It seems that there are three types of programs on TV today that are very popular:

1. Reality shows - where the down-n-dirty (and embarrassing) facts of the human condition are presented in all their glory and gore.

2. Supernatural shows - where aliens, spirits, gods and whatever are depicted as having the ultimate say in the human condition.

3. Game shows - where the reality meets the supernatural, with every contestant thanking Jesus for making it possible for them to win the cash.

LU FRANKLIN asked:
Do you also get advice from the Tooth Fairy when you have a tooth ache?

No, I go to a qualified dentist, which, without insurance, I cannot afford.

Asking the spirits of my ancestors for guidance, however, is a part of my cultural heritage. I'm really sorry if you cannot understand that.

STUART, however, said something more substantive:
Go for it, argue against a set of empirical data, any set, you can pick it yourself. "Have faith" that it is false. Believe against evidence.

You've illustrated my point. Broader theories of science - like theories on gravitational properties, formation of planets, etc - are based off assumptions. When they're taught to children - as mine and your cultural traditions are - they are taught imperfectly, and being rooted in imperfect language don't always translate between people perfectly. Do I believe a good portion of them are true? Sure, I tend to trust science. However, that does not diminish the wonder, mystery, lore and sacredness of them.

As far as exclusivity goes, it seems to be (and I may be interpreting it incorrectly) that you can either believe in your personal faiths OR science and empiricism. Can scientists have faith? Can the faithful believe in scientific principals? Does it have to be mutually exclusive?

To Robert Gandy who said,"Do I believe the stars are the spirits of my ancestors, and I can speak with them to gain advice and understanding? Yes."

Do you also get advice from the Tooth Fairy when you have a tooth ache?

You can get better, more realistic insight after ti martwonies,
Regards

Articles like this are one of the reasons many people go and watch a tv program, supernaturally-themed are not.

Robert Gandy: "That same logic, however, allows me to argue that your faith in empiricism/exclusivity is also crap."
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Go for it, argue against a set of empirical data, any set, you can pick it yourself. "Have faith" that it is false. Believe against evidence.

Philosophically it has been asked "does art imitate life, or does life imitate art"? For example: http://www.archive.org/details/Levoyagedanslalune
Could this have not been the influence for our travel to the moon, if we think it, we may achieve it. Interesting topic for discussion with a non-exsistant conclusion in my opinion.
Thanks

I think the third theme you discuss is the most revealing. One of the main reasons movies and television have such broad appeal is the ease at which they can make the impossible seem real. From the very beginning of moviemaking, simple tricks such as making people disappear were a big part of the attraction.

TV and movies allow gods, demons, ghosts, vampires, and other imaginary beings to be seen and heard exerting inhuman powers. They allow these beings and their obviously superior capabilities to be apprehended by the exact same senses we use to perceive the rest of the world, so of course they are more accessible and plausible than what people derive from mainstream religious ceremonies. But to the extent that they are reminders (proof?) that God exists, they are reminders that vampires, werewolves, fairies, and Orcs exist. Just like the miracles in the Bible, supposedly witnessed by people in earlier times using those same trusted senses, are "proof" that God exists. And you better believe it, because it is the word of God! Meanwhile we turn a deaf ear as elsewhere in the world people just as stridently insist that the Koran is the word of God, or the Bhagavad Gita is the word of gods, or whatever.

None of this would be important if ANY sensory evidence of God existed today in the real world. The TV shows would pale by comparison. The problem is that people want badly to believe, but since God is a concoction of our social evolution, interactions, and our own minds, they aren't going to get any reinforcement in the real world any stronger than that from natural coincidences and voices in their own heads. So, yes they flock to their tv sets - it's a poor facsimile, but its better than nothing!

Yes there is a dialogue, and it is driven by the profit motive and corporate agendas. The Media magnates are not kindly old gentlemen waiting eagerly to respond to the interests of viewers. They have a responsibility to make as much money as they can for their shareholders and investors. Their programming directly reflects what earns profits; only indirectly what viewers are interested in or wish to see.

Nor are they exactly Blank Slates when it comes to promoting religion and the paranormal. Cable TV frequently supports a Fundamentalist view of God and the Bible. God is portrayed as vengeful and punitive, and it is often implied that he acts through storms and natural disasters to communicate his Will. The Armageddon theme runs through many ostensibly scientific and historical programs.

There is an interesting connection between the Fundamentalist flavor of many Cable programs and George Lakoff's work on the origins of Republican/Conservative politics. Is there a Conservative bias among corporate managers and owners the Media, and is is reflected in the conservative's view of God (stern and punitive) which is often portrayed on TV?

The popularity of supernatural entertainment may simply be that people like their ‘monsters’ so they can project their fears and stresses of life onto them and see them vanquished. I’ve done that all my life,consciously and subconsciously. That doesn't mean I believe in any of them.

I wrote a poem to express it:

Beasts of Burden

I’ve been recording old movies,
favorites from my youth.
The raggedy mummies and
shambling zombies still
lurch forward in slow motion
while their victims still
back away in a mirror image
- a Macabre Dance of Denial -
instead of sensibly turning
and swiftly running,
which would certainly
save their lives.
Lovely young women
In flowing nightgowns,
worthy of an embassy ball,
still grab their candles and
hold them outstretched as
they descend curving
stone stairs on a stormy night.
Exploring alone in curiosity
for the source of the mysterious noise.
Other young women,in deeply cut gowns,
distressed because of mysterious neck wounds
and recent deaths of friends,
still throw open their windows
before slipping into bed.
The handsome young men still
bravely stride the countryside
late at night during full moon,
foolishly laughing at warnings to stay inside.
I find great comfort in these plots
even as I jump once more at the
sudden appearance
of the giant spider or the shimmering alien.
I know the courageous star will
once more save the romantic
interest, and possibly humanity,
from evil or experiments
gone terribly wrong.
Good will triumph and all the
fears of my everyday life
that I projected onto the monster
will be dissipated in its destruction.
At least for a few hours.
Films today give me no comfort
for the monster is never
truly destroyed and returns
in a multitude of numbered sequels.
Nor does good always win over evil.
This may be more in touch
with the reality of our world today
where the monsters
are very apt to be human,
but I miss my Creatures of old
and how ferociously
they carried my burdens.

LU FRANKLIN said:strology, religion, indeed . . . all sorts of conceived supernatural crap has plagued the human race from our beginnings ...So long as supernatural, fantasy, and sci-fi programs and movies are recognized as FICTIOUS we are OK.

If you are an Atheist, sure, Religion can fall under the realm of superstitious crap. That same logic, however, allows me to argue that your faith in empiricism/exclusivity is also crap. There are those that do believe in spirits, ghosts and magic and make them a daily part of religious practice (as a practicing Pagan, mine included). However, living in modern society, we take much of our conception of reality with a scientific backing. Do I believe the stars are the spirits of my ancestors, and I can speak with them to gain advice and understanding? Yes. Do I believe NASA that they are all just furious balls of incandescent gas going through nuclear fusion under the weight of their own gravity? Of course, and I hope to see further exploration of the cosmos, and principals of physics and life sciences yet to be understood.

Be careful, Lu, not to assume belief in things beyond current explanation means belief in all that is presented as supernatural OR religious, wherever you care to make that distinction.

Because "Science" is still interpreted through human language, which is an imperfect shared set of assumptions, it too, is subject to it's own flaws of empiricism and exclusivity. What scares me, are perfectly natural beliefs interpreted via fictitious television: Law & Order justice. Do you always get a fair trial? Do you always get DNA testing? Do all witnesses remember everything perfectly? Do all authorities and police have your best interests at heart? And of course, "Why doesn't this case wrap up in an hour?"