"Religions such as Judaism and Christianity are portrayed fairly and sensitively in the media." Do you agree?
Religion is a very important thing in the media. The media can manipulate and stereotype as much as they want and people won't know about it. The media can put their point across and not say anything about the other arguments involved. They have one view however, this is not necessarily the right view. In this essay, I am going to view both arguments and then conclude with my opinion and the argument that I agree with.
In the media, there are a lot of programmes such as Family Guy, Citizen Khan, The Simpsons and Father Ted where there are jokes about religion. I feel that most of these jokes are funny however, I think that some of the jokes aren't funny and that they could offend some people of that religion. I think that this quote, 'Offending the minority to entertain the majority' explains what the media thinks. But is it right to do this? What if the 'minority' was the whole religion? How would we know?
I don't agree with this quote. This is because we don't know how big the 'minority' is. It could only be a few people but it also could be the whole religion it was directed at. People take things in different ways. How would the media know how many people it was going to offend? There can be lots of damage done by stereotyping/ joking about a religion as it is a subject that many people feel strongly about. It is something people follow for their whole lives and something that they look up to. It is very offensive when someone makes a joke about it. This quote: 'There are no limits to comedy...there is nothing you cannot be funny about...' is similar as I feel the same way. I think that comedy is something that doesn't offend one person and something that entertains everybody. It isn't fair that some people should be offended when there are people laughing at exactly the same joke or stereotype. In the episode of Family Guy we watched in the lesson, there were quite a few stereotypes about Jews. However, once again it depends how you view the stereotype. Some people may think most stereotypes in this episode portray Jews in a good way however, others may think the opposite. In the episode, they mention Jews as 'good with money', 'smart', 'nothing they can't do' and 'exotic'. These stereotypes sound good and like that they are not trying to take the mick out of Jews. However, in this episode they also say, 'Jews have big noses', 'they are retarded', 'they're not all good with money' and that 'they killed the Lord'. These stereotypes suggest the opposite and that Jews aren't nice people. These are just a few stereotypes out of the episode and already you can see that there are a similar amount of good stereotypes as there are the bad ones. But what if I have misinterpreted the good ones? What if some people (mainly Jews) find some of the stereotypes I think are good, bad? What does the word 'exotic' mean? What did the creators want people to think when they said the word 'exotic'? I think this is trying to say that you don't get Jews around there a lot, they're some kind of special creature. But is 'creature' the way to explain it? Also being 'good with money' is this a good thing? Or does it mean that the Jews are cheap and keep all their money to themselves? This episode of Family Guy would have first aired in 2002, but because people were concerned about its content, it wasn't aired until November 2003.
As you can see, there are many things you could argue for these Family Guy stereotypes but I want to say that in the episode, Peter wants Chris to become a Jew because they are smart and so good at everything, apparently. Doesn't this say something good about Jews? I think it does. There had be many people offended by this episode but if the creators of family guy didn't want people to be offended but did offend people accidentally, surely if they didn't mean it, it wasn't that bad? I don't think it was that bad, because even though they included stereotypes about Jews (bad ones) near the end of the episode, they wanted to show that Jews were good, they made Peter want Chris to become a Jew. Doesn't this say something? However, maybe some people interpreted it in a different (not necessarily right) way. What if they thought that saying that they were good with money and smart was bad? They could have easily taken it in a different way for example: Being good with money- Stingy and won't buy anything etc.
This is why joking about religion is so dangerous. Anybody could easily take something in a different way than somebody else, somebody could take it to heart. As well as this religion is a serious subject to some people. It is something that people have believed in for their entire lives and somebody joking about it sometimes, isn't funny. Comedy is something that is funny but at the same time, won't offend anybody. Even if you're only offending one person, you're still offending somebody and it is unfair that one person should be upset over something that everyone else finds funny. However, what if nobody meant to offend anybody? What if it was supposed to be proper comedy- nobody offended - but somebody is offended. If nobody meant to harm anybody, isn't that alright?
However, in the episode the line 'except for the retarded ones', I feel is a step too far as 'retard' is an unpleasant word used for people with a disability. This line implies that most Jews have a disability which is clearly not true and even if Jews did, what would be wrong with that? God made everybody equal so what would be wrong if Jews did all have a disability.
Citizen Khan is also a very controversial program. Many episodes include stereotypes and jokes about Muslims. In one episode, Mr Khan comes home with a lot of toilet roll saying that they should only use a small amount, he also said, “Luckily for you, you are married to a Pakistani businessman” after this, his daughter replies saying “Dad your such a cheapskate it’s embarrassing”. There are many episodes like this, full of 'jokes' and stereotypes. But are these 'jokes' funny or are they just offensive stereotypes? I think the most obvious way to interpret this quote is that all Muslims are cheapskates because that's what it sounds like. As I've said, there are many episodes that support this because there are many jokes/ stereotypes similar to this. But will people find this funny or get offended? How would the producer of Citizen Khan know? Again, what if he isn't trying to be offensive but funny? However, you could also say that if the person watching it is offended, it's their fault. If they don't like those types of jokes and stereotypes, should they even be watching the TV show, it's their decision. So is it their decision to be offended or not? The producers obviously think the people who will get offended shouldn't be watching it and just avoiding it. But is this right?
As I've already mentioned, the other argument is that if you make a joke not meaning to offend people, it's ok, just make the joke. However, is this good or bad? If you agree with this argument, you're saying that if people take something offensively, they don’t watch it again. This argument means that people have their own choice to do what they want, if people want to make entertainment, not meaning to offend ANYBODY, it's ok. People have their own choice to watch the TV show if they want. It’s your choice at the end of the day so if you don’t like what you’re watching and that you feel like it’s taking the mick out of your faith, just don't watch it. However, why would you agree with this when you hear some jokes and stereotypes that just take it too far. In my opinion, stereotypes about how a person in a certain religion looks or about how a certain religion prays at ceremonies is just taking it too far. Even if you don't mean to offend people, saying a joke or taking the mick about something where millions could be hurt and offended, when you know that it will is just wrong. There is a difference between not meaning to offend anybody and not trying to offend anybody. What's the point in offending many when you could easily do a joke which is funny and which wouldn't offend anybody? But why should we be restricted from making jokes about something that is not meant to be offend? It's only a joke, at the end of the day. You choose how you take the joke, it's their problem, not the producers, right?
But why did stereotypes even come about? It is believed that Jewish stereotypes came about in the second world war where Hitler picked out the Jews for certain reasons. The big nose idea for example came from when the Nazis when they measured people's noses to determine whether or not they are a Jew. I believe this is wrong, Jews having big noses is a stereotype. It is not necessarily true for a Jews, just some. Other stereotypes have just come through the development of the media. There are typical stereotypes for every religion, for example, all Muslims are terrorists etc.
Should some films and programmes be censored? As the media is growing and getting wider and wider around the world, many people are starting to think that certain shows and films are de-humanising people and are stereotyping and joking about religion like it is a small subject. There is now more violence, swearing and drinking/drug-taking etc. than ever before in the media. People are getting worried about how the media is portraying all humans, is this really what we'll all end up like? They are wrong about religion being a small subject too, it isn't. One of the main questions is, 'Is religion misrepresented in the media?'. I feel like this is true and that religion is portrayed badly and differently than what it actually is. There are more stereotypes about religion than there ever has been and more and more people are starting to get offended. But is this the media's fault? Or is the media who should start to sort things out and try to stop with the offensive jokes and stereotypes and start making some actual comedy where nobody gets offended? But there's already programmes and films which have been made which are portraying religions in different ways and doubting the religions. In my opinion, I don' think this should be on TV because it is unfair that it should be going against somebody's religion which they feel very strongly about, right? Some examples of this are:
Harry Potter - Is the magic in the story un-Christian and a bad influence on young, Christina people? The DaVinci Code - Dubious evidence for Dan Brown’s assertions about Christ The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia – Allegories of the Christian story (is it really true or just a myth?)
Even though it is part of the film/ programme should it still be deleted or at least censored in some sort of way? It would lead people into thinking that their religions a lie and that they shouldn't believe in it. As I've said, religion is a strong topic and people won't want part of their religious community turning to a different religion because of what someone (not even necessarily from their religion) has said. As well as this, even though these examples are all to do with Christianity, don't think that there aren't shows which are leaving allegories and things which contradict other religions because there are, and there are many of them in the media.
Conclusion- You know that the media has changed so much throughout recent years and that there are more and more devices that show you programmes, clips, stories etc. of the media and religion today. Also, you might not realise but people have more and more exposure to it as well. They have more exposure to what I think are biased, opinionated media stories which aren't necessarily true - they could easily be exaggerated! Today, people are more affected and tend to believe more of the media's stories than ever before, this is because of the popularity of it all - the media.
In conclusion to the question, I think that the answer to this is no. I feel that the media is very biased and usually only tells stories that will shock the world and make a big reaction to gain more and more popularity therefore, there are jokes and stereotypes and stories about religion that are necessarily true. There are also normally more negative ones and not as many positive ones unless the jokes and stereotypes are about people from our country. The media thinks that because now people only want to know about the bad things in other countries not the good things. However, I think this is because of all films, TV shows and video games which de-humanise people and human. I feel that the media just really publish stories that will grasp a reader’s attention and stories that don’t really fully reflect a true story of religion. I believe that this should be changed, and soon. People should be able to make their own views on religion- it's something personal to them. It's easy to be influenced by the media today as it's so big and so popular but don't you think it should be right for a person to make a personal choice for religion, something that they should believe in for their entire lives?
There are messages through the media which try to change our religious views to something that they believe in. They do this by exaggerating stories about certain religions.
I feel that comedy (to do with religion) is something that is funny to everyone- there is nobody offended. Even if the person didn't mean to offend or hurt anybody, I still think they shouldn't say it. I know people don't know if it will but they should really think about it before they say something which could end up offending millions. It really isn't right. How would you feel if somebody said something really offensive about your religion? You really wouldn't like it. Anybody could easily say "Oh, I didn't mean it." It doesn't mean anything. If you're not sure about a religious joke, don't say it, keep your mouth shut.
I feel that TV programmes such as Citizen Khan and Family Guy are funny and entertaining however, I feel that there are some jokes and stereotypes in the episodes that are offensive and shouldn't be in there. I don't usually watch these types of shows myself. but when we watched the Family Guy episode in the lesson I felt like it was a great episode. Sure, there were some offensive comments and stereotypes but there were good ones too. As well as this, close to the end of the episode, they want to turn their son into a Jew. In my opinion, I think this is a good thing however, I am not a Jew. Would they interpret it differently? I think some people could do, especially some Jews because people take things in different ay as I've said before.
I feel that religion isn't portrayed fairly or sensitively in the media. Things are exaggerated, biased and sometimes made up completely. I think it is a bad influence on children who want to grow up to be part of a certain religion or even children learning about religion. The media wants their opinion across and because of the popularity of the media today, people are likely to come across these TV shows, films and articles and watch/ read them and sometimes listen to them. I isn't fair that they should make decisions based on what the media thinks. It's your life, you make your own decisions. The media shouldn't decide for you.
“First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out – because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out - because I was not a communist. Then they came for the trades unionists… Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.” Martin Niemoller on the importance of Christians speaking out in Nazi German.
“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – think about such things.” St Paul in his letter to the Philippians points out the importance of good and healthy thinking. Does the modern media encourage such thinking?
“Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts…. …..No human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. ……With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.” James 3.5.11 suggests that we should use our speech and writing responsibly and carefully. Should the media think the same way?