When I said, "the public" I really meant, "the public as perceived by Hollywood," which I imagine wouldn't exactly line up with exact public opinion if we took a poll on it. I just think that Hollywood often romanticizes Catholicism. It seems like if there's a character who's religion plays a significant role in their story line, they're either going to be Catholic or Jewish (excepting for bad Muslim terrorist stereotypes). This might be because of demographics of Hollywood writers/producers (I don't know those demographics), or it might be because there are easy signifiers of both of those religions, ie a rosary, going to confession, priest/nun, a yarmulke, words in Yiddish or Hebrew, stereotypical physical appearance. They both come with specific cultural assumptions that then become easy short hand for characterization. Why does character X feel guilty about Y? Well, because she's Catholic, and everyone knows about Catholic guilt, right?
Seriously, when was the last time you watched a tv show with sympathetic religious characters who weren't Jewish or Catholic? Even harder, name me one who was actually associated with a specific denomination of Christianity.
Seventh Heaven and Touched by an Angel don't count, mainly because I said so. Community doesn't count either because they're essentially making fun of all of the things TV takes for granted. The only show on my list after that is Friday Night Lights, and that's a show with a tremendous sense of how place affects character.
So I'm not really talking actual theology here in any way. I'm going more for perceived, stereotypical assumptions about religion on tv.
I really think that this could be a piece of meta on it's own, or even an academic paper, but the whole, "OMG Christianity is being discriminated against!!11!!!1!" undercurrent of it makes me vaguely uncomfortable, because I certainly don't think that's true. I imagine that most people watching TV assume some sort of default, generic Christianity for most of the characters on the shows they watch.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2011-04-27 06:14 pm (UTC)Seriously, when was the last time you watched a tv show with sympathetic religious characters who weren't Jewish or Catholic? Even harder, name me one who was actually associated with a specific denomination of Christianity.
Seventh Heaven and Touched by an Angel don't count, mainly because I said so. Community doesn't count either because they're essentially making fun of all of the things TV takes for granted. The only show on my list after that is Friday Night Lights, and that's a show with a tremendous sense of how place affects character.
So I'm not really talking actual theology here in any way. I'm going more for perceived, stereotypical assumptions about religion on tv.
I really think that this could be a piece of meta on it's own, or even an academic paper, but the whole, "OMG Christianity is being discriminated against!!11!!!1!" undercurrent of it makes me vaguely uncomfortable, because I certainly don't think that's true. I imagine that most people watching TV assume some sort of default, generic Christianity for most of the characters on the shows they watch.