You'll pay to know what you really think.
For those of you who were interested in what I wrote for my essay in Sociology of Religion, here is a brief(edit-HARDLY brief... quite long in fact, but brief as far as the disciple is concerned) explanation.
Okay, for those of you who don't want to read 9 paragraphs of rambling analysis, here's the quick answer. I analyized Transformers for the lessons and values it expresses with an understanding oh how we share ideas and beliefs through the shared narrative. Longer explanation is to follow.
The Basic idea is thus, modern television and sports can be seen in many ways as an alternative to religion. Now, before you go crazy on me, hear me out. I'm speaking as an alternative from a Sociological point of view. Certain only the most devout fans will find the answer to any of the grand existentialist questions in a Dolphins game or on Friends.
But first I will briefly discuss the "purposes of religion" from a sociological point of view. Religion, like many other things has both manifest and latent functions. The manifest functions are the obvious ones, the ones that get people involved with the faith. These are such things as knowing the Truth, worshiping Deities. learning how to pray for better crops or cast spells to blight foes, these ideas and the discussions of Truth, are not at all a part of this analysis, so we set them aside and hope. What sociologists are most interested in are the latent functions and how they work, what they do. These are things that a social institution such as religion does that people often don't think of, they often make perfect "common sense" (a term that refers to knowledge that works perfectly in hindsight but has little to no predictive value due to it's often contradictory nature "absence makes the heart grow fonder" "out of sight, out of mind"). For example, Religion instills discipline, which is important for society to run smoothly, it helps prepare children for future roles, what ever those roles may be (sit down and be quiet, that is your place, the child learns that each person has a place and a role and that it is important to do so, later they learn many of the same socializations in school).
One of the primary functions of religion, whether latent or manifest (changes depending on who you talk to) is community building. It becomes obvious with any major religion that a community is built around it of believers. The primary methods of community building may be a bit hidden though. It is the power of the ritual and the formation of values. Religions do this by using rituals to build values and to create symbols. These values are inexorably linked to the religion itself. The believers accept and take on these values and find pride and community in them. The way that values and morality work (in society, caveat being that this is ENTIRELY within the social context) is they build trust. You like people who are like yourself. You are more likely to trust, be friends with, help, marry, someone you see as moral, and are more likely to ostracize, punish, not associate with someone who is immoral in your eyes, whatever that morality is. To the extreme, think about a personality trait you like in people, Smart? Funny? Personable? Outgoing? These are all the same idea, you are more likely to associate with these people and less likely to want to associate with people who are their opposites because you see yourself as, or want to be seen as, these traits. At the other extreme this is how racism works.
But, a religion creates powerful morality and strong virtues that the group takes onto themselves. So they become an ingroup, they are moral, and the rest of the world is immoral (this, of course has variations, from viewing the rest of the world as going to hell to viewing the rest of the world as a little deluded or confused. You cannot have TRUE tolerance because by simply not performing the necessary rights of one religion or another you are denying its power). This distinction is called the Sacred and the Profane by Durkheim. In this way the group becomes sacred and the rest of the world is profane, "We worship the mighty Hog Father and so only we shall receive his blessings."
In this fashion you can see that religions honour the most important thing in people's lives, each other, the group. Now, they of course honour themselves and each other through their worship of their deity, and the honouring of their shared values, but they also do it through their symbols, which they often take onto themselves. Think about how true believers respond when you insult the pentagram, the Star of David, the cross, or the Koran. The insult is deeply personal, because they have reified the symbol to mean something much more to themselves. (George Simmel's More Life and More Than Life for those who want a neat read).
Okay! Five paragraphs in and I haven't even started answering the question posted! I need to change that mention of "brief" in the intro. Well most of you should already see how sport can be a substitute for religion, rituals, attending games, lots of symbols, values of winning and loosing. Hell, even think of the language of the fans "We won!" It creates a community that talk about their hobby a great deal and it builds a community with it's own values and symbols.
Television is a bit harder though, for this we have to add a step. No religion gives it's followers a list of edicts and demands, or a list of values and beliefs and expects people to just follow them. Even the Ten Commandments has a strong story behind it. No, religions teach their beliefs and values through stories. In fact stories may be the only thing that really separates us from the animals as we have recently discovered that some animals are capable of using symbols (and I'm not simply talking about higher order animals like primates or dolphins, there bee's dance and some flies build balloons to say different things) but humans understand our lives through the narrative. Every conversation you have is a story, about what is, will be, or won't be; what should be and what isn't. We exchange ideas, values and beliefs through these stories, and religious stories share the values and beliefs of the faithful. That is the key statement right there, that they share and express the values of the faithful.
Well, translate this into television. Television is filled with stories, and these stories invariably reflect the values of the population. With the exception of soap operas it is very rare for the villain to ever win on TV, true love almost always triumphs, and in most serial programs the show is returned to "normal" by the end of each episode, the status quo maintained. Those shows that defy our values and beliefs do not last long on the air. They express and maintain our values and beliefs, and so help to create them in the young. They are events that you share with often millions of other Americans and so when you meet you can often easily discuss one program or another. This is a weak argument for the nature of community building television does however. The true community building is in the exchange of our values and the teaching of these values through the narrative. When you meet someone you know they watch the same TV you do, not the same programs, but the values are the same.
Turn now (finally) to the Transformers. I basically equated Saturday morning cartoons with the idea of Sunday School. These programs always teach lessons to kids, whether it's sharing, don't be jealous, keep temper in check, whatever, and Transformers was exactly the same. However, there were some distinct differences. The hero of most children's programming (at least that which targeted the male audience) has either a child, or a brash youth for a hero, not so with Transformers. In Transformers the hero was Optimus Prime, a shockingly fatherlike figure who was cautious, wise, and self-sacrificing. He didn't rush into battle except in dire need and he always led the way in. He taught lessons like friendship, using your own talents to help the group, and forgiveness. Slightly different lessons then what was taught at the time. And, of course, in the Movie he teaches a powerful lesson in self-sacrifice when he dies to save his friends, and he does so without regret. After that the studio that made the show were inundated with mail and phone calls from angry parents of distraught children and the show was never quite the same, and vanished after only a few years and now no one but the most devout fans remember any characters from that season except those that appeared in the movie. But the whole essay focused on this nature of storytelling as an alternative to religion and the effects one show can have, I chose to analyze Transformers.
Okay, for those of you who don't want to read 9 paragraphs of rambling analysis, here's the quick answer. I analyized Transformers for the lessons and values it expresses with an understanding oh how we share ideas and beliefs through the shared narrative. Longer explanation is to follow.
The Basic idea is thus, modern television and sports can be seen in many ways as an alternative to religion. Now, before you go crazy on me, hear me out. I'm speaking as an alternative from a Sociological point of view. Certain only the most devout fans will find the answer to any of the grand existentialist questions in a Dolphins game or on Friends.
But first I will briefly discuss the "purposes of religion" from a sociological point of view. Religion, like many other things has both manifest and latent functions. The manifest functions are the obvious ones, the ones that get people involved with the faith. These are such things as knowing the Truth, worshiping Deities. learning how to pray for better crops or cast spells to blight foes, these ideas and the discussions of Truth, are not at all a part of this analysis, so we set them aside and hope. What sociologists are most interested in are the latent functions and how they work, what they do. These are things that a social institution such as religion does that people often don't think of, they often make perfect "common sense" (a term that refers to knowledge that works perfectly in hindsight but has little to no predictive value due to it's often contradictory nature "absence makes the heart grow fonder" "out of sight, out of mind"). For example, Religion instills discipline, which is important for society to run smoothly, it helps prepare children for future roles, what ever those roles may be (sit down and be quiet, that is your place, the child learns that each person has a place and a role and that it is important to do so, later they learn many of the same socializations in school).
One of the primary functions of religion, whether latent or manifest (changes depending on who you talk to) is community building. It becomes obvious with any major religion that a community is built around it of believers. The primary methods of community building may be a bit hidden though. It is the power of the ritual and the formation of values. Religions do this by using rituals to build values and to create symbols. These values are inexorably linked to the religion itself. The believers accept and take on these values and find pride and community in them. The way that values and morality work (in society, caveat being that this is ENTIRELY within the social context) is they build trust. You like people who are like yourself. You are more likely to trust, be friends with, help, marry, someone you see as moral, and are more likely to ostracize, punish, not associate with someone who is immoral in your eyes, whatever that morality is. To the extreme, think about a personality trait you like in people, Smart? Funny? Personable? Outgoing? These are all the same idea, you are more likely to associate with these people and less likely to want to associate with people who are their opposites because you see yourself as, or want to be seen as, these traits. At the other extreme this is how racism works.
But, a religion creates powerful morality and strong virtues that the group takes onto themselves. So they become an ingroup, they are moral, and the rest of the world is immoral (this, of course has variations, from viewing the rest of the world as going to hell to viewing the rest of the world as a little deluded or confused. You cannot have TRUE tolerance because by simply not performing the necessary rights of one religion or another you are denying its power). This distinction is called the Sacred and the Profane by Durkheim. In this way the group becomes sacred and the rest of the world is profane, "We worship the mighty Hog Father and so only we shall receive his blessings."
In this fashion you can see that religions honour the most important thing in people's lives, each other, the group. Now, they of course honour themselves and each other through their worship of their deity, and the honouring of their shared values, but they also do it through their symbols, which they often take onto themselves. Think about how true believers respond when you insult the pentagram, the Star of David, the cross, or the Koran. The insult is deeply personal, because they have reified the symbol to mean something much more to themselves. (George Simmel's More Life and More Than Life for those who want a neat read).
Okay! Five paragraphs in and I haven't even started answering the question posted! I need to change that mention of "brief" in the intro. Well most of you should already see how sport can be a substitute for religion, rituals, attending games, lots of symbols, values of winning and loosing. Hell, even think of the language of the fans "We won!" It creates a community that talk about their hobby a great deal and it builds a community with it's own values and symbols.
Television is a bit harder though, for this we have to add a step. No religion gives it's followers a list of edicts and demands, or a list of values and beliefs and expects people to just follow them. Even the Ten Commandments has a strong story behind it. No, religions teach their beliefs and values through stories. In fact stories may be the only thing that really separates us from the animals as we have recently discovered that some animals are capable of using symbols (and I'm not simply talking about higher order animals like primates or dolphins, there bee's dance and some flies build balloons to say different things) but humans understand our lives through the narrative. Every conversation you have is a story, about what is, will be, or won't be; what should be and what isn't. We exchange ideas, values and beliefs through these stories, and religious stories share the values and beliefs of the faithful. That is the key statement right there, that they share and express the values of the faithful.
Well, translate this into television. Television is filled with stories, and these stories invariably reflect the values of the population. With the exception of soap operas it is very rare for the villain to ever win on TV, true love almost always triumphs, and in most serial programs the show is returned to "normal" by the end of each episode, the status quo maintained. Those shows that defy our values and beliefs do not last long on the air. They express and maintain our values and beliefs, and so help to create them in the young. They are events that you share with often millions of other Americans and so when you meet you can often easily discuss one program or another. This is a weak argument for the nature of community building television does however. The true community building is in the exchange of our values and the teaching of these values through the narrative. When you meet someone you know they watch the same TV you do, not the same programs, but the values are the same.
Turn now (finally) to the Transformers. I basically equated Saturday morning cartoons with the idea of Sunday School. These programs always teach lessons to kids, whether it's sharing, don't be jealous, keep temper in check, whatever, and Transformers was exactly the same. However, there were some distinct differences. The hero of most children's programming (at least that which targeted the male audience) has either a child, or a brash youth for a hero, not so with Transformers. In Transformers the hero was Optimus Prime, a shockingly fatherlike figure who was cautious, wise, and self-sacrificing. He didn't rush into battle except in dire need and he always led the way in. He taught lessons like friendship, using your own talents to help the group, and forgiveness. Slightly different lessons then what was taught at the time. And, of course, in the Movie he teaches a powerful lesson in self-sacrifice when he dies to save his friends, and he does so without regret. After that the studio that made the show were inundated with mail and phone calls from angry parents of distraught children and the show was never quite the same, and vanished after only a few years and now no one but the most devout fans remember any characters from that season except those that appeared in the movie. But the whole essay focused on this nature of storytelling as an alternative to religion and the effects one show can have, I chose to analyze Transformers.