Why Jesus disapproves of Reality TV
"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye?
You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother/s eye"(Matthew 7.1-5 ESV)
How does this relate to reality TV you may ask? Well I am not a religious zealot and you don’t have to be either to appreciate the message. I have also read some opinions and interpretations that are wonderful and confusing sometimes. So here is a perspective that relates to the Reality of reality TV.
Before we get deep into it, can we at least agree that “reality TV” isn’t real at all? It is scripted and set up. Not as scripted as professional actors that have crafted their art would have, but certainly guided. The producers of the show put people in the most dramatic and uncomfortable scenarios to create some sort of salacious conflict so people will be glued to the “boob tube” and then talk about it (gossip). Then, more people tune in and ratings go up… Period. TV is a business and the more people watch the more money is made. That is not a bad thing and I am not saying it is wrong for a TV company to make money. We all should make as much as we can. This conversation about another topic entirely. I just wanted to be clear that making money is not the challenge; it’s what’s being used to generate the income and the ecology of the method. These “Reality show’s” are edited and produced to appeal to the lowest common denominator.
So the way I interpret Jesus in this context and beyond is: “how you judge others is how we judge ourselves.” So imagine how people must be thinking about themselves after watching and gossiping about the fodder of Reality shows. I could say here, “Take_____ for example”, but I don’t think highly enough of any show to even give it that much credit.
Let’s look at the first part "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” Now the obvious is clear but let’s go deeper here. Beyond how others judge you, which they always will do, the real challenge we need to address is how we judge ourselves. Because what happens is this: how we judge others is how we judge ourselves and in turn, how we think others are judging us. Here is an example of what I mean. I had a friend that had pretty low self-esteem. She felt unattractive, fat, and would not go out often and when she did, she was always thinking that people were looking at her and making comments. Then one day I notice she had a pile of tabloids. She and her sister were reading them and commenting negatively about what people were wearing, how they looked in bikini’s, etc. I noticed that everything she feared people would be saying about her was exactly what she was saying about others. They were both judging and gossiping about others and then they judged themselves similarly. We set the parameters of how we are judged. Said another way- we think we are judged by how we judge others. But judging is a big word with lots of energy behind it, so let’s use perception or evaluation instead. They are longer bigger words with much less weight. Our perception and evaluation models are based in references and contrasts. take out aren’t they. As we watch reality shows, read tabloids, and notice and give energy or attention to “reality stars” (which I call “idiot lights of the moronosphere”) we are essentially creating a model by which we compare our lives. Gossip is just judgment as well. So when we gossip about who did what and when, with whom and why (blah blah blah), we are just creating the model that we think everyone else must be thinking and talking about ourselves.
We have heard the term “rose colored glasses”. Reality TV, tabloids etc (anything that celebrates mediocrity) are basically coloring that nice rosy hue to dark brown crap tint! So, imagine a young person forming their personality and designing the tools for their life take out is being trained to think that life is about whatever these reality shows are promoting. I again don’t need to mention particular shows only that some of the situations, how they came about, and how they were navigated are NOT REAL! Sadly this is now becoming the example of what is real to so many. It’s conditioning. So, if you were to step back and look at how these shows make people think this is the way life is and use them as a barometer of how we are supposed to show up, do you think it’s healthy? If you had a child, would want them to learn about life through the lens of a “reality show” producer? If you have a child now and they watch these shows, the barometer is at play.
@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } To prove my point, the day after I wrote this, an article was published that spoke about teenage girls trying to get pregnant to get cast on shows about teenage pregnancy! These shows are about teenage mothers, and the end result is promoting teenage pregnancy! Houston we have a DIRE PROBLEM HERE!
I have also seen a new term brought into play: “Tabloid Celebrity”. Excuse me? And it goes deeper. In the past, it used to be an insult to be in a tabloid. Now, it’s a goal! These are the examples that are being set. As William Shakespere said, “Life is just a stage and we are merely players.” Is the 15 min of fame Andy Warhol spoke about worth putting a child through this? The child that is having the baby, and the child that is born into this reality are both at the losing end of this arrangement. Imagine the example the poor child that was brought into this world to be on a reality show will have. What will that little person’s story and reference point be? Her reality is her story. But with her “reality” being produced, what ends up being “really real?” What’s the “real story”?
Confused? Good. So is she.
We learn through stories all the time. That is what made Jesus so powerful in getting his message across to so many. He framed his message in a story that would connect with his audience and as humans we always put ourselves in the story. We connect with it and then compare it to our “reality and relevancy” and then make a decision about what it means. Think about it, isn’t true that we always find some character in a movie, show, book or story that we relate to. We find ways to see ourselves in that character or that character in ourselves. The best stories of all time are what have been called the Hero’s journey. Here is Wikipedia’s definition - A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man. Campbell and other scholars, such as Erich Neumann, describe narratives of Buddha, Moses, and Christ in terms of the monomyth, and Campbell argues that other classic myths from many cultures follow this basic pattern. This is not limited to myths and legends; the most successful movies of all time follow this pattern and have been used as lessons of examples or warnings. From Star Wars to The Wizard of Oz the hero’s journey leads us down a path of transformation. Reality shows lead us down a path of delusion. The best we can hope for is that reality TV serves as a warning rather than an example to the viewers. But as we see more people everyday are feeling worse and worse about themselves as they compare themselves to or emulate the examples shown on reality shows. It seems now there are more of these shows on TV celebrating mediocrity than ever before. I suggest that Jesus, with all his love, would certainly disapprove of Reality shows and all the energy behind and surrounding them as everything about them is in conflict to his teaching about judgment. Now how’s that for “reality”?
"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye?
You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother/s eye"(Matthew 7.1-5 ESV)
How does this relate to reality TV you may ask? Well I am not a religious zealot and you don’t have to be either to appreciate the message. I have also read some opinions and interpretations that are wonderful and confusing sometimes. So here is a perspective that relates to the Reality of reality TV.
Before we get deep into it, can we at least agree that “reality TV” isn’t real at all? It is scripted and set up. Not as scripted as professional actors that have crafted their art would have, but certainly guided. The producers of the show put people in the most dramatic and uncomfortable scenarios to create some sort of salacious conflict so people will be glued to the “boob tube” and then talk about it (gossip). Then, more people tune in and ratings go up… Period. TV is a business and the more people watch the more money is made. That is not a bad thing and I am not saying it is wrong for a TV company to make money. We all should make as much as we can. This conversation about another topic entirely. I just wanted to be clear that making money is not the challenge; it’s what’s being used to generate the income and the ecology of the method. These “Reality show’s” are edited and produced to appeal to the lowest common denominator.
So the way I interpret Jesus in this context and beyond is: “how you judge others is how we judge ourselves.” So imagine how people must be thinking about themselves after watching and gossiping about the fodder of Reality shows. I could say here, “Take_____ for example”, but I don’t think highly enough of any show to even give it that much credit.
Let’s look at the first part "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” Now the obvious is clear but let’s go deeper here. Beyond how others judge you, which they always will do, the real challenge we need to address is how we judge ourselves. Because what happens is this: how we judge others is how we judge ourselves and in turn, how we think others are judging us. Here is an example of what I mean. I had a friend that had pretty low self-esteem. She felt unattractive, fat, and would not go out often and when she did, she was always thinking that people were looking at her and making comments. Then one day I notice she had a pile of tabloids. She and her sister were reading them and commenting negatively about what people were wearing, how they looked in bikini’s, etc. I noticed that everything she feared people would be saying about her was exactly what she was saying about others. They were both judging and gossiping about others and then they judged themselves similarly. We set the parameters of how we are judged. Said another way- we think we are judged by how we judge others. But judging is a big word with lots of energy behind it, so let’s use perception or evaluation instead. They are longer bigger words with much less weight. Our perception and evaluation models are based in references and contrasts. take out aren’t they. As we watch reality shows, read tabloids, and notice and give energy or attention to “reality stars” (which I call “idiot lights of the moronosphere”) we are essentially creating a model by which we compare our lives. Gossip is just judgment as well. So when we gossip about who did what and when, with whom and why (blah blah blah), we are just creating the model that we think everyone else must be thinking and talking about ourselves.
We have heard the term “rose colored glasses”. Reality TV, tabloids etc (anything that celebrates mediocrity) are basically coloring that nice rosy hue to dark brown crap tint! So, imagine a young person forming their personality and designing the tools for their life take out is being trained to think that life is about whatever these reality shows are promoting. I again don’t need to mention particular shows only that some of the situations, how they came about, and how they were navigated are NOT REAL! Sadly this is now becoming the example of what is real to so many. It’s conditioning. So, if you were to step back and look at how these shows make people think this is the way life is and use them as a barometer of how we are supposed to show up, do you think it’s healthy? If you had a child, would want them to learn about life through the lens of a “reality show” producer? If you have a child now and they watch these shows, the barometer is at play.
@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } To prove my point, the day after I wrote this, an article was published that spoke about teenage girls trying to get pregnant to get cast on shows about teenage pregnancy! These shows are about teenage mothers, and the end result is promoting teenage pregnancy! Houston we have a DIRE PROBLEM HERE!
I have also seen a new term brought into play: “Tabloid Celebrity”. Excuse me? And it goes deeper. In the past, it used to be an insult to be in a tabloid. Now, it’s a goal! These are the examples that are being set. As William Shakespere said, “Life is just a stage and we are merely players.” Is the 15 min of fame Andy Warhol spoke about worth putting a child through this? The child that is having the baby, and the child that is born into this reality are both at the losing end of this arrangement. Imagine the example the poor child that was brought into this world to be on a reality show will have. What will that little person’s story and reference point be? Her reality is her story. But with her “reality” being produced, what ends up being “really real?” What’s the “real story”?
Confused? Good. So is she.
We learn through stories all the time. That is what made Jesus so powerful in getting his message across to so many. He framed his message in a story that would connect with his audience and as humans we always put ourselves in the story. We connect with it and then compare it to our “reality and relevancy” and then make a decision about what it means. Think about it, isn’t true that we always find some character in a movie, show, book or story that we relate to. We find ways to see ourselves in that character or that character in ourselves. The best stories of all time are what have been called the Hero’s journey. Here is Wikipedia’s definition - A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man. Campbell and other scholars, such as Erich Neumann, describe narratives of Buddha, Moses, and Christ in terms of the monomyth, and Campbell argues that other classic myths from many cultures follow this basic pattern. This is not limited to myths and legends; the most successful movies of all time follow this pattern and have been used as lessons of examples or warnings. From Star Wars to The Wizard of Oz the hero’s journey leads us down a path of transformation. Reality shows lead us down a path of delusion. The best we can hope for is that reality TV serves as a warning rather than an example to the viewers. But as we see more people everyday are feeling worse and worse about themselves as they compare themselves to or emulate the examples shown on reality shows. It seems now there are more of these shows on TV celebrating mediocrity than ever before. I suggest that Jesus, with all his love, would certainly disapprove of Reality shows and all the energy behind and surrounding them as everything about them is in conflict to his teaching about judgment. Now how’s that for “reality”?