and
A lot of different types of media, such as film and TV; reflect different ideologies, though we are not always aware that they are doing so. An example of this would be action/adventure films, which shows that using force or violence to solve problems is acceptable and reflects upon certain ideologies. This helps us to understand the media because the ideology that is reflected in these films is capable of reaching big audiences through the use of TV and film, thus allowing for it to become a more common belief within