March 19, 2004
60-40 NATION:
The age of reverence: Once upon a time in nostalgia land, everybody was good and God-fearing. More recently, the fad has been all things irreverent. But is that changing, and what impact is religion having on our popular discourse?
(Benyamin Cohen, March 19, 2004, Jewsweek)
Media observers are sensing a change in the mood of America. People are fed up with the negative and want something uplifting instead. Even before the Super Bowl stunt, it seems, Americans were tired of indecency and looking for inspiration. It would seem that reverence is the new irreverence."People have been fed up for a long time," says film critic and observant Jew Michael Medved. "Four times the number of people go to church or synagogue every week as go to the movie theaters. It's taken a huge mega blockbuster like the Passion of the Christ before people have begun to understand that there is a religious audience out there and they are looking for more traditionalist, more uplifting fare."
And the proof is on the boob tube. Shows with positive religious overtones like Joan of Arcadia, 7th Heaven, and Wonderfalls are ratings hits and critical darlings. Jay Leno, late night's nice guy routinely beats his more acerbic competitor, David Letterman.
And throughout pop culture, a "kinder, gentler" image is taking shape. [...]
The source of this upturn in religious reverence is anybody's guess, but one good bet might be a response to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The truth is 9/11 changed more than just our airport security procedures. Rather, much has been said about how we as a people changed, how our predominant outlook on the world was shattered that day. But what about our pop culture? After all, if Janet Jackson's nipple can send TV censors scrambling, one would assume that 9/11 sent shockwaves through our collective unconscious.
Hard to believe that the persona of George W. Bush isn't pushing the trend too. A President who talks so openly about his faith and makes it so central to our public policy has opened the way for others to talk more openly about what they believe and to make demands upon the purveyors of pop culture. Posted by Orrin Judd at March 19, 2004 2:14 PM
I don't think 'Wonderfalls' was a hit. I think it tanked, though it got good reviews. It was also in the Friday night abyss, so that didn't help.
Point of fact.
Posted by: Andrew X at March 19, 2004 2:50 PMDid someone mention the Spanish Inquisition, American version?
Posted by: Tom C., Stamford,Ct. at March 19, 2004 3:08 PMActually (this is my cynicism speaking again) in Hollywood, it's really all about money. That rhythmic thumping noise you hear from the direction of the Left Coast is studio executives hammering their heads into the walls as they grieve over their utter stupidity in turning down what bids fair to become 2004's leading blockbuster, and likely one of _the_ big blockbusters of all time (and it hasn't even been released outside North America yet - it's likely to knock down box-office records in Latin America, to name just one obvious region). I confidently expect a tidal wave of scripts for second-rate Biblical-themed sword-and-sandal epics to start hitting the front offices right about now. Paging Tony Curtis and Kirk Douglas...
Posted by: Joe at March 19, 2004 9:30 PMGiven how Hollywood usually works, it will be Ben-Hur II: Messala's Revenge; Quo Vadis II: Nero vs Jason; and Spartacus 2050: Chariots of Hydrazine.