For this assignment I have decided to analyse and explain the way in which religious themes have been dealt with in the media
For the first part of my coursework I will be discussing the variety of specifically religious programmes on the five maintelevision channels, and explaining in which a moral issue has been dealt with in a soap opera, and I will also be looking at areligious theme which concerns Christians in a film or a television drama.The most popular specifically religious programmes is BBC 1’s “Songs Of Praise”. Audiences of between 5 and 7 million are attractedevery Sunday in the Godslot time around 6 in the evening. The godslot is a certain time in which programmes dedicated to religionand god are broadcasted.
As well as hymn singing, there is also some sort of inspirational music performances. Ordinary people alsocontribute to the show by adding human interests stories about how faith has changed their lives. This is similar to chat shows andinterviews but related more to religious faith.During ITV’s Sunday morning godslot, an entire Christian service is broadcasted live from a church. This appeals to those who are unable to get to church as it provides worship for them. ITV also shoe magazine type programmes late on Sunday evening such as”Sunday Night” and “Holy Smoke”.
These are religious programmes aimed specifically for under 25’s which are broadcasted aroundmidnight.Channel 5 usually has programmes on Sunday morning between 8am to 9pm. This is a programme called “Alpha Zone” which is about thereligious music scenes and there is also a programme called “My Sunday” which is also shown at a similar time. “My Sunday”emphasizes on the faith of people in the public eyes.As well as religious programmes of worship documentaries are the most popular broadcasts.
This is probably due to the fact that the format differs to ordinary programmes. Documentaries appear not to the religious but also to the other faiths around the world whoare interested in the issues talked about in the programme.BBC I has a religious documentary between 10.30 and 11.30 pm every Sunday which is called “Everyman”. This programme tends to usemainly film clips.
This documentary usually attracts an audience of around 2 million people.Channel 4’s documentary is broadcasted on Thursday at 9.oo pm called “Witness”, aimed at a more general audience. It investigatesissues such as black people in South Africa, the variety of faiths in Los Angeles and subjects such as Holocausts that it ever eventook place.BBC 2 and ITV also show one off documentaries.
BBC 2 has broadcasted a few series on “The Long Search” which looks at the six main religions of the world in humanities search for god. Series on Islam such as “The living world of Islam” have also been shown.(ii) Now I am going to explain in which the media has dealt with a moral issue in a soap opera. A religious issue is an issueconnected with the meaning of life. In different soaps a lot of different issues get raised which include subjects includingmarriage between the different faiths, religions and ethnics backgrounds.
The religious themes I have studied is abortion. I will be looking at abortion and how it affects other people of different faiths. I found that abortion has been raised in the soap opera “Brookside”. Brookside has dealt with abortion with a character Adele, whenshe fell pregnant at the a young age. She was 16 at the time. Her father called Martie agreed with what she wanted to do but herstep-mother Diane was against it.
Diane who was going through IVF treatment feels that it was wrong and she had strong feelingsabout it. As she has a strong faith she believed that it was wrong and was a sin in gods eyes. Martie believed that abortion wasacceptable as he doubted gods existence anyway. I feel that the programme has dealt this issue in a good way, the soap has dealtwith it in such a way that people did not criticise the way it was dealt. However, as a Muslim I believe that abortion should not beallowed accept on certain cases.
It should only be allowed if it is a danger to the mother or the baby, or due to a medical reason.If Adele feels she was adult enough to have sex then she should have been adult enough to face the consequences good or bad.(iii) For the next part I have to analyze and explain the way in which a religious issue has been dealt with in a film or atelevision drama. I am going to be writing in the film called “East is East” with the theme “should Muslims marry Christians?”.The film is set in Salford in 1973. This is about a married man called George who has seven kids, Abdul, Tariq.
Munir, Saleem,Sajid, Meenah and the eldest Nazir and finally their mother Ella who is white. This family is known to be the only asian/Pakistanisin the area. The film is mainly based on the cultural clashes between the asian and the whites. The father is the bread winner andhe expects the family to follow his rules. In the opening scene the children are taking part in a Christian parade and if the fatherwas to find out they would be in trouble.
Their mother is alright with it but as long as George doesn’t find out that she knew.The oldest son is getting married and the whole family is dressed in their best clothes and as the bride and the groom remove their veils for the first time, Nazeer panics and runs off. He goes away and he is the one that brings homosexuality in to the film. Thefather is devastated and he feels ashamed of himself so he doesn’t class him as he son throughout the rest of the film.On another occasion the father realises that his youngest son has not been circumcised and wants it to be done the mother refusesfor it to go ahead.
Obviously she doesn’t win which she knew the day she got married.About half way through the film the father tries to arrange marriages for the older two sons behind their backs, when they find outone of them doesn’t say anything because he is scared but the other one is angry and is outraged. They attempt to stand up to theirfather but he fails. The mother is also against it and at the end when the parents and the two ugly daughters are here to see thesons she stands up to George. The guests leave in disgrace to the family and the weddings do not take place and he realises he hasmade a mistake and that he has lost his control.
The film ends with the friends and neighbours playing in an ordinary street and thefather thinking over his mistakes. All these things took place because of the major culture clash. The themes were dealt in a comedysituation to make people understand.In my opinion I think that people of different faiths shouldn’t marry not just because of what my religion says but also it cancause a lot of complications. Subjects including children could cause problems.
Also the parents of different morals and beliefswhich should also be thought about. People of different faiths should only marry if they agree not to have children. Children iswhat causes hassle. At the end of it I think that marriage of different faiths should not marry because it can cause problems.(b)I am now on the final part of my coursework which is the conclusion. I have been given a quote (below) and have to say why I either agree or disagree to the quote.
For my reasons I have to refer to Islam.”Television always presents religious people as out of touch with the modern world”Although not everybody would disagree, I want to disagree that television doesn’t always present religious people as out of touch with the modern world.I have several reasons for arguing for this point of view. My first reason is that the “The Heaven and Earth Show” try and make the viewers interested in the programme by having phone-ins and interviews with celebrities which do not present religious people as out of date or weird.A further reason is that “Witness” which is another programme that people find really interesting is aimed at a more general audience. These programmes would not be so popular if they thought that religious people were out of touch with the modern world.
Furthermore is that if a person from a different religion was to watch a Christian programme they would not understand it so they would automatically think that they are not that modern. It would be the same if a Christian was to watch an Islamic or any programme showing a different religion. This is due to the fact that they are not familiar with the religion so that is why they would think that the religious people from that religion are out of touch. Everyone should respect and understand each others religion.Therefore, although some people might argue, I think I have shown my point of view which is, television doesn’t show religious people out of touch with the modern world.
