Media, Religion, and You

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

Putting aside for a moment the questions from the CNN anchor which border on uninformed ridiculousness about what CNN must acknowledge is at least a significant portion of their viewing audience, this video really spoke to me on a level about the religious discussion in this country.

I've written a little about this before when I was writing up recent book reviews on two nonfiction books I recently read, Rapture Ready by Daniel Radoff (about Christian pop culture) and Quiverfull (the author escapes me, but about the "Christian patriarchy movement"), and how a lot of folks, especially the media, appear to view the religious as a quirky bunch and don't even begin to try to understand how to talk to them, with them, about them in ways that they can understand. This clip inadvertently makes this crystal clear to me - the salesman is utterly flabbergasted by the line of questioning in the second half because her questions make no sense to him. Yeah, guess was - 90% plus of people do believe in God here, we could credibly, demographically, be considered a "Christian nation" regardless of one's views on the matter, and her question is "well, what would Jesus do," as if her entire knowledge of religious thought and spiritual viewpoints comes from a popular fad from 10 years ago.

The battles over religion are going to get worse, not better. The right is in full force right now, and it's going to translate to local and state races in 2009 and the midterms next year. I'm not convinced at all that the less religious - or anti-religious of us in many cases - are going to be able to gain ground with these folks as long as we keep acting like religion, spiritual belief, and religion-as-culture is some sort of quirk or oddity. There's secularism - a heady, worthwhile goal in many areas - and there's burning bridges to make some sort of, well, holier than thou point about how wacky the religious folk are.

This piece could have been a great piece on promotional ingenuity that'd make Billy Mays proud, or even turned into a solid discussion as to how religion and patriotism factor into his business plan and how his customers respond. Instead, it's the mainstream media deciding that he's not to be taken seriously, thus meaning that it becomes the mainstream media deciding that a sizeable minority, perhaps plurality, if not outright majority of people are nothing more than a quaint national joke. That's not right.

Comments

[soliloquy76.livejournal.com]

Do you think that the majority of people in this country would take the "God, Guns, Guts and Pickup Trucks" slogan and the AK-47 voucher promotion seriously? I doubt it. He's using God and politics to move product.

I think the media would be better off avoiding these kinds of confrontations, though, and let the viewers decide for themselves how to feel about the story. Less commentators, more reporters.

[merig00.livejournal.com]

I'd find it funny and go check out his dealership

[soliloquy76.livejournal.com]

Don't make me bust out a survey on this.

[merig00.livejournal.com]

LOL but seriously he's catering to gun carrying, God loving, truck drivers. What did you expect :D

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

Do you think that the majority of people in this country would take the "God, Guns, Guts and Pickup Trucks" slogan and the AK-47 voucher promotion seriously? I doubt it. He's using God and politics to move product.

Values matter. Yes, I absolutely think the slogan makes a difference, and I'd be willing to believe he sees it reflected in his sales.

Less commentators, more reporters.

We agree on this much.

[soliloquy76.livejournal.com]

I don't doubt that some people choose to do business with people who share their values (or, at the very least, use these buzzwords). This slogan and promotion might resonate in his rural community, but I think it would elicit chuckles and dismissal from the majority of the country.

Regarding the lack of journalistic integrity, what's the solution? News is driven by ratings which is driven by corporate sponsorship. People are watching, so big media is going to keep doing whatever it takes to bring in the crowds.

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

This slogan and promotion might resonate in his rural community, but I think it would elicit chuckles and dismissal from the majority of the country.

Yes, it would, which is really a lot of the problem. I'm not entirely sure what's so funny about it.

People are watching, so big media is going to keep doing whatever it takes to bring in the crowds.

So the crowd wants ignorant reporters who insult large swaths of their audience?

[soliloquy76.livejournal.com]

I'm not entirely sure what's so funny about it.

It has nothing to do with the product and it's a transparent attempt to pander to a certain demographic? Just a guess.

So the crowd wants ignorant reporters who insult large swaths of their audience?

I wasn't referring to this piece, but big media in general. But apparently the answer is yes.

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

It has nothing to do with the product and it's a transparent attempt to pander to a certain demographic? Just a guess.

Are you sure about that? I think he'd argue that his activity is directly involved with the promotion of his ideals.

I wasn't referring to this piece, but big media in general. But apparently the answer is yes.

I'd say the declining ratings might disagree.