The show
“GCB” premiered on ABC last Sunday after stirring up a lot of
controversy over it's depictions of Christianity in the southern
United States. There is great debate over whether the show's content
is in good taste or whether it goes too far and makes a mockery of
the Christian faith itself.
The
series follows Amanda Vaughn, a former high-school bully, a recently
widowed mother of two who returns home to Dallas, Texas. Upon her
return she is confronted by her former school peers who she used to
bully and the tables are turned. Amanda's former peers seek revenge
for Amanda's past sins using the guise of fulfilling their Christian
duty, trying to save Amanda.
Critics
claim that the show depicts all Christians as vain hypocrites who
claim to be true believers. They do have a point as one scene
depicts Amanda's mother dressing her granddaughter in a skimpy
outfit, defending it by the statement 'cleavage helps your cross hang
straight'. Liberal influenced media such as ABC do have a reputation
of being quick to point out faults of devout Christians in the public
sphere, whether it be the depiction of Sarah Palin as a religious nut
or making fun of the Mormon religion on South Park.
GCB does portray many of it's Christian characters as
hypocrites but I don't believe it reflects badly on Christianity,
just on the characters who are inspired by the experiences of creator
Kim Gatlin. Comedy is the defying expectations, presenting a real
situation and turning it on its head or exposing the way it really
is. The humour of the show in this case derives from the contrast
between Christian values and the behaviour of the GCB's.
I
believe the show is simply an attempts to show the human side of
Christians and reveals the flaws in a group of people who create a
facade of being perfect. The show is a satire of certain people in
Dallas and there just happen to be a lot of Christians in Dallas.
Actor Kristin Chenoweth says it best when interviewed,
“as
a Christian I would never agree to anything that made fun of my God
or my religion. However, I think there is a big difference in making
fun of and having fun with. And we have fun in the world that we’re
in and it’s very authentic because I grew up in that world and
that’s another reason why I wanted to do this show because I know
these woman. They exist and I’m related to some of them so I would
hope that someone would not watch the show because of that overtone
but it’s real, it exists and it’s funny but never disrespectful”.
GCB
simply injects humanity and imperfection into a group of people who
try to be perfect and that is indeed funny.
*GCB Promo Trailer
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