Trash the TV?
An Internet Discussion Between Terry Mattingly & S. M. Hutchens
Syndicated columnist Terry Mattingly posted the following column online, which we have excerpted.
Four years ago, ABC’s “NYPD Blue” started yet another fire fight between Hollywood and the cultural right. In addition to its violence and profanity, the gritty drama made headlines with a daring move in network TV—glimpses of nudity. This sent many conservatives to the barricades. Their protests led 57 stations, mostly in Bible Belt and Midwestern markets, to nix “NYPD Blue.” While conservatives celebrated their moral victory, some of these stations filled this prime-time gap with a sexy syndicated series—“Baywatch.” This drew few, if any, protests. Apparently, Pamela Lee’s front side was less offensive than Dennis Franz’s backside.
This is the kind of dilemma that haunts religious groups that wade into the media whirlpool. Tell folks to boycott one brand of slimy entertainment and the odds are good they’ll channel surf on over and watch something just as bad or worse.
“The message we have to deliver is that there’s some good stuff out there and lots of bad stuff and, if people are going to live as mature Christians, they’re going to have to learn to tell the difference. The church should help them do that,” said Calvin College’s William Romanowski, author of Pop Culture Wars: Religion and the Role of Entertainment in American Life.
Right now, the Southern Baptists, Focus on the Family, the Catholic League, the Assemblies of God and a host of other groups are taking on the Walt Disney Co. The problem, once again, is that it’s easier to tell people in the pews to zap Mickey Mouse than it is to ask tough questions about all those other entertainment decisions that shape their lives. So what should religious groups do?
• Comedian Jay Leno is right. The electronic devices in many homes flash one message—“12:00, 12:00, 12:00.” It would be a prophetic ministry for congregations simply to teach people how to program their VCRs. Technology already offers many ways to make choices, for good or ill. The goal is for believers to control the media camped under their own roofs instead of letting those devices control them. If conservatives want to shake things up, they would start a national campaign to convince parents to own only one television and to help them set and enforce limits on entertainment.
• Content issues do matter. But it’s hard to urge people to support the good and shun the bad without agreeing on some standards. Ministers should promote and use books, magazines, newsletters and Internet resources that critique the media. At the very least, congregations should hold one major media literacy event a year.
• This assumes that clergy pay close attention to how people spend their time and money. Yet this is precisely what missionaries do. They begin by studying a culture’s language, symbols, myths, family structures and the institutions to which people turn to for guidance. If pastors did this, they will run smack into the TV and the mall. Seminaries should require at least one core course focusing on the role that mass media play in American culture. . . .
S. M. Hutchens:
Good column. I wonder why so few Christians don’t just get rid of their televisions. The only reason I can figure is that they are devoted to them and cannot bring themselves to do it.
Terry Mattingly:
I see no reason to go this far, asking Christians to get rid of their TVs. I believe that step could be harmful, both to individual Christians and especially to those called into ministry.
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