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More TV Vicar?: Christians on the Telly: The Good, the Bad and the Quirky
More TV Vicar? gets under the dog-collar of some of the best loved Christian characters on British the good, the bad and the quirky. Among well-known characters like the Vicar of Dibley, newer characters are examined from programmes such as Bluestone 42 with its female army Padre, the curate from ITV drama Broadchurch and some of the more controversial vicar characters played by Rowan Atkinson in recent years. Some of these characters are satire, some are pure nostalgia, some are just toe-curlingly accurate. The church has provided a rich seam for comedians to mine, characters for crime fiction and nostalgic storylines for soap operas. What do these stereotypes say about British society's view of people of faith? Why are we still seeing Christian characters on telly when all the news reports are about the church being in terminal decline? More TV Vicar? will take you on a tour of the last 20 years of British TV's idea of what a Christian looks like, exploring the rise of atheism, the loss of innocence and the nature of satire. The book includes original interviews with Christian comedy writers Paul Kerensa (Miranda, Not Going Out) and James Cary (Bluestone 42), and an in-depth analysis of the social media reaction to the final episode of Rev, as well as cartoons by Chris Bambrough.
160 pages, Paperback
First published May 27, 2015
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December 27, 2018
When I spotted this book on a trip to my favourite book shop (Barter Books in Alnwick), I knew I had to have it. Firstly, because I’ve heard Bryony’s name mentioned many times at our church as she was here before she went to train to be a vicar. And secondly, I’ve always found it interesting the ways that Christians are portrayed on TV, so I was really intrigued to see if I would agree.
The book is split into three sections: The Good, The Bad and The Quirky, with Bryony offering her reflections on each one. What surprised me was that The Bad, while not showing a ringing endorsement of what it’s like to be a Christian in 2018, were not necessarily bad in general. I guess it essentially boils down to ‘Vicars are people too’:
Some of the characters referenced in the book were from shows I’ve never watched before, and after reading, I’m definitely adding some to my watch-list, like Rev and Bluestone 42. But my favourite section of the book was the section about comedy and its relationship with faith.
Since I started going to Church, I’ve definitely become more sensitive to religion-based jokes, and not just Christianity, but any religion. I agree with what was written in the book; ‘Mocking the evil things done in the name of religion or mocking comical clergy characters is fair game but once you get to the question of the actual beliefs held by Christians, there is potential for offence.
In the book, Bryony gives examples of comedians who have gone too far, but also comedians who are identify as atheists but use their religious upbringings as the basis for their jokes – these tend to be funnier (at least to me) as they are observational rather than derogatory.
I think for me, the main thing that this book highlighted was not that there are so many ‘bad’ portrayals of Christians on TV nowadays, but that there are not so many good ones. As discussed in the book, you mainly see someone talk openly about their faith on TV only if it is somehow directly related to a plot point, not just as part of their every day lives. And if it miraculously is part of their every days lives, they’re likely to be over 70 and not at all representative of a growing part of the Church of England nowadays – I’d love to see some young Christian parts written into TV dramas/soaps that aren’t just the stereotype.
I’d definitely recommend this book, I read it in a day because I found the subject so fascinating, and the book was really well researched and presented.
Posted on: http://emmaloui.se/2018/12/27/bryony-...
The book is split into three sections: The Good, The Bad and The Quirky, with Bryony offering her reflections on each one. What surprised me was that The Bad, while not showing a ringing endorsement of what it’s like to be a Christian in 2018, were not necessarily bad in general. I guess it essentially boils down to ‘Vicars are people too’:
How do you feel about these realistic portrayals? Is it wrong to have a vicar character saying the ‘F’ word on television or is it refreshingly accurate?
If you are uncomfortable about these portrayals, ask yourself why. Is it because they are true? Is it because they present a version of a Christian that you don’t recognise to be orthodox?
Some of the characters referenced in the book were from shows I’ve never watched before, and after reading, I’m definitely adding some to my watch-list, like Rev and Bluestone 42. But my favourite section of the book was the section about comedy and its relationship with faith.
Since I started going to Church, I’ve definitely become more sensitive to religion-based jokes, and not just Christianity, but any religion. I agree with what was written in the book; ‘Mocking the evil things done in the name of religion or mocking comical clergy characters is fair game but once you get to the question of the actual beliefs held by Christians, there is potential for offence.
In the book, Bryony gives examples of comedians who have gone too far, but also comedians who are identify as atheists but use their religious upbringings as the basis for their jokes – these tend to be funnier (at least to me) as they are observational rather than derogatory.
So our response to these ‘bad’ portrayals? Let’s be British about it. If something offends you, good! It shows that you do care about what you believe. Be grateful that we live in a culture which encourages satire, encourages the challenge of misuse of power – it’s following in the tradition of Jesus Christ.
I think for me, the main thing that this book highlighted was not that there are so many ‘bad’ portrayals of Christians on TV nowadays, but that there are not so many good ones. As discussed in the book, you mainly see someone talk openly about their faith on TV only if it is somehow directly related to a plot point, not just as part of their every day lives. And if it miraculously is part of their every days lives, they’re likely to be over 70 and not at all representative of a growing part of the Church of England nowadays – I’d love to see some young Christian parts written into TV dramas/soaps that aren’t just the stereotype.
I’d definitely recommend this book, I read it in a day because I found the subject so fascinating, and the book was really well researched and presented.
Posted on: http://emmaloui.se/2018/12/27/bryony-...
Displaying 1 of 1 review