When “Reality” TV Tries to Alter the Reality of You

Last updated on: August 30, 2012 at 11:39 am by Jeffrey Overstreet

When “Reality” TV Tries to Alter the Reality of You 2012-08-30T11:39:05-06:00 Jeffrey Overstreet

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Here’s a sad story about a family participating in an segment of ABC’s PrimeTime Live . The segment was supposedly about different family dynamics, comparing and contrasting them. But it seems ABC’s “journalist” (I refuse to use this term without the quotation marks, considering their tactics) had already made up her mind about these families, and tried to make them play into the ugly caricatures she had in her own head.

A “typical Roman Catholic family,” the Farinholts, was deceived into participating without realizing that they were being “set up” as anti-homosexual bigots.

Ahhhh, prime-time “journalism.”

Listen to what the Susan Farinholt says about “journalist” Cynthia McFadden: (I added the bold print.)

During the interview … [Cynthia McFadden, one of the anchors of “Primetime Live”] “kept trying over and over again to get us to say that we think [the homosexual couple is] going to hell, that we think that we’re better than them.

“We kept making it clear we don’t believe that. We can’t know what is in a person’s heart and what’s between them and God,” said Farinholt.

However, Farinholt said McFadden would “come back again: ‘I’ve done research on your faith, and you say that if you commit a mortal sin, then you’re going to hell.’ And my husband made it very clear that if you repent, you’re not.

“She just kept going back to it,” said Farinholt. “‘OK, we’ve got two unrepentant homosexuals here, so you’re saying that they’re going to hell.’ She kept trying to leave it at that.”

Hmm.

“Research.” Well, if by “research” McFadden means she watched Jerry Falwell bash homosexuals and thus concluded that all Christians are self-righteous bigots, then… wow. Sounds like McFadden’s report is nothing more than a spectacular exhibition of her own religious bigotry and ignorance … in front of an audience that includes many Christians who will sit there and shake their heads in bewilderment at her audacity.

It reminds me of the way that Christian youth group leaders used to tell me that rock and roll music was evil because rock stars were all evil Devil worshippers. And how did they know this? Because they’d read some stories about one or two rock stars who sang some spectacularly bad songs about the devil and performed some lewd acts onstage. It’s like doing a character assassination on Bono because Jim Morisson was a rock and roll star too, and thus, aren’t all rock-and-roll stars womanizing, hedonistic, drug-addicted, self-absorbed, nihilistic bastards?

Reminds me of when I was dumped from an interview appointment on a rival network to ABC recently. They’d wanted me to do the interview because I was a Christian film critic, but they dumped me when I realized I wasn’t going to play the angry “culture warrior” bashing Hollywood for immorality. They may as well have told me, “No, we don’t actually want to hear from a Christian. We only want to hear from a bigot and and extremist calling himself a Christian. Because that’s what we want our audience to think Christians are really like.” A freakshow, that’s what “journalists” like McFadden want. That’s what’ll get them ratings. Don’t give audiences the real thing, because that gives the impression that people of Christian faith might have some integrity.

Why do “journalists” like McFadden need to ask Christians’ opinions about anything, if they’re just going to try and force us to play judgmental, legalistic, intolerant idiots? Why even raise the question “Is the media anti-religion?” when so many in “the media” openly strive to pigeonhole Christians at every turn? Heck, why not just start “The Anti-Religion Show” and send reporters out to corner, humiliate, and show more intolerance for Christians… and then self-righetously tut-tut on-camera over the Christians‘ “lack of tolerance”?

What a joke.

When is someone going to do a PrimeTime Live segment revealing the brutish tactics of arrogant and intolerant prime time “journalists”?

God bless the Farinholts for standing firm and testifying about God’s grace when put on the spot.

Journal

"Reality" TV

Bigotry

Previous Post

April 4, 2005

Anthony Lane on "Sin City"

Next Post

April 6, 2005 Have you READ "Revenge of the Sith" yet?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Blog Bloggers on "Through a Screen Darkly" Browser Coming Soon Endorsements Fiction Books Film Forum Film Reviews Inspirations Interviews Journal Kindlings Muse Movie buzz Music Reviews Non-Fiction Books radio Reviewers on "Through a Screen Darkly" The Auralia Thread Through a Screen Darkly Through a Screen Darkly - Bonus Materials Top 10 (or 20 or 100) lists Uncategorized

Select a Month June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 July 2003 May 2003 March 2003 September 1999

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What was a biblical measurement of a span?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Half a cubit Third of a cubit Quarter cubit Full cubit