WWJW – What Would Jesus Watch?
I spent lots of time with the wife this weekend and we got to debate the merits of our favorite programs. My wife likes reality programming where as I like the fictional versions. The thought that struck me is, what’s the difference? And more importantly, which set of viewing is the path of the righteous man? What would Jesus watch?
My wife likes almost all the reality programming type programs. She loves Top Model, American Idol, America’s Most Wanted, Maury, Jerry Springer, Starting Over, Forensic Files, City Confidential, America’s Most Wanted, all the judges (Mathis, Judy, Joe Brown and Hatchett) and Cheaters. And yeah I know Springer and Hatchett are really fiction but they pose as reality.
There is reality TV I can stomach. I can understand the true crime shows. I prefer the fictional dramas (Law and Order, CSI, etc), but they’re basically the same show. I can understand the judgment programs too. They increase your perception that the world is just, if not fair. I can even understand the competition shows. I was a watcher of Survivor for seasons 1 and 2. It’s not all terrible.
However I can’t stand the ones that flaunt human depravity. Maury, Jerry and all the rest are a showcase for the basest elements of our humanity. Here are some real topics from these traders in human misery: My baby daddy won’t send his child support payment from prison, My man won’t return my phone calls because his wife is a controlling bitch, My best friend says my old lady is a whore because he sleeps with her, and who can forget, Guess what, I’m gay! (And so are you). These programs actually glorify abhorrent behavior by giving the behavior a platform and making it seem more normal than it is. No one should aspire to these broken individuals.
{Off-topic rant to follow. Sorry, I couldn’t edit myself}
The worst of the worst is Cheaters. The whole point of the program is to have some loser who knows that his or her significant other is cheating on them be confronted by the wronged party. And put it on television. The format is simple: present a sympathetic (pathetic) party that suspects their significant other of cheating on them, get the proof of the other’s indiscretions, climax the program by having the wronged party ‘get up in the face’ of the cheater. The host is a smarmy sub-humanoid who utters phrases like “you’ve taken the first step, you stood up for yourself.” I just want to punch him. These poor saps that think that their lives would be better by putting their misery on TV are taken total advantage of by this program. Gaaahhh!
{Rant over.}
Getting back to the actual topic of this entry, I asked my wife why she likes this type of program. Basically she feels like this is a true reflection of the way that members of our society think and live. The purest entertainment is when people are caught in the act of being themselves. And I thought, my wife is right. The programs I enjoy are most entertaining when they are the most true. A play is great when it talks about a truth of life in a way never before presented. Further, it’s just not entertaining to watch people get along. Conflict is what drives drama, holds our attention and creates suspense. Suspense is that thing that makes you ask, “what will happen next?”
So what would God watch? I’m saying that God isn’t watching me. I’m boring. When God takes a break from tossing gas balls around the firmament (I imagine that’s what God does all day), I imagine he watches us humans down on earth for entertainment. And if you were God and could literally be everywhere at all times, would you watch me not cheat on my wife and not get drunk, or would you watch some crazy ill-behaved human rob a liquor store and run from the cops? So I think that if Jesus came by your house to hang out and watch a little tube, he’d watch the Cops marathon on FX long before he engaged in reruns of Highway to Heaven. Whaddya know my wife is right.
My wife likes almost all the reality programming type programs. She loves Top Model, American Idol, America’s Most Wanted, Maury, Jerry Springer, Starting Over, Forensic Files, City Confidential, America’s Most Wanted, all the judges (Mathis, Judy, Joe Brown and Hatchett) and Cheaters. And yeah I know Springer and Hatchett are really fiction but they pose as reality.
There is reality TV I can stomach. I can understand the true crime shows. I prefer the fictional dramas (Law and Order, CSI, etc), but they’re basically the same show. I can understand the judgment programs too. They increase your perception that the world is just, if not fair. I can even understand the competition shows. I was a watcher of Survivor for seasons 1 and 2. It’s not all terrible.
However I can’t stand the ones that flaunt human depravity. Maury, Jerry and all the rest are a showcase for the basest elements of our humanity. Here are some real topics from these traders in human misery: My baby daddy won’t send his child support payment from prison, My man won’t return my phone calls because his wife is a controlling bitch, My best friend says my old lady is a whore because he sleeps with her, and who can forget, Guess what, I’m gay! (And so are you). These programs actually glorify abhorrent behavior by giving the behavior a platform and making it seem more normal than it is. No one should aspire to these broken individuals.
{Off-topic rant to follow. Sorry, I couldn’t edit myself}
The worst of the worst is Cheaters. The whole point of the program is to have some loser who knows that his or her significant other is cheating on them be confronted by the wronged party. And put it on television. The format is simple: present a sympathetic (pathetic) party that suspects their significant other of cheating on them, get the proof of the other’s indiscretions, climax the program by having the wronged party ‘get up in the face’ of the cheater. The host is a smarmy sub-humanoid who utters phrases like “you’ve taken the first step, you stood up for yourself.” I just want to punch him. These poor saps that think that their lives would be better by putting their misery on TV are taken total advantage of by this program. Gaaahhh!
{Rant over.}
Getting back to the actual topic of this entry, I asked my wife why she likes this type of program. Basically she feels like this is a true reflection of the way that members of our society think and live. The purest entertainment is when people are caught in the act of being themselves. And I thought, my wife is right. The programs I enjoy are most entertaining when they are the most true. A play is great when it talks about a truth of life in a way never before presented. Further, it’s just not entertaining to watch people get along. Conflict is what drives drama, holds our attention and creates suspense. Suspense is that thing that makes you ask, “what will happen next?”
So what would God watch? I’m saying that God isn’t watching me. I’m boring. When God takes a break from tossing gas balls around the firmament (I imagine that’s what God does all day), I imagine he watches us humans down on earth for entertainment. And if you were God and could literally be everywhere at all times, would you watch me not cheat on my wife and not get drunk, or would you watch some crazy ill-behaved human rob a liquor store and run from the cops? So I think that if Jesus came by your house to hang out and watch a little tube, he’d watch the Cops marathon on FX long before he engaged in reruns of Highway to Heaven. Whaddya know my wife is right.
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