Day 41 by Michael Small How Does All the Media Shape and Inform Our

Small Talk – June 29 2020 Stay Safe Minnesota – Day 41 By Michael Small How does all the media shape and inform our lives? Do movies, television, streaming take the place of in-person school, social gatherings, organizations such as Rotary and Lions? Does social media and streaming enhance or harm? What about church? Most of our churches have discovered ways to be church without doing in person gatherings in the building. Streaming and Zoom have become a way of life thanks to technology and broadband. The church is still the church, though remotely and virtually. I am a part of the first generation who grew up with television in the background of our lives. I think I was four or five when our family purchased their first television. It was a small black and white TV, oval screen, three channels – CBS, NBC, and ABC. First there was Howdy Doody, then the Mickey Mouse Club, Sky King, The Lone Ranger, and Soupy Sales for the kids. CBS Playhouse, Nightly News, Jack Benny, Ed Sullivan, and Milton Berle for the adults. The family shows were Father Knows Best, Leave it to Beaver, Ozzie and Harriet, Perry Mason, and of course I Love Lucy. Many of those shows were only in black and white, and they were black and white. The good guys wore white hats, the bad guys wore the black hats. Families were portrayed has happy, comfortable, with little conflict and they always ended on a happy note. The crisis was averted and there were always “happy trails” to walk. As I think about this time, it was a world of pretend, fantasy – it simply was entertainment. Perhaps these shows were aspirational, but not realistic. It seems to me that in the mid sixties through the seventies, television evolved. During this time there were the assassinations (JFK, Malcom X, Martin Luther King, Jr., RFK), unrest, and a developing mistrust of authority. There was the Viet Nam War, and the Civil Rights movement. Along with unrest, there was a sharper edge to television programing such as M.A.S.H., All in the Family, Laugh-In, The Jefferson’s, Sanford and Son, Maude and of course Star Trek. Compare Ozzie and Harriet and All in the Family. There was a shift from innocence to a more complex and conflicted time. In Ozzie and Harriet’s day it would have been unheard of to have parents yelling at one another and calling Ricky “meathead”, though there was a raised voice in I Love Lucy. Did Archie give us permission to be less civil with one another? As television moved forward it became more realistic and bloodier? When seeing a dead body on Perry Mason, the most one ever saw was the victim’s feet (with shoes on) and the panted leg below the knee. Now we see the murdered victim with their throat slit ear to ear. We have moved from a time when there was broadcasting (only three stations) to narrow and specific casting. There are hundreds of choices for the viewer to choose from. We can choose the kind of news we want, from PBS to Fox, from the BBC to CBS. We have a medium (with television, streaming, social media, radio) which is afforded the opportunity to shape facts, culture, families, and individuals. Even Community Church of Walker – United Church of Christ, is now a part of this social media through Small Talk, YouTube, and televised services on 21.5 on Leech Lake Television at 11:30 am Sunday mornings. I would argue that there may be a correlation from the apparent unity and civility of culture and individuals to a time when the media was only print and a highly regulated radio and television, to a disintegration of civil behavior and disunity in a time of unregulated multimedia that focuses on narrowcasting. I say this knowing that the 50’s were not as idyllic as they appeared to be, there was much below the surface going on and many injustices. I also know that in this time, today, there is an incredible amount of good, possibility, and hope because of our many choices of media, social media, and streaming. I am not arguing for more regulation of social media and casting (though that may be needed), but I think there needs to be accountability for lies told and misleading information. And I think we need to discern and critically participate, and carefully, intentionally choose what it is that we are reading, seeing, hearing, and participating in. I think back to the song from the musical South Pacific, “You’ve got to be taught!” Cable sings, You've got to be taught, to hate and fear. You've got to be taught from year to year. Its’ got to be drummed in your dear little ear. You've got to be carefully taught .You've got to be taught to be afraid of people whose eyes are oddly made. And people whose skin is a different shade. You've got to be carefully taught. You've got to be taught before it's too late before you are six or seven or eight. To hate all the people your relatives, hate. You've got to be carefully taught. You've got to be carefully taught. May we teach with wisdom, truth, kindness, and justice and peace for all! In the spirit and agape love of Jesus, Michael To Donate And watch 10:00 am Sunday worship services at any time Go to www.uccwalker.com Find back issues of “Small Talk” .

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