Impressions of Flowtv.org

After looking at the flowtv site, I chose two articles I thought would be interesting to students. One deals with religion on TV and the other explains the lure of American Idol.

#1. "Is it Religion or is it Entertainment?" by Mara Einstein. America is the most religious industrialized nation on earth, say Einstein. Although 90% of Americans believe in a higher power, only 26% attend a religious institution on a weekly basis. That means that most Americans are practicing their faith in more secular avenues like books, television, and the internet. Einstein points out the blur that is occurring between the secular and sacred, for example the recent TV special dealing with the faith of presidential hopefuls Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney. Einstein asks, "why has religion become so important to the political process in the first place?" She also discusses the differences and similarities between Joel Osteen and Oprah. Osteen is pastor of the largest megachurch in the country and has a TV audience of seven million. Oprah has a portion of her show called "Church of the O".

I feel that this article would be valuable for discussion in a group classroom of older students. It would be important to have a view ground rules when discussion politics or religion. For example, if a discussion is open and the students are encouraged to express personal views, the class or group must be reminded that the comments must be presented in a respectful way as well as the response by other group members. A discussion could follow the authors question about religion in politics. That could open up and interesting topic to research for the students. Perhaps going back to our forefathers who set up our political system. There are several clips on Youtube about Osteen and Oprah that would offer continued points for discussion.

The author's final thought deals with the secularization theory. She feels it may help us understand why we are not in a culture war with popular media, but rather in a state of osmosis. I imagine that view would raise the ire of a few people who don't like that trend. I think the teachable moment would present itself more than once in discussing an emotional topic like this one. My current job involves a lot of social skill training for the work place. I have found that a lot of young people do not know how to discuss religion or politics in a work environment. I think this activity would serve as an excellent learning opportunity for many students.

#2. The Lure of American Idol Explained: Parasocial Relationships and Emotional Vicarious Living in Live TV, by Carol Morgan. The author asks "why is the show so popular?" She admits that she is addicted to the show but tells her husband that it's just research. Parasocial relationships, one of the reasons Morgan says the show is so popular, is basically that people build relationships with people they like. People tune in each week to see what their "friends" are up to each week. People develop a connection and watch week after week to see if their favorite person will do well, just like if it was their brother or sister. Not knowing how they'll do on live TV is part of the allure. The other reason is that Idol serves as an emotional vicarious experience for viewers. The viewer experience emotions as to what it would be like if they themselves were up there singing. Also, it is empowering for the viewer to participate in "finding" the next superstar. They feel they can take credit for discovering the next talent. In this manner, the viewers are allowed to vicariously live the American Dream.

I feel this article would be interesting to discuss in a group or classroom. Most students have some awareness of reality TV, probably even a few loyal fans. I think they would find Morgan's ideas as to why the shows are so addictive very interesting. I would like to hear some discussion about the media and how they draw such a loyal following to their top shows. How do people form the attachments to people they don't even know? What are the positive aspects of being a regular viewer of a show or even several reality shows? What are the drawbacks? Although I've never been an auto racing fan, I've heard that it is really addicting when you pick a certain driver and follow him. What are some other examples, sports, authors, etc. where students have observed such a loyal following? What is it about human nature that can cause people to follow leaders in negative ways? What are some examples? Again, the ground rules for any group discussion would have to start with everyone respecting the opinions of others.