wfn.org | Conference is wake-up call for ‘illiterate' Christians

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Note #6251 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

3-November-2000
00390

Conference is wake-up call for ‘illiterate' Christians

You can see God in movies and on TV, speakers say -- if you know how to look

by Alan A. Aja

SAN ANSELMO, Calif. -- It is called the "Electronic Great Awakening," a time
in history when electronic communication has allowed humans to progress to
become a global culture. Yet, how often do we question or try to understand
what we watch on film or television, hear on the radio, or interact with on
the Internet?

	Such thoughtful questioning is known as "media literacy," and the
Presbyterian Church (USA) has decided to take on the issues related to this
ever-changing "wired" world.

	More than 30 Presbyterian media officials, pastors, seminarians and
representatives of other ecumenical media programs met on the campus of San
Francisco Theological Seminary here on Oct. 28 for the first-ever "training"
event for "Electronic Great Awakening" (EGA), a program for media literacy
in the Presbyterian Church (USA).

	"The conference was made up of people who have come to represent a variety
of engagements — pastors, educators, media partners, writers, producers,
etcetera, who care and are interested in media literacy" said the Rev. John
Silbert, a Presbyterian minister and consultant in Church and Public Media
for the Pittsburgh-based Presbyterian Media Mission. "They are here because
they know it is the culture, and want to know where we are as Christian
disciples in this wired world."

	The three-day conference included seminars and interactive discussions with
church media officials and others with interest and/or expertise in the
electronic media.

	The EGA program was created in September 1998 by a development team
composed of representatives from the Presbyterian Media Mission, the PC(USA)
Office of Communication in Louisville and other interested Presbyterians.

	The EGA's primary goal is to create awareness in the church of the need for
education and critical reflection about today's media-saturated culture.

	"The main core of media literacy is the principle of inquiry -- asking
questions," said Elizabeth Thoman, conference presenter and
founder/executive director of the Center for Media Literacy in Los Angeles,
California. "We also need to teach ourselves to not condemn it, instead
learn to manage it ... learn to watch it sensibly. Finally we need to allow
for action learning, and get people involved."

	Some of the questioning and critical analysis discussed by conference
participants involved recent corporate takeovers and mergers of media
outlets.

	"The news was once a public service; now it's a profit center," said Gary
Dreibelbis, an adjunct faculty member in speech and communication at Solano
(Calif.) College. "We need to know what we can do to impact the economic
forces that shape the media."

	That idea was also highlighted by the Rev. Walt Davis, a professor emeritus
at San Francisco Theological Seminary, who spoke about watching television
through the lens of faith, and the crucial need for media literacy in the
church.

	An example of the effect of the consolidation of the national media in a
couple of large conglomerates, Davis said, "is that coverage of
international news has declined 19 percent on NBC." Similar skewing of news
coverage has occurred on other networks, he added.

	Another impact of the economic domination of the media is seen through
advertising and subliminal messages. Reba Griffith, health communicator for
the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia, outlined the effects of
tobacco advertising in films and on TV.

	According to Griffith, nearly 90 percent of the top 50 box-office movie
hits of 1997-98 featured tobacco use. In addition, the average PG-rated
movie showed smoking 18 times, while the average PG-13 rated movie showed
smoking 13 times.

	Even so, Griffith said, "We can't assume that the media is inherently bad." 

	She suggested what the church's role should be in educating young people
about what they see: "The church should provide a community of caring, of
change, intellect and passion, " she said. "We must meet youth on their own
ground, focus on the media the youth use and value. Don't attack or reject
their media preferences."

	While television and film were a major topic of conversation, the use of
the Internet was not overlooked. "The Web as a means of conversation tends
to democratize, and that has an impact on structures and hierarchies,"
Silbert said in an address about the new "digital culture."

	Silbert said the technological ability to "stream" faith and Christian
witness on the Internet has an impact on world culture. "On a social-justice
level, Presbyterians need to be aware that we can convey the ideal of
peacemaking through this digital culture as more developing countries gain
access to this form of media," he said.

	"If the poor and oppressed have access (to mass media), their voice is just
as powerful," said Ann Gillies, EGA Team member and coordinator of Internet
and Media Services for the PC (USA)'s Office of Communication, who noted
that many areas of the United States and of the world still lack Internet
access.

	How can Presbyterians help others to be aware of these influences?

	One of the goals of the EGA is to provide resources and programs to educate
people about media literacy. Several presenters and participants shared ways
in which they do so with their own congregations and constituencies.

	Teresa Blythe, EGA Tem member, veteran radio broadcast journalist and
co-author of Watching What We Watch: Prime-Time Television Through the Lens
of Faith, showed clips from the popular television comedy/drama Ally McBeal.
Conference participants were asked to analyze the main characters'
interactions and how they relate to spirituality.

	"If we are created in the image of God, what makes a woman feel that she is
not complete without the man?" asked Blythe, referring to a scene in which
the main female character is questioned by a male character. "By examining
popular shows, taking small clips and letting the audience interact, we can
look at the things we call God."

	The Rev. Ed McNulty, author of Visual Parables and Let's Go to the Movies,
a film reviewer for Presbyterians Today magazine who uses film clips to
teach media literacy, said churches and the theater should be partners in
exploring faith.

	"Film can be a spiritual experience — viewing the movie is only half of the
visual process," McNulty said. "You can find God in films even if they don't
mention God, " he added, suggesting that churches create programs,
especially for young adults, that couple movies with discussions of
spirituality.

	Two presenters who produce films also joined the conference participants. 

	Ken Wales, who served as executive producer of CBS Television's "Christy"
series, the film the "The Prodigal" and the TV program "Cagney and Lacey",
shared his own experience as a Christian and media producer. "You just never
know when what you do will have an effect on something," he said. "There is
such a reluctance by people (in Hollywood) to acknowledge that there is a
greater power, a greater plan -- God."

	Michael Rhodes, a Presbyterian and Hollywood film and TV producer whose
credits include "Romero," "China Beach" and the "Christy" mini-series,
agreed. "There is a greater power, insight, something theological that we
miss," he said.

	Rhodes said he is now working on an educational program for schools that
involves showing film clips and having students analyze them. "This is a way
we can use the media to empower people," he added.

	 "How do we live our faith in the midst of a media culture?" Thoman asked. 

	"Simply stated," Wales responded,  "we must understand in depth the
richness of what we are acquainted with -- film, books, television and the
rest."

	McNulty agreed: "God can be found in the media. Instead of attacking it, we
must approach it from the position of what it can do for us, and on our
behalf."

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