Big Love

[edwest2]

Not to harp on it, but my point has always been, it’s not “only” entertainment. It can have an affect on you. Television is meant to incite emotions and put thoughts in your head. That’s why so much is spent on TV commercials, not to to entertain you, but to get you excited to run out and get the product. And the program itself is like advertising.

God bless,
Ed

 

[wigglebrick]

I’m curious if you’ve watched the show?

Yes, I watched the beginning of season 1 and like other HBO programs of late, it’s not my cup of tea. Your description of morally weak characters confirms my festering disdain of HBO programming. I understand from coworkers HBO broaching bestiality in at least three shows. Well chalk one up for inter-species rights! I cancelled HBO last year when other shows I liked soured or quit. Good riddance.

I like how the writers examine deeper real-world issues of polygamy by shuffling the truly depraved problems on another people and compounds. “Bill Henrickson may be a polygamist, but he’s not bad as those people!” Endearing. Now that we see the differences in plural marriages, we can decide for ourselves which kind is acceptable.

Does the image of mom and dad in a loving marriage raising kids have any appeal anymore? Is it really so cliché? It seems to me, the struggling single mom, idiot dads, sexually active teens, nagging in-laws, marriages that are light on respect and heavy on condescension & deceit, et cetera are overdone. When is the last time ‘normal’ families were depicted on TV? I know, I know, art reflects reality, so TV is just a mirror of our culture. Still, would a modern Cosby Show or Family Ties really be so hard to sell? Or are we so disconnected that we have to relate with the obscene to see ourselves?

I guess the idea of writing anything rooted in virtue is just too cumbersome these days. It’s much easier to subject characters to bizarre and rare situations in order to see our heros triumph.

 

[anniemart]

Not to harp on it, but my point has always been, it’s not “only” entertainment. It can have an affect on you. Television is meant to incite emotions and put thoughts in your head. That’s why so much is spent on TV commercials, not to to entertain you, but to get you excited to run out and get the product. And the program itself is like advertising.

God bless,
Ed

I see your point but for someone like myself, and my family, for that matter…we strive everyday to keep the Church and Lord the number one priority in our lives. It isn’t too hard *not to give in *to the emotional responses that are hopefully illicited by television ads, shows, etc.

Our children are young, 9, 11, and 16. We’ve always explained to them how ads are deceptive in nature. Despite their ages, they understand enough to recognize when their being “told” what to want or what they “have” to have.

I wonder…do you think Big Love is “selling” polygamy to its watchers in an effort to increase its practice?

Jesus I Trust in You. Jesus I Trust in You. Jesus I Trust in You.
Divine Mercy Hour 3:00 pm

 

[edwest2]

As a reference point, let’s start with a married couple, two kids, a house and a mortgage. The father works and the mother stays home to raise the kids. She takes the occasional job to help with saving for a big purchase like a car, or refrigerator or for school tuition. The TV programs the whole family watches are reflective of their beliefs and are not immoral. The family goes out as a family to shop, go to a local park to relax and visits neighbors.

Now, starting in 1970, they start to mention sex on TV, and open lots of adult bookstores. As we enter the 1980’s, they put porn into hotels and motels, and on cable TV. By the end of the 90s, partial nudity and adult language on TV, and even greater access to porn on the internet.

As we enter the 2000s, they expose viewers to gay characters, that loveable serial killer Dexter, polygamy on Big Love, and other alternative “lifestyles.”

So all I’m saying is, you expose normal people to the abnormal often enough, and in a way that portrays the characters as sympathetic, it lessens the impact of their sinful/dysfunctional ways. And sinful/dysfunctional is what’s mostly on the menu on TV. So for those of us who don’t personally know gay people, for example, we may take cues from how they’re portrayed on television. The same with people with multiple wives.

I can understand watching out of curiosity a few times or to see where it’s going, but as a steady diet as “entertainment,” why? And another emphasis in these shows is that no matter the lifestyles, it’s all OK. One of the hookers in Dexter remarks: “What’s wrong with bein’ a ****** whore?” Without the Word of God to guide us, the wide road to destruction is an option. I’d rather avoid seeing and thinking on things that have no or little virtue.

God bless,
Ed

 

[Contarini]

A further example of the Dysfunctional Show, the standard model for people on TV.

I remind my Christian brothers and sisters, where is the “entertainment” in watching sinful behavior acted out?

So you only read/watch stories about angels and unfallen humans? Even saints’ lives would need to be heavily expurgated at best–none of those juicy pear-stealing scenes from the Confessions!

Edwin

 

[edwest2]

In the 1960s, I watched television where the actors portrayed a life that was reasonably close to the one in my neighborhood. They were unoffensive. Red Skelton would end his clean comedy with “Good Night and God Bless.” When the television ended broadcasting for the day, the image of a Starfighter jet was shown as you heard the voice of a man who read a poem that ended with the words “and touched the face of God.”

As Christians, we are in the world but not of the world. We are here for a time, like a vapor, and then we move on to the next life. We are called to be holy.

God bless,
Ed

 

[anniemart]

So all I’m saying is, you expose normal people to the abnormal often enough, and in a way that portrays the characters as sympathetic, it lessens the impact of their sinful/dysfunctional ways. And sinful/dysfunctional is what’s mostly on the menu on TV.

God bless,
Ed

Excellent point.

Desynthesization=Propensity for Acceptance of Immorality.

It could all go downhill from here unless we get a hold of ourselves.

As parents, my husband and I must live our lives as such that we must avoid giving the wrong message to our children. We owe them this much.

Eucharistic Adoration…He’s waiting just for you.

 

[T1Catholic]

I like how the writers examine deeper real-world issues of polygamy by shuffling the truly depraved problems on another people and compounds.** “Bill Henrickson may be a polygamist, but he’s not bad as those** people!” Endearing. Now that we see the differences in plural marriages, we can decide for ourselves which kind is acceptable.

Actually that was how Bill was portrayed in Season 1 but it looks like the writers set that up intentionally because in Season 2, Bill takes on a dark side and it turns out he’s not so different from the compound people after all. He became quite unlikeable this season as more of his true character was revealed. I noticed that in season 1, they had lots of scenes of Bill praying for guidance from the Holy Spirit. But I can’t remember a scene in Season 2 where he prayed. Instead we saw his son praying (for strength to remain chaste), his wife (to follow God’s will if in fact polgmy was his will) and of course his crazy mother praying for something crazy-I can’t recall.

Personally I strive to know what’s happening in popular media because I want to be prepared to defend the faith when it is attacked and to know what to steer my four children clear of. There’s lots that is just awful and wrong out there. But unfortunately I don’t live and work in an environment where there are other Christians. I find that knowing what’s happening in the popular media in the secular world opens a lot of doors for me to speak about Christ or religion. If popular media wasn’t something to be familiar with, then I don’t know why Catholic Answers would have added a forum for it. Unfortunately Christian music and religious programming are not “popular media”, they are “niche media”.

Big Love is probably the only HBO show I have watched regularily because of it’s religious sub-theme. I like that there is little to no swearing. They can certainly do with no sex scenes but as another poster mentioned they want to appeal to a bigger audience who want that stuff. Entourage is another show that is immensely popular with my co-workers and others I know. I find the inside look at how ridiculous Hollywood is entertaining but I’m going to drop watching it because it is such a vulgar show (swearing and sex).

 

[tvdxer]

Actually that was how Bill was portrayed in Season 1 but it looks like the writers set that up intentionally because in Season 2, Bill takes on a dark side and it turns out he’s not so different from the compound people after all. He became quite unlikeable this season as more of his true character was revealed. I noticed that in season 1, they had lots of scenes of Bill praying for guidance from the Holy Spirit. But I can’t remember a scene in Season 2 where he prayed. Instead we saw his son praying (for strength to remain chaste), his wife (to follow God’s will if in fact polgmy was his will) and of course his crazy mother praying for something crazy-I can’t recall.

Personally I strive to know what’s happening in popular media because I want to be prepared to defend the faith when it is attacked and to know what to steer my four children clear of. There’s lots that is just awful and wrong out there. But unfortunately I don’t live and work in an environment where there are other Christians. I find that knowing what’s happening in the popular media in the secular world opens a lot of doors for me to speak about Christ or religion. If popular media wasn’t something to be familiar with, then I don’t know why Catholic Answers would have added a forum for it. Unfortunately Christian music and religious programming are not “popular media”, they are “niche media”.

Big Love is probably the only HBO show I have watched regularily because of it’s religious sub-theme. I like that there is little to no swearing. They can certainly do with no sex scenes but as another poster mentioned they want to appeal to a bigger audience who want that stuff. Entourage is another show that is immensely popular with my co-workers and others I know. I find the inside look at how ridiculous Hollywood is entertaining but I’m going to drop watching it because it is such a vulgar show (swearing and sex).

Speaking of sex scenes on the show, that varies from episode to episode. I was amazed by a few episodes, how smutty they were in comparison to others; many of the episodes have no sex scenes at all or very “tame” ones in comparison to those in movies, while others have some fairly drawn-out ones (the worst, by far, were “Viagra Blue” and “Kingdom Come”). Interestingly, full nudity has not yet been shown in the episodes I’ve seen; only one of the actresses included nudity in her contract, and I don’t think she has used it yet.

 

[Scott_Lafrance]

What do you think of HBO’s series Big Love? A story of a Utah man with three wives.

I say Rubbish!

I have a hard enough time keeping up with one. Three would drive me to drink.

 

[drafdog]

Haven’t seen the show. I saw an interview years ago with members of a Mormon family who were polygamists. The husband was of the opinion that one wife is not enough to support a man.
I’m not sure about you, but trying to keep one wife happy is more than enough for me.
Takes all kinds.

Matthew

 

[Lorrie]

I absolutely love it. I’ve seen both seasons and can’t wait for the third (but knowing HBO that won’t happen for a year or two).

 

[wigglebrick]

Big Love is probably the only HBO show I have watched regularily because of it’s religious sub-theme. I like that there is little to no swearing. They can certainly do with no sex scenes but as another poster mentioned they want to appeal to a bigger audience who want that stuff. Entourage is another show that is immensely popular with my co-workers and others I know. I find the inside look at how ridiculous Hollywood is entertaining but I’m going to drop watching it because it is such a vulgar show (swearing and sex).

I appreciate your desire to watch something in order to be better prepared to defend against it. This is in part why I read The Da Vinci Code. Of course, we shouldn’t need to consume the media in order to speak about it, but I realize it gives us credibility when discussing it.

You mention Entourage, an HBO show I do like. I used to work in the film industry in Los Angeles and find this show to be an accurate reflection of the people & places. I also like it for reasons expressed by Fr. James Martin in Hugging It Out in Hollywood at BustedHalo.com. It’s not for everyone, but brings traces of morality amid the irreligious, especially lined against the utterly flaccid Sex & The City.

 

[Chris_Martin]

I saw the Big Love show one time. I think it is interesting. I can see how the man seems to face more challenges with more than one wife. Also the women face challenges. I have no idea if that is how it would work out in real life. I think it would be a good idea if it could work.

 

[strngrnrth]

I never saw it. I don’t know many people with HBO, to the best of my knowledge. Polygamy is a way of making sure women aren’t left without support when they are old, in the places where men die young in war and work an old woman can do is scarce and pays too little to survive on. In Mormon history, though, it was diffrent. It began in a world where women were already scarce, and the men who claimed so many wives often tore them from existing families, and then failed to support the kids. It sounds like a disturbing premise for a show.