Although I hate to admit it, I believed everything I saw on television when I was young. I would watch programs about a Disney Princess and think if I danced around in a pink dress I would meet a prince. I watched Sabrina, The Teenage Witch and then tried to turn my brother into a penny. I would watch Are You Afraid of the Dark? and have nightmare about the hardly believable, and yet terrifying stories told around a campfire. Point is, I was influenced by the programs I watched on tv. These shows expanded my imagination, created backdrops for my day dreams, and gave me something to laugh about with my friends. On the other hand, how much did television influence my viewpoints, my idea of social norms, and my comfort with certain topics? Because of my personal experience with influential television, and my current study of media and religion, it got me thinking about how television programs directed at children can influence a child's view of religion early in life. Will comedic and unbelievable religious references make children embarrassed about religion? Will the unnatural religious settings make religion seems forces and unnecessary to easily influenced viewers?
The biggest influence of my argument is the way religion is depicted. Take, for instance, the example of Pocahontas, the Indian princess who seeks guidance from a tree who she calls Grandmother Willow. In the movie, Pocahontas seeks Grandmother Willow as her spiritual guide and counsels with her frequently, a parallel to prayer. The depiction is admirable, alluding to an idea of receiving guidance, but the actual representation of this reception is laughable. A tree? Talking back to you? Hardly believable. More points to a drug problem than a religious affiliation. I understand the movie is about a more primitive life where natives responded to Mother Nature, but the likeness of the religion is uncanny and in turn disrespectful to the sacred act of prayer.
Paul V.M. Flesher addressed a similar point in his essay "Disney's Depiction of Religions" July 18-24, 2004. He commends Disney for their attempt to not shy away from religious references, as so many mainstream programs do, but admits that he cringes when he sees these references taken out of cultural context. For example, I don't understand Pocahontas talking to a tree because I am not a hippee. A group of American students won't understand religious references in a Buddhist movie because they are not part of their culture. His solution is that Disney not try to create situations of religion but let them happen naturally, as they would in real life, and let the context analogous with the cultural norms of the audience.
I believe that forced religious situation in television effect a child's perception and acceptance of religion as a whole. The only way to sidestep this trend is to avoid unrealistic portrayal of a belief system. Allow the teaching to occur in the home and reserve television for entertainment.
While I can understand the argument that the parallel depiction of prayer is disrespectful, I don't necessarily agree with it. The two questions behind my viewpoint are: How else could a likeness of prayer have been depicted? And, considering the context of the story, how could it have been portrayed any more respectfully?
ReplyDeleteThe example of Disney's Pocahontas is the story of a young Native American woman who struggles to understand foreign visitors to her land and the challenges they bring with them through the perspective that her beliefs and culture have developed within her. The emotions and morals that motivate her decisions would be extremely difficult to represent literally on screen. Therefore, in this case, it seems the animators sought to portray her attempts to receive guidance from a higher power symbolically.
It is because of this symbolism that I consider the portrayal to actually be more respectful than inconsiderate. Rather than trivializing her attempts to receive guidance, or ignoring them completely, the movie represents them through her interaction with Grandmother Willow, a mystical and divine being - the embodiment of Mother Nature. Such an interaction could be viewed as quite sacred and powerful.
I can understand how one might describe this interaction as exactly that though - trivializing. Like so many other examples of this issue, it comes down to our individual perspectives. In this case, some will feel that the representation is offensive and inaccurate to the point that it is misleading. Others will feel that it quietly, effectively and symbolically portrays the relationship and interation we can have with a higher power.
I submit that teaching can occur in the home simultaneously with enjoyed entertainment. Children especially can process the right message when viewed through the right perspective.