Chris Collins

Religion and the Media

  1. ii) Analyse and explain the way a religious or moral issue is dealt with in a television soap opera.

Euthanasia is the religious issue I will be dealing with in the soap opera, Eastenders. Euthanasia is the way of providing a gentle way of death in three types of ways: assisted suicide, voluntary euthanasia or non-voluntary euthanasia. Assisted suicide is providing a seriously ill person with the means to commit suicide. Voluntary is when a person who asks someone to end their life painlessly and non-voluntary is when there is no permission to end someone’s life but it is the right thing to do.

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The soap in which I will be dealing with this issue is Eastenders. The characters that are affected are Dot and Ethel. Dot is a Christian and Ethel is an 85 year old woman who is very ill. Dot promised to look after Ethel but she cannot cope and recommends that Ethel goes to hospital. Ethel doesn’t want to and suggests she should end her life by taking pills. Dot immediately rejects the idea and will not help her. A key line in the scene is when Ethel says to Dot, “How can it be wrong to help a ...

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