Posted on 08/12/2011 4:10:51 AM PDT by Kaslin
This fall, the Showtime movie channel will air its sixth season of "Dexter," their show glorifying a just serial killer. They recently finished a fourth season of a show called "Californication." It debuted in 2007, with a dream sequence in which the lead character receives oral sex from a nun in a church. So it might seem surprising (or...perhaps not) that Showtime's new promotional package for the fall wraps Showtime characters around...Christianity. The new slogan is "Showtime Saves."
The low point in this perverse campaign is the visuals of the murderous Dexter character with golden-sunshine rays of holiness. Their St. Dexter the just-serial-killer routine matches the trailer for season six, where Dexter beats in the head of a man with a Jesus tattoo on his chest. This Christian (smirk, sniff) killed his wife rather than undergo a messy divorce, which makes Dexter the righteous judge and jury. Before he's whacked with a hammer, the wife-killer screams "God is a mighty fortress! And I have been washed in the blood of the Lamb! And He will protect me!"
In Hollywood, or at least at the CBS Corporation, which owns Showtime, it seems the only good Christian is a dead, hypocritical Christian.
As the website MediaReallyMatters.com proclaimed to CBS: "The God you describe is not the benevolent and loving God millions of us know and worship -- and your sacrilegious promotions, twisting his words to promote your lowlife shows are not at all clever or funny to millions of Americans."
The trailer also features clips of Dexter with the soundtrack of the old Depeche Mode pop song about "your own personal Jesus, someone to hear your prayers, someone who cares." Next to blood splatters, the red text on screen reads "This fall, he'll make you a believer." Underneath the official Showtime promotional video on YouTube, it promises, "Get ready for the most rapturous season yet."
While that pop song lyrically proclaims, "reach out and touch faith," that's not exactly what "Dexter" is about. In season two, Dexter proudly proclaimed his atheism in a narration at a church: "If I believed in God -- if I believed in sin -- this is the place where I'd be sucked straight to Hell...if I believed in Hell."
In a second Showtime promo, as the Leonard Cohen song "Hallelujah" plays, Dexter walks past religious statues, including the Virgin Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus and wonders (or teases): "Maybe it's not a need, but a calling. After all, I rid the world of evil people. If they didn't exist, neither would I. Is it possible I serve a higher purpose?"
At that point, the camera frames Dexter with angel wings behind him. It is blatant anti-Christian (and especially anti-Catholic) bigotry. And for those at Showtime with the smug looks on their faces, allow me to show what cowards you are: never in a million years would you mock the prophet Mohammed like this.
Showtime is taking their pseudo-biblical slogans on the road. Take "Comic-Con," the annual comics and popular art convention in San Diego, which has become quite a marketing event for TV programming.
Their slogans are splashed across buses and splattered in convention programs. The "Dexter" slogan was "Do unto others." That's a bad case of turning the Golden Rule upside down.
Over at "Californication," the slogan is "Love one another." When you're on a roll mocking Jesus Christ, you're on a roll. But then, from the beginning, this show was never religious. In fact, the lead character Hank Moody's fictional novel, titled "God Hates Us All," was turned into an actual novel (complete with the character's byline) and published by CBS-owned Simon & Schuster in 2009.
The show "Weeds" is about a suburban mom moonlighting as a crooked marijuana dealer. Here's their slogan: "Glory in the highest." The seventh season began with Nancy, the pot dealer, getting out of prison, and her cellmate (and lesbian lover) Zoya gives her a key to the trunk of a car. In the trunk, were explosives that Zoya stole from her brother. Nancy sells them to the brother for marijuana -- so much for glory, or prison rehabilitation.
And the new series "Shameless," about a "fearlessly twisted, absolutely, wildly, unapologetically shameless" dysfunctional family, drew the motto "Feel the spirits within you." This is probably a reference to the alcoholic single-dad lead character. He is often drunk and therefore not caring for his six children, which in the real world constitutes felonious abandonment, but on Showtime it's a subplot.
You think of the hundreds upon hundreds of people involved in this Showtime enterprise -- the actors, producers, promotional and marketing staff, the blue-suit executives in New York, the advertising agencies. And of those hundreds and hundreds, not one will stand up to defend Our Lord? How sad.
Our Earth is a battleground between good and evil. Choose your side and then count your spiritual dollars, or debt.
I have had cable tv for over 30 years and for the past 25 have done so without the ‘premium’ channels...they alienated my sensabilities way back when and I refuse to pay for them....
if I want to see a movie fresh out on DVD, I can rent it at the supermarket ‘redbox’ for a buck...
Joshua 24:15
New International Version (NIV)
15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
Just don’t call him stupid.
It was one of the funniest movies ever made.
I do have showtime, but the only showtime channels I watch are Encore Westerns and occasionally Encore Drama
That the people creating and presenting this material are depraved is a given..... and the response by the potential viewers at large should be wholesale rejection. By scanning through channels, one will no doubt run across all kinds of things. In my view, to watch something evil (and in particular enjoy it) is simply to turn one’s mind over to the ranks of the depraved. Psalm 101:3 . I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.
Add to those the viewers and we can see how broad and deep the perversion of modern society runs.
I'm not trying to start a war, so please don't be hateful towards me, but I honestly think all this energy would be better spent fixing the real world. If you don't like the show, don't watch. If enough people don't watch, the shows will go away. But think about it...is raising a stink like this really going to change anyone's mind? And it makes Christians look exactly as controlling and humorless as our worst critics say we are. Sorry, just my .02.
Interesting. Before I got to this paragraph I was wondering if Leonard Cohen was involved in the ideas behind this series. Haven't seen the show, but there's enough complexity there to merit 'poet level' ...
Making fun of Christianity and showing Jesus doing bizzare or criminal things is an easy plot device and pretty banal. Its no wonder it shows up on Showtime, which has the worst original cable programming of any premium cable network. There is not one Showtime series that is remotely interesting. They are poorly written, have insipid storylines that run out of steam quickly and average actors. Every once in a while I try to watch one and usually turn it off 10 minutes or so into the episode. Weeds and Dexter are two of the worst. Before they turned to Christian bashing plot lines, they were horribly dull. Its not wonder they are grasping at straws like this.
I have watched all three shows... and agree completely, I think some of these commentators run out of real news to analyze. No one is being forced to watch cable television.
I don’t subscribe to Showtime and have never seen an episode of Dexter. But as described here Dexter is simply another vigilante anti-hero. The man who goes out to clean up our messes, and “does what he’s gotta do”.
There have been lots of comments the last few days applauding the idea of vigilantes in London. Why would we turn against one on Showtime.
As for Dexter’s atheism, isn’t that required by the plot. “Thou shalt not kill” isn’t really compatible with his occupation.
I’m grateful Brent Bozell will never control what is and isn’t allowed on television. Television is bad enough as it is, yet I really couldn’t take a hundred channels of Ozzie and Harriet.
In general, I agree with you that there’s more of a point to doing “real world” stuff, but please consider this:
1. Millions of Christians get up every morning and go out to feed the hungry, bring water to the thirsty, heal the sick, comfort the afflicted and help the prisoner and the addict rebuild their lives. Others work regular jobs, but donate thousands each year so their fellow man can be helped. They love their neighbor as themselves and have no thought of hating someone for their bedroom preferences or any other reason. Shows like this take those people and portray them as lower than dog crap, hateful hypocrites who make Bull Connor look tolerant.
Would you mind someone objecting to a show that portrayed your average Marine as a bloodthirsty killer of children? Would you mind someone objecting to a show that portrays all black people as lazy criminals or all Jews as hyper-greedy plotters? Would objecting to those things be a waste of time? This garbage is from the same well.
2. Whn I hear about crap like this, I think of the moment when Romanian Communists at a religious conference were holding forth (on national radio) on how communism was just a modern expression of the teachings of Jesus and Sabina Wurmbrand turned to her husband and said, “Richard, you must go up there and wipe this spit off the face of Christ.” He did, and it eventually cost him 14 years in prison. It was that important to him.
These people are spitting in the face of the man who allowed Himself to be tortured to death to buy my way out of Hell. Why should I or any Christian let that pass without comment? And especially, why should we do so when unlike Wurmbrand, we have the freedom to do it?
Outstanding post, Mr. Silverback!
Meanhile, we’re still waiting for the documentary that so much as tells the truth about the life of Mohammed, let alone mocks him.
Somehow, one feels that the gutless networks will never even attempt it.
You bring up a good point. What about “responsible adults” being able to watch what they want on TV.
Most are not “responsible adults”, let alone have they come to walk in the ways of the Lord.
Marketing works.
That’s why billions are spent on advertising every year.
Something presented on television constantly has a large influence.
If we pray every day and study the Bible every day and attend Church every Lord’s Day, we are influenced by the edifying effects of these things.
But how many only have the influence of the things of this world ?
Everyone American know that the Bible exists. Only someone being coy denies they know about it. Yet so far they are not drawn to study it. So far they then have rejected it.
I too would like to fix the real world. But if we take it upon ourselves to fix without the foundation of faith in God, we are not fixing, but merely building a tower of Babel. If we put on the whole armor of God, then we can fix upon a firm foundation.
I think Ephesians 6 has doctrine (teaching) that may be helpful in this regard.
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
2 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;
3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:
8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.
9 And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
21 But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things:
22 Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts.
23 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.
You sound very defensive. So we shouldn’t speak up because we might offend some delicate libertine sensibilities?
Maybe your show, which isn’t for children, isn’t for Christians either. Just maybe.
You’re dead on target. Burn Notice, Monk and Psych can blow any of the premium channel shows out of the water and except for a little sex in the case of Burn Notice, you could watch any of them with your 10 year old.
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