Page 171 - Religion in the Media Age Media, Religion & Culture

160 Born-agains and mainstream believers

Karl does have some interesting responses to questions about his favorite
films, though, identifying both the very traditional American values of the
warhorse It’s a Wonderful Life, and Woody Allen films. He’s quick to
point out, though, that it is the “earlier” Allen films he has in mind, those
that deal with “big questions” and represent “darker existentialism.” Like
many others, he sees the Jimmy Stewart character in It’s a Wonderful Life
representing positive American values of character and resilience, and also
likes it because it has a happy ending. Karl claims not to be very interested
in television, or a very regular viewer of television, except for sports. He is
quick to point out that his opinions about television derive from his expo-
sure to promotions and advertising he sees while watching sports. His
assessment of most of television? Consistent with the idea that for many,
appropriate television is that which is “inoffensive,” Karl sees it is entirely
too oriented toward sex and titillation. Television programs and advertise-
ments “appeal to my baser side, as opposed to the side that would want to
uplift or inform” he observes. Everything has a “hook” of sex or violence,
in his view.
Karl also expresses a distrust of what he sees to be the primarily visual
experience of media like television and film (and presumably the Internet
and World Wide Web). Proposing that a primary role of visual media
should be entertainment, he observes,

[visual media] also shapes our understanding of the world and educa-
tion. It shapes our understanding of the world and issues, it helps to
think about things. You can watch something on the TV or go to a
movie and it makes you think about it and what your values are in
relation. And it’s still kind of entertaining in that because you’re
talking and sharing ideas. [extending his comments to music and
computers] I think music can really speak to your soul, and I don’t get
that so much from visual . . . visual media but from hearing and music
can really calm your spirit and, you know, uplift you or maybe make
you feel sad. [Computers are also] a little bit different from just the
visual media. [They] should educate and inform us and be something
that we can use to get entertainment but to make things easier by
doing your bookkeeping or computer or writing letters.

The Callahans do watch television, though. Cathy and Lisa possess an
extensive knowledge of the television schedule both for weekday evenings
and weekends, but do not go into much detail about their viewing prefer-
ences. Prohibited shows, particularly Beavis and Butthead and Ren and
Stimpy, come up frequently in their discussions and answers. In their indi-
vidual interviews, each describes a wide range of children’s programs they
are familiar with, and Cathy even reports having watched the prohibited
shows while visiting friends.