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February 13, 2012

Home > 2008 > April (Web-only)Christianity Today, April (Web-only), 2008
Theology in the News
Channel Surfing for Common Grace
How reality TV broadcasts echoes of the gospel.




Like it or not, reality TV is here to stay. That much became clear when television studios weathered the recent strike by Hollywood writers. Reality TV is cheap, and the ratings are strong. This bottom line ensures a long run, no matter what the critics write.

Two of the more successful reality shows have flickered the television in my home. When I'm not controlling the remote, my family's television lands on TLC's "What Not to Wear." Hosts Clinton Kelly and Stacy London alternately challenge and chastise women regarding their fashion faux pas. By the end of the hour, the project/woman invariably follows their fashion tips and reveals her new, more confident self amid cheering family and friends. The other popular show in my home is "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." It's a little too cheesy for my tastes, but then again, I'm not the target audience. And what a big audience it attracts — "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" is a top-ten ratings fixture. The combination of do-it-yourself audacity and pick-me-up stories can't miss.

As I talk with friends and family, I've learned that many other Christians watch these shows. I've seen no fewer than 20 churches advertise a sermon-series spin on the "Extreme Makoever" concept. Considering other reality TV alternatives, I can see why Christians prefer these shows. Listening to them, we hear faint echoes of the gospel.

Take "What Not to Wear" for example. The success of this show has little to do with fashion tips. Most viewers can't even afford the clothes they see on the show. So what's the point? Even as the hosts berate poor women for their questionable wardrobes, Clinton and Stacy recognize that outward appearances often reflect inward realities. By the middle of the show, the subjects usually begin to see that they don't dress well because they don't value themselves. But they want to change. They want to feel beautiful, inside and out. Every episode ends with redemption — not the Christian kind, but a fashion facsimile.

In previous seasons of "What Not to Wear," this redemption was a minor, if obvious theme. Episodes formerly began with funny videos of the fashion offenders. Not in 2008. Now Clinton and Stacy sit down for a teary heart-to-heart with their next project. There is theology here. If you look inside yourself, you will find a unique inner beauty waiting to burst onto the world scene. Fashion is the bridge that will take you from where you are to where you want to be. That is the not-so-subtle message of "What Not to Wear."

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" is a very different show, but you hear gospel echoes here as well. This show organizes entire communities to work together and care for a down-and-out family by building them a dream home. These refreshing acts of selfless community spirit encourage the audience. This is how we want to see the body of Christ work together toward a shared goal of serving the common good. And think about the family. They have just about given up on the world. But just then, someone showers them with undeserved riches. How can they respond, except with effusive gratitude?

But if viewers hear the gospel's echoes, do they know where the sound originates? Elements of these shows unfortunately dampen the gospel refrain. First, there are unintended consequences. Christians must recognize how these shows pay their bills. Each show leverages the viewer's good will for good ratings, which pleases the corporate sponsors. These home-improvement stores and clothing retailers want to breed dissatisfaction with our own homes and wardrobes. So the good will we feel while watching the shows can become discontent with what God has given us.





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Displaying 1–5 of 11 comments

Jack

April 14, 2008  3:46pm

"These refreshing acts of selfless community spirit encourage the audience. This is how we want to see the body of Christ work together toward a shared goal of serving the common good." Yes, I agree that these acts of kindness towards hurting strangers ought to serve as modern parables for the Church of Christ. There is much to learn from here, including unity and diversity within the body. But to say that these examples of self-sacrifice echoes the gospel is a long stretch. The gospel is about God sending Jesus Christ, His Son, to die on the cross for our sins thereby paying a debt that none of us could ever pay. Through Christ's substitutionary death all sinners who place their trust in Him escape the wrath of a righteous God and avoid the just punishment which is meant for them. The fact is we are sinners in need of a solution for the problem we face. It's not that we face an outer problem with an inner solution but we face an inner problem with an outer solution: Jesus Christ.

E. Adesina

April 11, 2008  9:49am

I particularly like the way the article compared both the similarities and differences between Reality Shows-highlighting Extreme Makeover: Home Edition- and the Christian Gospel. In the Bible (Ecclesiastes to be specific) we learn that nothing is new. On the other hand when you experience spiritual awakening as you do in being born again or the physical analogy of receiving a new home, the joy and thrill is irrespective of whether your experience is a new one or not.

Margaret Nahmias

April 10, 2008  3:27pm

I disagree with you Phil Apperances do matter in the professional world. Would you dress like a slob on the job,even if the dress code was casual? It is What concerns me even more is how TV protray sex. Sex is often seen as sign of maturity and creatvity when maturity is required to make wise desicions concerening sex. It is almost too easy to show someone getting hot and heavy, rather than focus on character development Never mind the graphic stuff.

Ralph

April 10, 2008  1:24pm

I agree with the author's views on these make-over and "reality" shows on TV. Without the billions spent in advertisiing, these shows would rarely be produced or shown. Also, many of the reality type shows are set up so that the people being filmed are tempted and degraded and humiliated into doing things that they woud not usually do. Many of them seem to be milder versions of mtv's jackass, which was the beginning of this horrible trend. I cannot imagine Jesus Christ doing anything like this. I am glad that this article points out clearly the traps and reversed Christian values behind the makeover shows, and I think it could be very useful to many Christians who watch tv. God bless you.

rimerague

April 09, 2008  10:54am

I'm not so sure that "If you look inside yourself, you will find a unique inner beauty waiting to burst onto the world scene." is a redemptive message that in any way reflects the gospel. Nor does Extreme Makeover: Home Edition emphasize the showering of "undeserved riches". The gospel is the good news that despite all we are a merciful God has come to rescue us from ourselves, sin, death and the oppressive rule of satan and the powers and principalities. We now have a just, righteous, and loving One ruling the world and the cosmos and we can find true life under that rule. We are transformed, not by having something blossom that is already within us, but by the Creator God working His good and perfect will into our being and raising us to new life. Home Edition always emphasizes the deserved-ness of the people whose homes they build, though they give them more than they could imagine. You don't see them building homes for the homeless who have no resources to give to begin with.

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