Until fairly recently, the main characters in television series never fully embraced and accepted God and religion in their daily lives. Perhaps there was an occasional episode in which the main character dealt with a religious matter, but hardly ever was there continual religious discourse. However, it seems as of late that all main characters are forced to take some sort of religious stand. We see within the first couple of episodes the character being defined as a Christian or Jewish or Atheist or whatever. Sometimes is makes us love the character…. And sometimes we get mixed feelings about them. Unfortunatley, it’s all because of the stereotype we tack on to that religious set of beliefs.
My first example of this need for religious commentary come from Dr. House and his blatant way of expressing his feelings.
Of course, if any of you are familiar with House, you know that he isn’t afraid to hold his feelings back on really any issue. So I present Exhibit B… This archeologist turned FBI aide has struggled since day 1 with the idea that God exists. And within the first 5 minutes of the show, she is not afraid to express her feelings on the issue so openly.
The characters in current television shows are now forced to have open feelings and beliefs about religion. Stereotypically we see doctors and highly-educated characters, like Bones, with little or no belief in a higher, superior being. Meanwhile, there are characters more like Boothe that have strong, deep-rooted religious beliefs that clearly guide their actions. Either way, the main characters are forced to choose and to let their choices be known. It has become a sort of defining attribute of the characters.
I wonder why there has been this shift in character development. Why do writers feel the need to include strong religious beliefs in their characters? I’d like to believe that religion is important to the us as viewers and the writers write for our senses and that it’s not some crazy copycat effects that makes us think religion should be important to us because it’s important to the characters.
And so I conclude with this question: Why is religion such a defining quality of the characters we seen in our favorite television shows?
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In most stories there has to be what I refer to as a struggle or a character conflict. When television shows, especially ones like "House" and "Bones", there are appropriate reasons to bring out a religious background in a character. The reasons being that both of these shows have to do with death and the effects it has on groups of people. When religion is added into the mix it offers people a connection to what the characters might be facing, as if something like what is happening in he TV show could actually happen in real life. Because most Americans are religious the TV shows want the viewers to have a connection to the show they therefore give religious backgrounds of characters in order for them to be emotionally attached to characters and situations. The character conflict in the show then becomes a personal conflict for the viewer as they are attached with the circumstances in the show. And religion is a great way to get people emotionally invested.
ReplyDeleteI believe that giving a character a strong opinion about religion—whether for or against—is a quick way to establish depth within the character in the eyes of the audience. Someone who has an opinion on religion is assumed to have spent time considering the options. A character that has a strong, out-spoken opinion about religion quickly defines themselves as a character who is head-strong and thinks independently. This allows the character to establish a personality that portrays they are not a person who allows others to force their opinions on them.
ReplyDeleteI think most people in America do have a belief in some higher power, although they may not outrightly admit it. If a main character expresses in one way or another some deep belief, that character resonates with the viewers, making the character that much more personable and real. I think producers are always looking for ways to get their characters to be associated with its audience more intimately. This is just one more way for producers to do so.
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