I Don't Get It

What’s so entertaining about so-called “reality shows”?  Why are they so pervasive on TV?  And the talk shows that deal with the worst that is in us (“I am the secret lover of my daughter’s boyfriend!”).   Or those shows in which we watch people get pummeled, pulverized and humiliated as they run a sadistic obstacle course ---Who’s watching this stuff?

Apparently someone is watching or else it wouldn’t be on.  Movies, shows, and entertainment seem to be exploring the gutter these days to see how far into the cesspool we are willing to sink.  Miley Cyrus’ self-degrading exhibition on the Video Music Awards with fellow bottom feeder Robin Thicke is only the most recent demonstration of our culture’s fascination with the lowest common denominator.  I once rationalized that we like to watch such trash because it might make us feel better about ourselves.  By comparison we might say, “Gee, I guess my life is not so bad.”  But I don’t understand why we seem to need such a steady, daily dose.  I guess I’m wondering what’s missing from our lives that we would seek to fill the void with such poverty of imagination.

I do not want to trash Miley Cyrus.  I suspect she is the latest emotional casualty of the Hollywood machine that created her.  There are others before her --- Macaulay Culkin, Brittany Spears, and Lindsay Lohan are precursors.  Each of these is a person in whom there exists the image of God, a soul in whom God delights.  So, why have they “exchanged the truth of God for a lie (Romans 1:25).”  In this context, the lie they have bought into is that they must find their self-worth in their popularity (which is never quite enough to satisfy the ego), instead of the truth that they are already of infinite value regardless of public adulation. 

What about those of us who watch this stuff?  Does it really make us feel better?  Does it really entertain us to watch the degradation of another, to watch humans behaving badly?  Am I a naïve to wish for programs that might evoke the best that is in us?  Instead, programs seem to push the envelope ever further to see what level of prurience we can tolerate. 

I do not call for a return to “Leave It to Beaver,” all innocence with no intersection with the reality of our lives.  But it is possible to tell stories that combine humor while looking at prejudice (“All in the Family”), evil confronted by integrity (“Foyle’s War”), or . . . why don’t you cut your cable, save some money, and get you a good book at your public library.  I hear Mark Twain tells some pretty good stories.

I guess I’ll end this by asking the WWJD question in another way --- “What would Jesus watch?”  To tell you the truth, my mind is blank.  I can’t picture Jesus sitting around eating popcorn and watching “Modern Family,” although I suspect he would find a Duke-Carolina basketball game highly entertaining.  I imagine Jesus would be spending more of his time in connecting with people directly rather than through some medium like TV, computers or smartphones.  Something to think about...