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October 2, 2009

Reed Dunn: What do our TV choices say about us?

It’s autumn. The children have headed back to school and the leaves will be changing soon. But I am reminded of another rite of passage this fall — it’s the season of television. I can’t help but notice that over the last few years the major networks have settled on two subjects for drama: crime and hospitals.

It seems like every show has a gaudy representation of one or the other — and sometimes both. And the shows are growing more intense every year. The first few seasons of “ER” were mostly about relationships, but by last year I could hardly watch a commercial for the show without needing a nap. The scenarios kept becoming more extreme, more bizarre.

What is happening to television? What is happening to us? What does it say about us that we enjoy watching people in pain? What does it say about us that the double murder of some Minnesota couple is how we entertain ourselves on Friday evening? What does it say about us that shows have to be more and more intense just to hold our desensitized attention?

Do you ever wonder why crime and hospital shows are so popular right now? I believe it is because these are the two things that scare us the most. And herein lies the significance. The reason sickness and crime are so scary is because they are utterly out of our control. As humans we crave control, and some of the current television shows offer us a controlled environment to observe what is uncontrollable.

You and I want crime to be punished. We also want the guarantee of good health. How great is it that we can turn on the television and see those terrifying things resolved in one hour. When it comes to shows like these, I think resolution is what we want more than entertainment. On Earth, we see the unjust prosper and our sick relatives die — we look to TV as an escape from that reality. “Law & Order: SVU” gives us the chance to see the evil of sexual violence dealt with. “House” gives us a god-like character who exerts an almost omnipotent control.

But here’s the big question, what does God think about the way we are entertaining ourselves?

Sometimes we comfort ourselves with pretty weird things when we should really be looking to the Lord. It is possible for television to comfort our fears by creating the feeling that this world is indeed controllable. If that is happening, then that is idolatry — and idolatry is sin. Also, watching tragedy on TV allows us to grieve for others without having to show real mercy. If I witness a car accident in person I have to get out and help; if I see it on television I get to just sit and watch. Sure, I will feel sorry for those folks, but I don’t have to do anything about it. These shows can offer us a way to have duty-free compassion.

I am not telling you to throw your TV out the window. It is shallow and legalistic to point our finger at an inanimate object and blame it for our spiritual corruption. The television is not our problem — sin is. This is not a new problem, either. St. Augustine was struggling with the same question regarding the stage plays of the 4th century so we should not get all high and mighty and think we can put an end to worldliness. But it is food for thought.

The way a culture entertains itself is important to understanding the culture itself. Your neighbor may be in bondage to fear and that may show up in their entertainment choices. And that just may give you an opportunity to show true, active compassion.

Reed Dunn is pastor of Christ the King Presbyterian Church in Joplin.

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