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And They're the Good Guys?
A look at television's elevation of the antihero
posted 09/22/08
Take a moment to consider the television characters that currently populate the world of police and courtroom dramas: Vic Mackey (The Shield); Jack Bauer (24); Dexter Morgan (Dexter); Grace Anadarko (Saving Grace); Patty Hewes (Damages). This list includes, respectively, a corrupt cop, a wild government ...
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rating & reviews
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Bruce Kolasch(Registered User)
Thanks for your thoughts on "exegeting" and engaging/confronting culture. It seems to me that the characters and plots of these well liked TV shows reflect the political right and even "the Christian right's" way of responding to evil in our world today. Taking justice into our own hands presumes we are objective and just. It is always easier to see the evil in the other, and neglect to look in the mirror (& mirror of the Word) seeing our own need for humility and repentance. The 9/11 connection seems unavoidable as so many of us agree with escalating violence by responding with more violence. God took on evil not with guns and bombs, but with the cross. This is a huge cultural issue uncritically embraced on a personal/family/community/national/international level. It is political. It is personal.
Marshall Shelley(Registered User)
Well expressed, Brian. I noticed that in almost every episode of 24 (and yes, I've seen them all), Jack Bauer tells one of the other characters, "You're gonna have to trust me." And that, it seems to me, is the crux of this issue. Do we place our trust in a human being, desperately scrambling to prevent one more catastrophe? Or do we place our trust in the One who may allow catastrophes but redeems them for an eternal purpose? These dramas really do clarify Jesus' question: What does it benefit a man to save the world but lose his soul?