Abnormal-Themed Shows

Millions of people each night shut the lights off and watch their favorite paranormal television show, awaiting for a hope that the paranormal is real. Although, there is not much evidence in the shows they love to watch. Has television been lying to everyone and is this evidence made up behind the scenes before the episode airs? Paranormal television shows are fake because they use false evidence that misleads viewers.

Today movies like The Exorcist or Rosemary’s Baby directly utilize Christian beliefs in order create the iconic monsters, but why? Why is it that people not only accept when their religious beliefs are manipulated in order to create these, often blasphemous, tales? The answer is simple; the thrill of the scare is bigger if the scare could happen to you. It is believed that the fear one feels when watching a horror movie is the same as if one was in the situation in real life, on account of the fact that our “brains have not adapted to technology” (Glenn Sparks, Professor at Purdue University). There is also a morbid fascination with violence that steams from the part of the human brain that still contains much of the bloodlust associated with early humans (James B. Weaver III, PhD). So as we advance away from the violent lifestyle of our ancestors, we need outlets for our bloodlust and horror movies provide such an outlet. This leads to the question: are we really evolving? Or are we merely becoming better at redistributing certain primal instincts from acts of real violence and into movies that have just as much, or more, gore than the daily lives of the people we often condemn for being

However, the power of story is not something that should be rejected by the Church, for Jesus used the power of story throughout his life on earth. In fact, story structure even has something to teach us about religious affections; movies provide a hero that generally goes through an external and internal transformation, and thus provides a compelling illustration of the need for transformation in one’s life, which is what Christianity calls for when accepting Christ (Stratton, Jonathan Edwards Goes to the Movies). Thus, the Church should not reject the power of film-making, but embrace it

Television has acted as a moral barometer and guide to Americans since the 1950s. It evolved from stage, to cinema, to small screen, bringing outside influence into intimate home settings. Television sponsors and programmers became paid influencers invoking a negative impact on society. Reviewing television and its history as a medium of social, cultural, and political reform, reveals it has the potential to unwind the damage done by past negative messaging in future broadcasting.

Throughout the past fifty years, moral values in the media have plummeted drastically. The entertainment industry focuses on television shows, celebrity scandals, affairs, relationships, and quarrels. Specifically, three television shows perfectly exhibit the lack of morality in the media: American Horror Story, I Am Cait, and 19 Kids and

“Saturday Night Live” (SNL) recently aired a fake movie trailer titled “God is a Boob Man” mocking Christians and as a parody to the faith-based film “God’s Not Dead 2.”

Within today’s society, media and religion are viewed as extremely influential aspects of everyday life. Often, people will take the things said in media as the absolute truth. However, this is not always the correct, and many details expressed within movies, shows, or advertisements can be false or have a twisted connotation. This is especially true when it comes to the expression of religion in media. Since directors, screenwriters, and authors are frequently only interested in expressing their storyline, religious details are usually generalized and their meaning is often lost. In turn, this can cause society to view the twisted interpretation as reality which can often affect the way the religion being depicted is viewed in the real world.

Mormon fiction writers face this interesting dilemma, and to what degree should they self-censor their work; through much deliberation it is not up to the reader to define what an author should write but instead a faithful Mormon fiction writer can display realism in character flaws, personalities, and types without being gratuitous in the details that are not necessarily related to the core of the piece of fiction.

The new television show “Preacher” has earned backlash from Christian leaders over its depiction of religion in a violent light.

In a discourse at a mosque in Baltimore, Maryland, yesterday, President Obama proclaimed that "our TV shows ought to have Muslim characters that are random to national security". Similarly as with anything that Obama says in regards to Muslims that is not identified with vaporizing them with an automaton strike, it didn't run over too well with traditionalists. That wasn't a lot of a shock, as any show of sympathy or compassion from the president is seen by the conservative as weakness or more awful, conspiracy. What was shocking, in any case, was that Obama would indicate TV as a method for facilitating social and religious pressure, when it's regularly utilized for precisely the inverse reason.

Moans and groans creep from the television. Viewers set on the edge of their seats nibbling away at fingernails can mean only one thing; AMC’s The Walking Dead is on. This intense, entertainment gripping TV drama has it all, blood, guts, and glory, not to mention zombies. Rated amongst the top hit television shows, could it be America has a dark side? According to Tony Wong, pop-cultural journalist, states, “The pulpy horror series has become a global phenomenon” (Toronto Star). Zombies have eaten their way into the hearts of Americans, in a world set on extremes, viewers want it all or nothing; The Walking Dead delivers the extreme both in entertainment and in ratings.

Supernatural-horror is a sub-genre that consist of demons, ghosts, or other supernatural creatures. Supernatural-horror can combine religion into the plot of a film. This theme can include the devil, demonic passion and the afterlife. A convention of this genre, is the setting where supernatural events might take in place, such as an abandoned place. The process of paranormal and supernatural films are strange creatures following someone. This would be if a ghost would stay in the same place and haunt that specific building or house for all eternity, because something tragic perhaps happened in that specific place. A good place for supernatural-horror to take place is in a house, because it adds a sense of reality for the audience, that you

Religious themes are not just taught in the church they can also be taught in the movies. When we sit down and watch a movie we should look for the different things they teach not only just for the entertainment but look at religion. The movie A Time to Kill is the most powerful movie I have ever seen. The movie pours different hints of religious themes during its two hours.

Growing up as a ‘church kid,’ I was continually frustrated with my church’s way of dealing with media. Watch Veggie Tales, not Barney. Read The Chronicles of Narnia, not Harry Potter. Watch Duck Dynasty, not Glee. Yada, yada, yada. The way my church polarized media into ‘Christian’ and ‘non-Christian’ media felt like a worldly concept in itself. Which one of the ten commandments proclaimed, ‘Thou shalt not watch Glee?’ I felt as if keeping me away from different parts of media, media that is a metaphor for the world God created, was a way of keeping me away from God. I tried to watch Veggie Tales, but I could tell it was trying much too hard to force Bible lessons down my throat. I tried to read The Chronicles of Narnia, but it simply did not pique my interest. I did not try to watch Duck Dynasty, because, honestly, reality TV is a waste of time, even if Neil Postman does believe junk TV should be the epitome of TV’s representation as an entertainment source. Despite my not finding interest in these conventionally ‘Christian’ sources of media, I grew closer to God through secular media. Barney, while not specifically Christian, made me into the polite young woman I am today, and so has allowed me to treat others with the love that Jesus wants me to treat others with. Even though many Christians criticize Harry Potter for supporting witchcraft, Harry Potter has taught me the importance of friendship and familial love, along with the inevitability of death, concepts that are covered throughout the Bible consistently. Glee is definitely a show that is controversial throughout the Christian community, but by being one of the few popular shows amongst teenagers to provide queer representation, it has taught me to respect and appreciate others that are different from

Unexplained Phenomena, mystical creatures, sibling rivalry; this explains a television show that started in 2005. Supernatural, created by Eric Kripke, has created a widespread craze throughout today’s pop culture. This show fits into the popular supernatural craze that has swept the nation, from ghost to zombies; this show is very thorough with their research and varying cultures. Now that the show is very popular with teenagers to young adults, which has created a subgroup in today’s culture.