Religion in the media is a big issue. There are hundreds of programs on television that focus on religion. There are different kinds of shows. Shows like “Heaven and Earth show”, are magazine type programs, which are chat show type programs, which consist of a panel of different religious people. The show addresses issues such as abortion and wikka, or witchcraft. Another type of show is “The Big Questions”. This is another chat show with a more formal approach to its issues. It also consists of a panel. The show brings questions such as “Does prison work?” and “Do we over consume?” “The story of God” is a religious documentary. This show doesn't have a panel, but it addresses questions such as “Who, or what is god?” and “How can we be in a relationship with god?”
Coronation Street showed a teenage girl, Tina, discovering she was pregnant with a teenage boy, David Platt's baby. The pregnancy was unplanned as they had only been together for a few months and neither of them was prepared to have a baby, or be parents. Tina confided in David's mum, Gail, that she was pregnant, although she hadn't told David. She needed support and advice off a responsible person other than her mother, as she thought her mother would disapprove of the pregnancy. Gail thought that it would be best to terminate Tina's pregnancy, as Tina and David were both too young to have a baby and she felt David was unstable after numerous years of traumatic events. Tina accepted her advice, and went through with the termination, as she didn't feel that she was responsible or old enough to be a parent. Gail didn't put pressure on Tina to have a termination, nor did she give her any reason to go through with the pregnancy. Gail spoke to a clinic about a termination, made an appointment, and offered to pay for a private service, rather than wait several weeks on the National Health Service. Tina agreed to have the termination and also agreed to keep it a secret, from David. However David later discovered about the termination and was incredibly angry and upset firstly because it had been kept a secret and he had no say in the decision of his Childs life and because Gail had considered getting David aborted during her own pregnancy. This dilemma showed David as being extremely upset mainly by the fact that his girlfriend and mother, perhaps his worst enemy, kept the termination a secret from him, rather than telling him and not giving him any choice in the final decision.
In the film Bend it like Beckham you meet a Sikh family with a teenage daughter, who is the main character in the film, Jesminda, whose loves football and wants to make a professional career in the sport. Her family disagree as they think that a good Sikh girl should be at home cooking meals and home making for their husband. Jesminda continues to sneak out and plays football when she tells her family that she's out shopping, or socialising with her friends. Jesminda's best friend Jules, a Caucasian girl, also plays football and her parents encourage Jules to make a professional career out of the sport as her father is a huge football fan. Jesminda and Jules' football coach, Joe, gets into a relationship with Jess (Jesminda) which Jess' parents would never approve of, as Joe is also Caucasian. Jess' Parents have a boy in mind, Tony, another Sikh, for Jess to have a relationship with, and get married to. However nobody knows that Tony is actually homosexual. In the end of the film Jess' parents agree to her playing football and begin to come round to the idea of her dating Joe as this is what makes their daughter happy. Bend it like Beckham shows that religion doesn't necessarily mean that everybody in that religion should be the same and that people are allowed to have freedom, without pushing the religious boundaries.
“Television always presents religious people as out of touch with the modern world”
Do you agree?
I don't agree with this statement. George out of East is East is extremely out of touch with the modern world. He doesn't let his children that are being brought up in a white Christian culture, with white children, who have hardly any of the rules that they do, go partying, or drink, or eat bacon or pork. This is out of touch, because all the children that the Khan's children play with eat bacon, and pork, and drink on nights out, because they are allowed to. It's not fair on his children to not let them eat or drink certain things, when they have grown up with it around them. He is stuck in his traditional Pakistani ways and doesn't listen to his children or respect their desires. He also rules his family through fear and force and bribed his children to do things with watches with Arabic numbers. However, Morgan Freeman in Bruce Almighty playing God shows us that television also presents religious people as being in touch with the modern world. Morgan Freeman is up to date with the modern fashions in Bruce Almighty, is up to date with modern language and terminology and is always one step ahead rather than behind. Geraldine Granger out of The Vicar of Dibley also shows this statement to be wrong. She is very in touch with the modern world and up to date with modern humour. She cares for everyone in her parish and everyone loves her and enjoys her company.
