One of yesterdays articles in the papers about Jerry Springer: The Opera, that I missed until this morning was Stewart Lee (the writer of the show) defending the decision to broadcast. There are a couple of points that I thought were worth highlighting. Firstly, he and Richard Thomas, although being out of the country at the moment, had decided to keep a dignified silence over the broadcast, until he had started to recieve personally abusive e-mails, at which point he has chosen to defend the show.

Secondly, with regards to the content, and the use of Christian Theology he says the following:

“There also isn’t space here to explain the show’s much-criticised appropriation of Christian theology – as a former C of E choirboy with a B in Religious Studies at A-level, I feel almost over-qualified to defend our position.”

To some extent I think it is a bit of a shame that he doesn’t have the space, as from his background it would be interesting to hear. It reminds me of the arguments over “The Last Temptation of Christ” in that with that movie both the author, and the director of the film were Christian, and felt they were exploring important themes, but again were campaigned against by large parts of the Church most of whom hadn’t seen it, and were taking elements out of context.

What is concerning over this whole episode is the picture of parts of the Church it gives. What is of particular concern is the threats made against BBC executives, and Stewart Lee himself. Christian supporters of the show have been unwilling to come forward for similar reasons, as this article from Ekklesia says after quoting from an unamed Christian commentator:

“Christians who see some merit in the show and who oppose banning it from late-night TV have told Ekklesia that they do not wish to be named because of what one described as “the unhealthy climate of abuse against dissenters stoked up by moral panic tactics.â€?”

This is also backed up by posters to the heated discussion about the show at Ship of Fools (currently running to 7 pages). The comment below describes the responses recieved by someone who refused to complain, and explained why.

“For the record, I’ve now received eight unsolicited round-robin emails from various ‘Christian’ groups (including MediaWatch which rather goes against their claim on the News this evening that the complaints sent to the BBC were unorchestrated) asking me to complain. I’ve replied to all of them saying why I think they are mistaken AND that I don’t care to be associated with them. The result: three no-replies, two ‘I will pray for you to see the light’, one sensible reply, one you are an idiot type reply and one which says in total ‘Fuck you you catholic blasphemer. I look forward to watching you and all your fag friends burn in Hell at the Day of Judgement’. “

In that ilk, the website of Christian Voice, the organisation who appeared on News 24, and are prime movers in the campaign also makes for pretty worrying reading in places.

The situation in the USA of course is much more serious, with people calling themselves Christians advocating and committing murder against abortion clinics. This from a faith where the words of Jesus are all about peace and love!

Keeping an eye on the media today, the whole Jerry Springer thing has got more and more high pitched and out of hand. There have been demonstrators outside the BBC, and even threats made against senior executives following a posting of their contact details on a website. However the director general of the BBC, himself a practising Christian has said that having seen the show there is nothing in the show which he believes to be blasphemous. (See here for a summary)

However, the Oxford Diocese has posted a news item about the show, an item from a Christian (Toby Scott, Media Relations Officer for the Methodist Church) who went to see the show, and even counted the swear words. You can read the whole news item here. However I will repeat two paragraphs that describe the controversial aspects and put them in context.

“The show does portray Jesus, the Virgin Mary, Adam and Eve and God as characters on stage, in a scene in which the Devil has forced Jerry Springer to try and arrange a reconciliation between heaven and hell. None of the characters of Jesus, Mary, Adam and Eve or God are shown as sexual deviants. The scene does contain profanity, at least one instance coming from the Jesus character, but the entire tenor of it is, oddly enough, largely in keeping with mainstream theology. When Jesus is accused of being absent from key events, he asks in return why people were absent when he was on the cross. In the end, the Devil’s inability accept that he is wrong and unwillingness to change means that he must remain in hell, while Jesus is clearly identified as the saviour of humankind.”

“There is clearly material here that will cause offence to some. However, the show overall is not deliberately and specifically offensive to Christians. Its barbs are aimed at the society that allows and the people who take part in shows such as Jerry Springer, and support it by watching the channels that show it and buy products from the advertisers who buy time slots. In other words, the satire is aimed at pretty much all of us. Springer’s descent into hell and meeting with the holy figures is a dramatic device that allows him to realise some of the error of his ways. Whereas the opening chorus sings “I want to be on TV, choose me Jerry please,” at the end the closing lines include “Take care of each other, and yourselves.” It is in some ways a journey from selfishness to concern for others.”