I've been watching the TV series, 24, since it started 6 years ago. But now, with season 7 starting in one week, and after hearing an increasing chorus of criticism that 24 amounts to "torture on TV," I'm wondering, should Christians be watching 24?
What does it mean to watch it? Is it necessarily an endorsement? What does it mean to not watch it? Also, in my possession, from Blockbuster.com, are two films I'm planning to watch this month: Paradise Now (seems like a good time to watch this) and Taxi to the Dark Side.
So, with one week to go before the start of season 7, I'm inviting you to weigh in. Do you plan to watch? Why or why not? Have you had a similar concern about 24?
Please leave your comments below and vote on the right sidebar.
Being an avid fan of the show myself, my own spirituality never enters my mind when I'm engaged in watching the program. Should Christians watch it? I think that is something each individual must decide. The violence, in my opinion, is justified because of the "reality" of the subject matter. My primary like for the program is built upon my interest in espionage and never before has a TV program made me feel more patriotic and more disgusted at my own government in order to maintain "freedom"... if that makes any sense!
Posted by: John Ingles | January 04, 2009 at 03:50 PM
I suppose my thought isn't about wether I should or shouldn't watch 24, but about the implications of watching anything. One thing I think is interesting is that if I want to engage with the popular culture in order to wrestle with the theology of that culture, it means that I have to financially support that media.
I can watch 24 and disagree with its morality, yet my watching of it is registered as viewership, and so it is counted as successful. I could be watching on tv, or downloading from iTunes, or on official websites. If there is a movie I should see that may not be Christian in its worldview but is dealing with ideas that I need to also deal with, then I have to buy a ticket, find a rental, buy a dvd, which supports a filmmaking company that I may not agree with. And if I "vote with my wallet" and boycott the media, I have little ground for deep and reasoned criticism of that product, but my abstinence isn't registered as a vote against 24—it is simply not counted.
Such an effective system of perpetuation that our entertainment industry has built.
I'm not trying to make an argument for piracy and bootlegging.
As for 24, I don't think that watching it is inherently immoral or even an endorsement of torture. We live in a country where our elected leaders have employed torture, so the heroes of our television shows also employ torture. It's a window into our broken system. With the recent tv movie to introduce season 7, 24 seems to be showing the psychological impact that such techniques and career has done to Bauer.
Plus, things go boom. I like that.
Posted by: Scott Arany | January 06, 2009 at 01:31 AM
I'm a fan of Jack Bauer and plan to follow/watch this season just because the show is some great entertainment!
Some friend's and I were talking about some of the changes that seem to be coming up in the new season of 24, and if anything, 24 seems to be a reflection of the political climate in the US more than anything else.
In previous seasons it was the terrorists that were bad, and Jack Bauer "good", as he sought to protect the US from the bad guys at all costs.
This season, at least from the first episode, the focus is on the genocide that is happening in Africa, and the plight of child soldiers. Jack is actually on trial for his participation in "torture" in previous seasons, and this time the good guy for fighting against the evil corporations that want to profiteer from war, and African warlords who want to exploit children.
Perhaps this season's focus will help bring public awareness of wider social concerns.
Perhaps this is just my way of justifying a bad habit. =)
Posted by: Zane | January 06, 2009 at 02:07 PM
IMHO, much of the drama of the show is premised on the idea that human life is so valuable that principles must sometimes be sacrificed in order to preserve it. That's a subtle and dangerous message for a Christian to repeatedly take in, simply because it is entertaining. Jesus would never sacrifice principle to save his own life or even the lives of thousands.
Posted by: Oscar | January 16, 2009 at 02:29 AM
I think many Christians make this issue more complex than it really is. Should we really be asking ourselves if it's OK to watch 24? My gut says, No.
What does it mean not to watch the show? Well, it shouldn't matter if your "abstinence isn't registered as a vote." Why should a vote for the viewership and popularity of a television show even matter to Christians?
We need to be careful not to cloud these issues. To watch or not to watch 24 should be non-debatable for a Christian. Throwing in a lot of excuses and ideas of wrestling with other theologies is just an attempt to justify an action that should be clearly wrong for any Christian.
Posted by: Ryan Van Dolson | January 16, 2009 at 04:30 AM
Oscar, thank you for your thoughts. I agree that the issues of torture make it difficult. Is art imitating culture or is art creating culture?
Ryan, thank you for sharing as well. While I appreciate the conclusion to which you've come, I disagree that it isn't complicated. I think it is irresponsible for Christians to simply turn their face away from everything that doesn't fit in their worldview. That kind of isolationism leads to major problems for Christians. That doesn't mean we necessarily watch all these shows. But that doesn't make the question unimportant of the answer simple.
Posted by: Ryan Bell | January 16, 2009 at 05:53 AM
Hey Ryan:
I appreciated your posting about the dilemma of pop culture, which I think we've all felt in various (individual) areas. Naturally, one person's temptation is different from another's. For me, I've always felt good about leaving something questionable behind: not because it was necessarily evil but because it wasn't worth my time or thoughts. Jim Cymbala writes how there can't be spiritual renewal without demolition, and I've found that true personally. My two measures of something in pop culture are: how do I feel afterward? and how do I feel about someone else doing something similar?
For what it's worth--thanks again for the post.
Andy
Posted by: Andy Nash | January 30, 2009 at 01:02 PM