This Wednesday, as i'm sure many of UMD Forum members have as well, I watched the reality show on Fox (I think) it's called Trading Spouses but it might be called Wife Swap..... Anyway I watched the show. And like always they put opposite thinking people together to make the show interesting. This last one (and the second half that's on next Wed.) has a woman on it who seems to be an extreme Christian. The woman is shown ranting and raving about simple things that she perceives as being evil and un Christian; (which a few are, like the gay psyhic) but she is shown doing things that are so outrageous, and acting so crazy, that it makes her look like a psyco! At one point she walks outside and the cameras show her looking at a wooden star on a barn or garage and looking at a few gargoyles and then next thing you know the woman is saying something smells disgusting inside the house.....she claims she feels some bad feeling about everything, and then she start gaging and throws up in the yard!!! This obviously makes her look nuts and crazy...... Later in the show she loses it when this guy who sounds gay (and it also supposed to be a pyshic) enters the room she's in. She starts saying she's done and that she can't take his un godliness and such, this too obviously makes her look nuts because after saying this she starts crying and screaming!

Also on the show, the other woman is shown being treated VERY badly by a bunch of female Christians (friends of the crazy woman) that make the other woman feel un wanted and un welcome. The other Christian ladies feel that the woman is evil or satanic because she deals with hypnosis, doesn't go to church, and she's into astrology.... Next week previews show the crazy woman once again losing it, acting hysterical, and screaming about the other family (about how they don't believe in God, are evil and such) at one point it shows the woman, in a fit of rage, ripping up what I think is the letter on how her family is supposed to spend their 50 thousand dollars.

Now.... I thought the show was funny as hell!!!! I was actually rolling on the floor laughing at one point; and the preview of next week looks like it'll be even funnier!!!

But I've noticed a pattern to all of these wife and family swapping reality shows that disturbs me. I mean, in all seriousness anybody who's not a Christian will watch the show and think all Christians are raving, emotinaly unstable, maniacs! Almost Every time these wife swapping shows show a family that is Christian, or a military family, or a strict family with good values......they're painted in a negative light. They are either shown as raving hysterical maniacs (like the woman on Wed), or they're shown as extreme conservatives that are WAY to strict on their children and seem cut off from society.......they are usually also shown as very mean and aggressive towards everyone else. Now I know that most Christian families, and most good valued people with morales don't act the way they're shown to act. I know they're not crazy, I know they're good people. But these reality shows seem to be trying to make it look otherwise.

Now, the tv shows might just be picking these people because it creates interesting and funny television...... But in doing so they seem to be inadvertently painting good valued people or religious people in a negative light. ......another possibility is that the networks and television shows are doing this on purpose, maybe to gain a more liberal democratic american vote in the next election......or (as paranoid as it may sound) as a way to soften people up to the idea of people of faith being crazy fools, it might be the first strike on religious people from a world fast approaching the rise of the anti christ in the end of days....

I'm curious to know what other UMD Forum members think about that. Does everyone think I may be onto something conspiracy like with these reality shows? Or is it all just funny tv (which it is) and nothing more?

Either way, you can't deny the fact that these reality shows do show most Christians (as well as other types of people) in a negative light on many occasions.....which could lead to stero-types.

I hate when TV does sh** like that.

They do the same thing to Louisiana. Make us looks like a bunch of hicks who talk with a bad accent when it's not true, lol.

Forget just Reality TV. TV in general has been pushing anti-religious agendas for years.

tv is driven by ratings. to get people to watch they need drama. to get that drama, they need the most extremes they can produce to maximize conflict and thus drama. Would you watch otherwise?

i would not read too much into such things. remember, it is 'reality tv' which does not hold high standards for anything.

besides, people don't need to see extreme christians to know what kind of people christians really are!

I watched it and do feel I have met and experinced Christains such as this, not all christains but some. There is no other view but theres A dear friend broke up with me because i didn't beleive in Hell after she had a screaming fit. Namaste Sheri

i don't know about that sheri, but i did not see the show.

i don't think you can judge a christian by his bible. i have christian colleages that unless you knew they were christian you would never guess from normal interactions. some people play their cards closer to their chest than others. of course, for all i know they could really be holding neo-nazi rallies in the basement of their church. people wear all sorts of masks. while the bible may be the black book, i think that those that follow it truly see it as a good book. an evil person does not view him/herself as evil.

Hyper far be it for me to stereo type In my experince religous people generally step out once they get to know you like you said they keep there hand quite,secret. of course there are amazing Christians also I'm very optimistic I just don't have much experience with that, so its refreshing to know you do know of some, Namaste Sheri

Sherri you're being really close minded. How sad. Putting down an entire group of people yet again. I can assure you, most true Christians are not like that. God wouldn't want his people acting that way.

Well, I must say that I don't know many Christians so I don't have much to go by. Sounds like they just need drama for that show or no one would watch.I don't like to group people by religion. In my world, there are the sane and the insane. Some sane people may be Christians, some Christians may be insane. Ya never know. I myself feel that a lot of extreme religious people are hypocrites.

Saying that that is an "accurate view" is an ignorant comment
(given that there are so many different types of Christians).

I saw some of the show, I have to admit. And look, these relatiy shows, as I believe PA said, are purely based on the kind of over-the-top hysterics like this woman showed. It wasn't the fact that she was a Christian, it was the fact she was crazy.

As for the crazy woman's friends shunning the hypnotherapist, that was absolutely dead-on accurate for most of my adult life, so I don't think it was the fault of the TV show. I can't begin to remember the number of scenarios I've been witness to that played out almost exactly like that (without the dramatic music cues).

Yeah, that wasn't too unrealistic. The vomit lady was overacting to EVERYTHING. She could have just been acting, because controversy makes for better ratings.
She makes Osama look liberal.

you people are pretty prejudice.
And where do you live that you dont know many christians?!
But i digress, the media has its own agendas
most of them are vicously anti-religous except for FOX news which is the official channel of neo cons,
unfortunately you either watch anti-religion satan or pro-religion satan.
The media is self serving in general

ah, good. another reason to not watch reality tv.

I never watch T.V really, but it sounds like something from Jerry Springer. I do agree that the majority of Americans and Canadians are raised and taught sadly by T.V. If a younger generation was to watch a show, and saw that, they would probly believe Christians are in fact "crazy". Of course, if it was me, or someone else that knew better, they would shrug it off to the point where that lady it a total rigorist.

Like I said though, T.V impacts people, and teachers more generations then most school systems. For someone to see Christianity, Wiccan, or Hinduism in this light, it may make that individual stereotypical without even having a choice to debate it, due to in-sufficient knowledge. It's not hard to imagine a few kids watching that program, then going to school, and talking about how nutty that Christian women is, then coming to a general consensus, that Christians must be insane.

I'm a crazy Christian, but I was a crazy Atheist at one time also! So I guess it really doesn’t matter what religion you are and TV for the most part is run by crazy people from all walks of life.
To be honest I like people that are a little of the wall no matter what they believe they make life entertaining.
Irish

Yelekiah in my personal experience i have seen alot of christians who behave as this , I fail to see how this is an ignorant comment being as how the question is whether you think it accurate or not i am saying it is, I agree although Christainity does encompass many faiths, I was sharing my experiences as relative to the topic at hand , the behavior i saw this lady exhibit is common religious behavior, so far as to what I've seen on the show I haven't seen the yelling yet so I can't speculate, I was referring to what I've seen so far. Please think out your comments before being so quick to judge. namaste Sheri

Here's a little secret for you...

There is no such thing as "Reality TV." It's all scripted and edited. The only genuine reality on TV is sports.

"Writers union seeks to organize U.S. reality TV"

By Steve Gorman
Tue Jun 21, 9:15 AM ET

The union representing Hollywood screenwriters launched a campaign on Monday to gain a labor contract for writers, producers and editors who work in the booming field of "reality TV" shows.

The Writers Guild of America argues that the creative teams behind the camera on such hit shows as "Survivor," "The Apprentice" and "The Bachelor" routinely work far longer hours at much lower pay than their counterparts in scripted dramas and sitcoms.

The guild says writers, editors and producers who toil anonymously to create -- or at least perfect -- the illusion of spontaneity on reality shows do so without the health insurance or pension benefits earned by union members.

They are also denied the residual payments most Hollywood writers receive for work that airs in secondary markets such as reruns and overseas distribution, the union says.

"The secret about reality TV isn't that it's scripted, which it is," said Daniel Petrie Jr., president of the West Coast branch of the WGA. "The secret is that reality TV is a 21st-century telecommunications sweatshop."

He called the guild's reality TV campaign "the most aggressive organizing effort" ever undertaken by the WGA, which represents some 12,000 movie and TV writers nationwide.

Networks and studios have resisted efforts to extend collective bargaining to reality shows, which generally can be produced more cheaply and quickly than scripted shows.

The industry asserts the guild has previously agreed to seek reality TV contracts on a production-by-production basis and that efforts to organize unscripted workers as a whole would clash with the jurisdiction of other Hollywood unions.

Nick Counter, president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents networks and studios in contract talks with the guild, challenged the WGA's assertion that reality TV productions are "sweatshops." "That's just inflammatory and simply untrue," he said.

But Dave Rupel, a veteran story producer and "show-runner" for several unscripted shows, told Reuters it was not uncommon for him and other in his business to work 18-hour days, seven days a week, for months, and at lower wages and without benefits.

"It's running people into the ground," Rupel said. "Every project I've ever been on for a reality show, the first thing they say to me is, 'There's no time and there's no money."'

The guild says it has received nearly 1,000 signed authorization cards from reality TV workers requesting unionization since 500 people turned out for an organizing meeting on May 7.

The industry disputes the union's assertion that many of the workers it seeks to represent function as writers, saying they do not, for the most part, write dialogue and scripts.

However, Rupel said they do serve as "storytellers" -- the functional equivalent of writers -- through the work they do setting up interactions of contestants and editing hundreds of hours of tape into coherent shows.

Copyright © 2005 Reuters Limited.

Here's a little secret for you...

There is no such thing as "Reality TV." It's all scripted and edited. The only genuine reality on TV is sports.

"Writers union seeks to organize U.S. reality TV"

By Steve Gorman
Tue Jun 21, 9:15 AM ET

The union representing Hollywood screenwriters launched a campaign on Monday to gain a labor contract for writers, producers and editors who work in the booming field of "reality TV" shows.

The Writers Guild of America argues that the creative teams behind the camera on such hit shows as "Survivor," "The Apprentice" and "The Bachelor" routinely work far longer hours at much lower pay than their counterparts in scripted dramas and sitcoms.

The guild says writers, editors and producers who toil anonymously to create -- or at least perfect -- the illusion of spontaneity on reality shows do so without the health insurance or pension benefits earned by union members.

They are also denied the residual payments most Hollywood writers receive for work that airs in secondary markets such as reruns and overseas distribution, the union says.

"The secret about reality TV isn't that it's scripted, which it is," said Daniel Petrie Jr., president of the West Coast branch of the WGA. "The secret is that reality TV is a 21st-century telecommunications sweatshop."

He called the guild's reality TV campaign "the most aggressive organizing effort" ever undertaken by the WGA, which represents some 12,000 movie and TV writers nationwide.

Networks and studios have resisted efforts to extend collective bargaining to reality shows, which generally can be produced more cheaply and quickly than other scripted shows.

The industry asserts the guild has previously agreed to seek reality TV contracts on a production-by-production basis and that efforts to organize Reality TV writers as a whole would clash with the jurisdiction of other Hollywood unions.

Nick Counter, president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents networks and studios in contract talks with the guild, challenged the WGA's assertion that reality TV productions are "sweatshops." "That's just inflammatory and simply untrue," he said.

"It's running people into the ground," Rupel said. "Every project I've ever been on for a reality show, the first thing they say to me is, 'There's no time and there's no money."'

The guild says it has received nearly 1,000 signed authorization cards from reality TV workers requesting unionization since 500 people turned out for an organizing meeting on May 7.


Copyright © 2005 Reuters Limited.

You are stereotyping christianity at the number of people you have met, I would assume that is the point. It only proves the point that this topic is suggesting. That people are basing their religious opinoins based on seeing one or a few people of it's practice, not actually researching the religion themselves.

I do base my opinions on my experiences I am saying yes i have seen this behavior on countless occassions , It wasn't asking anything else, I also know some amazing religous people they are the kind of people that are a very evolved expression of their faith, (they do not happen to be christian though)and are alot different than the TV show, I was just saying that I have had alot of experinces with Christians in particular that are very aggressive on the same issues as the show ,showed coincidence,? dramatised? its staged? okay I'll go with that, it probably was , the irony to me is I have met people such as those thats all i'm saying , this is the third or fourth time this has been pointed out I have not disagreed with any ones perspective , i'm simply sharing mine . its not any more serious than that. Namaste Sheri

I always think out all my comments, sheri. You said it was an "accurate view" of Christianity. That woman does not represent Chrisitanity as a whole, nor is it accurate. If those are your experiences, then I'm going to have to assume they are very limited. I'm not saying your ignorant, because I respect you as a person. But ignorant means unaware.
And it seems as though you are unaware of all the Christians who do not behave like that.

Yelekiah I was referring to christians that I have met not the whole of Christianity, i think I mentioned this earlier its all christainity technically, I agree with you to, you could of just asked me to clarify what I meant?? NO I'm not unaware of all the christians that are not like that , I was only saying I have seen alot of christians act like that , In some cases it could be true, not all just some. Namaste Sheri

Regardless of religion, I think that anybody put into an unfamiliar situation and made to cope with cameras in your face for a week would push anybody over the edge.

Wow, sheri, that's only because you edited that comment you made just recently. You're lucky I didn't quote it, because obviously you offended zero with the original comment. So I guess we'll drop it since you changed the comment (shrugs).

That is a pretty broad cross-section of society there, Essence.

Yele I felt it would be the responsible thing to do , I actually just went back and read it, Zero is always stalking me, so I didn't think twice on it. So it seems I need to think out my thoughts alittle better my apologies. Namaste Sheri

We're cool to begin with lol. I think zero has a crush on you anyway.

hey, i'm just telling you what i've observed......

sure, but why are we concentrating on only religious people then? Anybody can get stressed.

because this is the religion forum....duh! lol

No, but the truth is in America atleast, that a lot of Christians are closed-minded... And mean to other "non-groupy's".

heh... never watched it.... and it seems like they pegged what a good many christians are really like. Not all... but a good many.

those are the stereo types and assumptions that I was saying people would get from reality tv, and this pretty much proves me right.

Sheri - how much experience have you had with Christians if I may ask? I haven't seen this episode, but in my life, I've known perhaps 2 Christians who match the description you've given. I've known literally HUNDREDS that are nice people who you'd like to be friends with and do not in any way reflect that TV show.

You do the maths. 2 versus 200. SOunds like a stereotype to me.

Regards, PA

Pa a lot of christains I truly expected to see a over the top exaggerated take on Christains and it wasn't I know alot of Christians and alot are as depicted on the show NOT All but maybe where i reside has alot to do with it i don't know but it is what it is. I'm a stylist (hair) and i meet alot of people imagine over the years so its not as if I don't get out, I can't count how many times i've been called a witch a devil worshipper told that I"m possed by the devil PA I have know quite a few not very nice Christains. Even thiose i thought were friends who I thought didn't care it i chose a different path have freaked out on me. Namaste Sheri

Fair enough.

How many of your customers/passer-by's have been Christian though and you didn't even know?

The thing is, Christians don't always walk around carrying Bible's and saying "Turn to Jesus". Most of the time you wouldn't even notice. It's just the loud, obnoxious ones that you notice and then take for the norm, rather than the exception.

Regards, PA

I saw this show. I was laughing and shaking my head in disgust at the same time. I work with a woman that's exactly like that, and well I've been called "of the devil" so many times I just look for stuff to annoy her now.

It is true that she's not representative of all Christians, but in my area you see more and more of that everyday. It's like people have lost their brains or something.