Different Views Of Evangelical Christians And The Cultural Mandate

Around the world, The United States is widely known as a leader in mass media production, like television and movies. There are very few inventions that have affected America as much as the television. Before 1947, the number of TV’s in the US could be measured in thousands, and by the late 1990’s about 98% of homes had at least one television set in it, which were on for on average, more than seven hours a day. The Typical American spends about 3-5 hours watching TV a day. TV became a way for Americans to either escape their lifestyle, relate to it, or keep up with current events. It has become a tool that the US uses to relate to each other

Today, Film and Television are among the most internationally supported commodities. Financially, their contributions are enormous: both industries are responsible for the circulation of billions of dollars each year. Since their respective explosions into the new media markets during the mid-twentieth century, film and television have produced consistently growing numbers of viewers and critics alike. Sparking debate over the nature of their viewing, film and television are now being questioned in social, political, and moral arenas for their potential impact on an audience. Critics claim that watching films or television is a passive activity in which the viewer becomes subconsciously

The course provides an introduction to the most prominent forms of media that influence and impact social, business, political, and popular culture in contemporary America. It explores the unique aspects of each medium as well as interactions across various media that combine to create rich environments for information sharing, entertainment, business, and social interaction in the U.S. and around the world.

In an effort to expose the epistemology of television, which Postman believes has not been effectively addressed, he examines the effects of TV on several important American cultural institutions: news, religion, politics and education.  All four institutions, Postman argues, have realized that they have to go on television in order to be noticed which, in turn, requires them to learn the language of TV if they are to reach the people.  Therefore, they have joined the national conversation not on their own terms, but on TV's terms.  Postman contends that this transformation of our major institutions has trivialized what is most important about them and turned our culture into "one vast arena for show business" (80).  In the case of broadcast news, we see visually stimulating, disconnected stories about murder and mayhem along with a healthy dose of infotainment delivered by friendly and likeable anchors that remind us to "tune in tomorrow".  In the case of politics, we have discourse through distorted paid TV commercials and "debates" in which the appearance of having said something important is

Popular culture is the artistic and creative expression in entertainment and style that appeals to society as whole. It includes music, film, sports, painting, sculpture, and even photography. It can be diffused in many ways, but one of the most powerful and effective ways to address society is through film and television. Broadcasting, radio and television are the primary means by which information and entertainment are delivered to the public in virtually every nation around the world, and they have become a crucial instrument of modern social and political organization. Most of today’s television programming genres are derived from earlier media such as stage, cinema and radio. In the area of comedy, sitcoms have proven

In 1985, when Neil Postman penned, Amusing Ourselves to Death, CNN, and the twenty-four-hour news cycle existed in its infancy and televangelism was still unscathed by the Jim Baker and Jimmy Swaggart scandals. A B-movie actor sat in the Oval Office. Conceivably most importantly, television, the love child of the photograph and the telegraph, had reached maturity to become fully entrenched in American culture after thirty some years (p. 100). Newscasters, preachers, and politicians had become celebrities. The information presented on the tube was deficient in meaningful content and lacked context. Nevertheless, the public’s level of amusement rode high. Television’s capacity to manipulate public persona and information on the news, in religion, and in politics creates a vaudeville atmosphere on these modes of public discourse.

This paper will cover the topic of American Evangelicalism addressing the Twentieth Century ideologies. While viewing how Christianity interacted with the terms of the activities of evangelicals and the ecumenical movement. This paper will also cover how Christianity interacted with the terms of the activities of the Vatican II, religion, and politics and the global aspect of Christianity.

“Television is a gift of God and God will hold those who utilize his divine instrument accountable to him” -Philo T. Farnsworth. In the 1920’s life in America, and around the world, was blossoming with excitement and shock due to all the new things happening around them. For instance, women were re-imagining the rules of feminism, alcohol was being banned everywhere, secret clubs were being brought up, and also the television coming to life. The television had to be the most talked about thing in the 1920’s. All because a random guy decided he wanted to experiment with things and later created the television.

The short story “Harrison Bergeron” brings into question the productivity that television contributes to society. This story, by Kurt Vonnegut, has been criticized as “a kind of desensitizing, numbing, and clearly thought-stifling, rather than thought-provoking medium that is partly responsible for the state of society.” Television, in reality, can be argued as a positive and negative medium that both benefits and hinders the public. Whether television is viewed as a beneficial or counterproductive mechanism is based its use. This form of media can be utilized as a source of knowledge, information, and education, or it can be used as negative propaganda, or as a form of brainwashing, as demonstrated in “Harrison Bergeron”. There is no cut

Media and technology have such a great impact on society and how we perceive social systems and all the factors tied to them. Television shows have always been prevalent in touching upon topics in society pertaining to an array of things such as color, race, creed, interest group, sexuallity, political/religious affiliation, and many more. As time passes, television shows alter the topics in which they touch upon, as society grows and chances. As society becomes more tolerant and accepting of individuality and differences in beliefs, the television programs that we watch change with them. Even through the development, there are still many prejudices and inconsistencies in our society that cause conflict.

In the Social Order the Evangelicalism way where fulfilled by having big impacts in many ways. They group had significant affects on three aspects of American culture. One of the three aspects was the drinking habit of the people. Another aspect was ideals of women and the family. Also another aspect and probably the most important to the group were the Protestant attitudes towards a growing population of Roman Catholics.

The Evangelical movement originated in the 1600s, by a German pastor named Phillip Jakob. It is now known worldwide and practiced by millions of people (Wellman, 2006). Evangelicals, a morally conservative group within Christianity stem from the Protestant reformation era of Martin Luther in the sixteenth century (Brown, 2016). Evangelicals are known for their strong beliefs in the Gospel and their spreading of the Word of God. They believe that the only way of salvation is by believing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Evangelicals reject many Roman Catholic and liberal protestant beliefs, as they do not strictly follow the Word of God (Brown, 2006).

There are presently 35 television stations owned and operated by religious organizations, but every television station features religious programming in one way or another (Postman, 116). Religious television program producers are driven by the desire to make money, and they find the best way to accomplish this is by scamming viewers and members. During this process, religion loses its authenticity. Religion is not being practiced on television, it is being mocked. Religion is no longer for worship, but for entertainment.

Postman dedicates a chapter to each of the following subjects: religion, politics and education. The glitz and glamour of television even shows up in the seriousness of religion with the rise of televangelism. Postman writes that television’s focus on entertainment has robbed the religious content it portrays of its deeper meaning, blinding the faithful with bright lights and booming speakers instead. I agree with Postman’s outrage towards this subject. Religion should be about the content, not the show biz choir singing. We should want to go out and be surrounded by our religious peers in

The television is also a very important aspect of popular culture that affects the American Identity. Watching television is such a common part of contemporary society, that most Americans adopted it as a part of their daily routine and watch television for at least an hour a day. Stanley Crouch, a poet, music and cultural critic, writes that whenever people pretentiously and proudly announce, “I don’t watch television,” they should follow it up with “I don’t look at America either” (Masciotra 79). Television has become a part of many people’s lives. When the mass population watches the same TV shows, movies, etc. they can all relate to each other, and thus unite them as an American. We look to TV shows to see how other people like us act