In this coursework I have explained that there are religious broadcasts that have a category and explained what each the programmes in each category include. I think there are not many religious programmes on television any more because the demand has fallen and fewer people are interested in such matters and from this youth do not have an interest or an understanding. The majority of programmes are documentary as these programmes are most popular and they interest people and the issues are to do with life today. Documentaries are aimed at middle aged adults.
‘ Analyse and explain the way in which a religious or moral issue has been dealt with in a television soap opera.’
The issue that I will be telling you about and explaining is the issue in which Sonia from eastenders has recently given her baby up for adoption and she takes the baby back and Dot, another character convinces her to give it back were she reveals were she aborted a earlier child. This particular is a moral issue because it was an argument between right and wrong. Sonia thought it was right to take the baby and Dot changed her mind by saying it was wrong and right to give the baby back.
The Christian teaching on abortion is that it can be allowed under certain circumstances but other Christians say that it should not be allowed and you should be responsible for your own actions. The Christian view on adoption is the same as abortion but more hurting for a mother if she no's that her baby is still living somewhere and not with her than knowing that she is not with her at all. I felt that I understood how Sonia felt in this situation, as she knew that she could not bond with her baby and it was apart of her. At the time and the situation she was in at the time it felt as though it was the right thing to do but as time went on she felt a very strong feeling and needed her child. I think eastenders dealt with the issue well as they put in dot who was a religious person and she sat with Sonia and explained that the baby was not hers now and calmed her down. In doing this Dot revealed that she aborted a child when she was very young, as she had no support from her partner. She was forced into telling Sonia this as Sonia stated that she didn’t know what she was going through. This issue was dealt with realistically as it showed how upset and anxious Sonia was and how someone in a particular situation would react. It showed that the adoption parents would also feel. I think that this issue may show other people in Sonia’s situation how to and how not to react and how someone should go about calming them down. The issue will not offend any Christians as nothing was stated that could offend a Christian. People may think at the way Dot reacted and the way she led her whole life and look to Christianity and may not feel as involved and feel it holds them back from doing a lot of things.
I felt that the issue was dealt with correctly and calmly and I would not change anything as it may confuse viewers. It was portrayed in a simple way but also showing both sides of the argument and was made to be as realistic as possible.
“Analyse and explain the way in which a religious theme of concern has been dealt with in a film or television drama.”
The film I will be talking and explaining about is “East Is East”. The film portrays a mixed marriage between a Muslim man (George) and a Christian woman (Elle) and how they dealt with day to day issues and trying to bring up the children in a western society.
The family has four sons and a daughter. The first problem arises when the eldest son leaves home because he doesn’t agree with his dad’s Muslim way of living. The others are Sajid the youngest son, Meenah the daughter, Nazir, Tariq, Abdul and Maneer the remaining four sons. Another issue that comes up with the youngest son Sajid is that he has not been circumcised and Father insists that he must be circumsised. If this was not done the father would get very annoyed as he is very true to his religion. A very strong issue was when George beats his wife when she refuses to do what he says, this is a very violent scene in the film.
The Father also feels the need to arrange marriages for his children and as a result of this he loses a son and then considers him as ‘Dead’. In the film he has two other sons of similar ages and decides to arrange a marriage for the two sons without telling them. The wife insists that he tells them as she is afraid of loosing more of her sons. In this scene the sons are finally told and the two girls and their family come over to see the boys. This scene is maybe one of the most humorous in the film.
I think that mixed marriage has been chosen because mixed marriage is becoming more and more common today. Some Muslims believe that mixed marriage should be allowed and some say a Muslim should only marry another Muslim. Also some of the issues relate to modern day but the film was set in the 70’s so it would not offend any viewers. The Muslim community would probably see the humorous side watching this film as it is set in the 70’s but also look at some of the issues and relate them to themselves and others around them.
I felt the film was dealing with real issues which families of mixed marriage are having to deal. The humour makes it interesting and entertaining. Extremes at times and “arranged marriages” are more like “agreed marriages” and some matching goes before hand. An entertaining movie which one can watch again simply for the humour.
“Television always presents Religious people as out of touch with the modern world.”
I will be examining a number of religious people by looking at a number of programmes. I will look at whether they are ‘in’ or ‘out’ of touch. If someone were to be out of touch they would be seen to be abnormal or out of step as they did not dress like everyone else and they did not do the things everyone else did. The programmes I will be exploring are Eastenders, Songs of Praise, Simpsons, The Vicar of Dibley and Father Ted. I have chosen a mixed variety of programmes because I feel it will give me more of a balanced conclusion. Eastenders is very realistic so it would give a current view of how a religious person is presented. The Vicar of Dibley and Father Ted are both religious comedies, which are intended to make people laugh. The Simpsons is different, as it is a cartoon with family life situations and adding humour to it also.
The first programme is will be talking about is Eastenders. Eastenders is a popular television soap programme, which portrays life, as it should be in East End of London. The language is also typical of East End, i.e. cockney. The aim of the programme is to express real life issues and some to extremes as well as bits of humour to it. The main religious person in Eastenders is Dot Cotton, she is seen as out of touch as she carries a Bible with her and is constantly citing verses from it and trying to relate these to day to day life. She is also accused by the others of being a ‘Bible basher,’ and yet she persists on preaching to people. Dot can also be quite sociable as she likes a drink in the pub and she is a chain smoker, which is against her religious beliefs. She is in essence trying tp show that she is in touch with ‘life’ by displaying her modern ways and combining these with her religious antics. The Producers are in a way trying to show that it is possible to be religious as well as live in the ‘modern’ world. The older generation respect Dot for her beliefs but often feel that she is a little over the top.
The second programme I am exploring is the Songs of Praise. Songs of Praise is a worship type programme which helps people to worship from home. It is aimed at the older generation as they would be the ones who take more of an interest in their faith and they also may not be able to go to church. They participate by watching this and listening to the hymns and worship from home. The people in the Songs of Praise are often portrayed as out of touch by the clothes they wear, these are seen as old fashioned. The hymns they sing are old and slow which would only appeal to the older viewers. It is also shown to be in touch with the modern world as recently they have started to show various interviews with ordinary people and this is something that happens more common today also with young, well known presenters.
The third programme is the Simpsons. The Simpsons is a cartoon family comedy, which shows real life issues with extreme humour added to it. The aim of the programme is to entertain through unrealistic comedy. It portrays a normal family dealing with everyday problems, the family has some of the solutions that are used are seen to be rather extreme but very humorous.
Reverend Lovejoy is a very religious character in the cartoon as he is the Reverend. When his services are attended every Sunday, people tend to get very bored and even fall asleep. He constantly talks about Heaven and Hell and how you should always do right. He is seen as out of touch in the programme as his sermons are very boring. His clothes are also old fashioned and don’t appeal to people and is portrayed as a very annoying person to talk to also.
The religious family in the Simpsons is the Flanders family. The Flanders family is always happy and open. They tend to get on everybody’s nerves, and hardly ever react to other people’s views. They are seen as out of touch as they always go on about God and that they have never committed a sin.
Marge is mother of the main family in the Simpsons and she is also seen to be religious but she is also very ‘in’ touch. She is not over religious like some of the other mentioned characters, she is seen as an ordinary Christian but she takes her responsibilities of bringing up her children very seriously but is always made to work harder because of her husband Homer.
The fourth programme I will be analysing is The Vicar of Dibley. The Vicar of Dibley is a religious comedy aimed at making people laugh. Its aims are to show how different religious people would do things in various religious places and this is done by adding humour to it.
The Vicar, Geraldine is seen as in touch in the programme. She is seen as in touch because she likes a tipple of Jim Bean and she enjoys having fun. Some of the other characters are seen as out of touch as they are seen, as over religious and their choice of some clothes, music etc is not what most people would prefer. Other characters are seen as in touch because of the way they act towards the other characters.
The last programme I will be explaining is Father Ted. It is also a religious comedy, which concentrates more on the humour. Some of the humour is often very extreme.
The priests in the programmes are portrayed to be out of touch as they wear very old-fashioned clothing and by the way they talk towards each other and to other people. They could also be seen as in touch because they are not over religious and they do not constantly preach religion or talk about God.
‘Television always presents Religious people as out of touch with the modern world’ is the question this writing has been based on. I feel that after looking at all five programmes that I disagree with the title. After writing about the title and discussing it using a number of programmes, the arguments against ‘Television always presents Religious people as out of touch with the modern world’ is that not all-religious people are out of touch. Programmes like Eastenders and the Simpsons do show that religion has a place in everyone’s life and that they also show that religion and modern life can exist side by side. The arguments I will tell you are now for all religious people on television being out of touch. I agree that some aspects of the programme do go over the top but then to make a point one has to do that, for example the same applies to teenage pregnancy and gay people. The programmes have to go over the ‘top’ to bring out the issues and how these are in ‘normal’ life, this is especially in comedies.
For example Religion always plays a part in all baptisms, weddings and deaths and even those who don’t believe in God are seen to say a prayer or two at every funeral and respect the ‘Lord’ at a Church wedding. In Eastenders, everyone turns out for a Funeral, if that is the only episode you ever watch, you would think they are all religious. At Christmas time the turnout for ‘Mass’ is also quite unique and I am sure the people watching must think, ‘should we be attending Mass as well’.
In my conclusion I would say that television does sometimes present religious people as out of touch but this is no more than presenting ‘gays’ or teenage pregnancy or mixed marriages. The whole idea is to get the modern world to accept that this is normal in today’s life. This applies to religion as well and this is done by saying ‘you can mix religion with pleasure.’