Page 197 - Religion in the Media Age Media, Religion & Culture

186 Believers, dogmatists, and secularists

with, and use, the media. When asked if there are any programs they
watch regularly, the girls respond,

Chloe: Friends on Thursday.
Samantha: And The Simpsons.
Chloe: And The Simpsons and . . . Will and Grace.
Samantha: Yeah, Will and Grace. We watch MTV sometimes and BET
and Comedy Central.
Interviewer: BET [Black Entertainment Television], the channel?
Christine: Sometimes, there are some shows that all want to watch, some
music videos or something that I will watch.
Interviewer: Is there anything that you tape, because you don’t want to
miss it?
Chloe: Friends.
Interviewer: You tape it?
Chloe: Yeah, when we can’t watch it that night, we tape it.

In addition to these more ritualized television-viewing experiences, they
own a collection of videotapes, reporting that the film Fried Green
Tomatoes is their all-time favorite among those. Similar to many main-
stream believers and differing from many born-again believers, Sarah
believes that the single most concerning thing about television or other
media is violence. Like other parents, Sarah reports that her ideas about
appropriate media are codified in a set of rules or practices that her daugh-
ters understand and follow. She specifically recalls having to control access
to Buffy the Vampire Slayer not so much because of its sexuality, but more
because of its “gore.” Asked for other examples, she responds,

Sarah: X-Files I didn’t like either. That was awful.
Chloe: And Angel.
Interviewer: So is it the ones that are kind of sci-fiction?
Sarah: No, no just more violent mixed with a lot of sexual connotations.
Interviewer: Did that disturb you, you know talking about the Devil,
angels, vampire things, supernatural things?
Sarah: No, it’s kind of kind of gore type stuff. I mean that does nothing
for me. I don’t really personally agree with what they do so.

At the same time, though, Sarah does not want to be thought of as
someone who is too restrictive about media content. This coincides with a
sense that the family is, in fact, happily a television- and media-consuming
family.

Sarah: I mean there are some things that I put limit to, but not very much.
You know, I would probably... you know most R-rated movies I