Worldview in pop culture, #1: The New Normal

Two gay guys who want a baby, a single mom with not much left who will become the surrogate mother for them, her daughter, who typifies today's youth culture , and her grandmother, who is incredibly snarky, ego-centric, and spiteful. They all come together in their own ways to create a family. They come from different places, backgrounds and beliefs, but if we are to believe what NBC wants us to believe, this is now a normal family. It may not be traditional, but hey, if they love each other, why not, right? 

If you don't know, NBC is slated to release its brand new comedy, The New Normal, on September 11. Ignoring, for the moment, the implications of releasing a new comedy on 9-11, I turn to the implications of the title and the characters, and I ask the double-rainbow question: “What does it mean?” What does it mean that the title of this show is, “The New Normal?” What is the underlying worldview? Is there a worldview? Before I examine these questions, let's pause for a moment and look at the show itself.

If you have watched any of the previews, you may have noticed the show quickly lays down the “Nana” as “intolerant,” the mom as desperate, the daughter as a stereotypical youth, and the gay men as happy, normal, and deeply in love. Perhaps what strikes me the most about this show is not the normality with which homosexuality is portrayed, but the absurd and painful lengths it goes to to portray Nana as a horrible, mean person. Every one of her lines is coated in racism, bigotry, and general spitefulness, and is delivered with a callous sneer. It's so bad that she is actually unbelievable as a character. And while she is the picture of hate on the show, I actually find myself to be offended. The show seems to carry with it the connotation that if you don't sanction a certain lifestyle, you are no better than Nana. Now, I am a Christian. I'll say that out loud. My position on this is pretty clear. And while I don't approve of homosexuality, and I don't think that it is normal or good, but I am not racist or hateful to homosexuals themselves. I find it a bit offensive that the only person on the show who doesn't sanction homosexuality is portrayed in such a manner. But it would be inappropriate for me to say such a thing in the public square for risk of being “intolerant.” 

 

So what does this have to do with worldview? Well, despite some people's attempts to say otherwise, no information is neutral. It comes with a worldview-a notion of how everything in the world works, what is real, what is good, etc. The world view of “The New Normal?” Normality. As the title suggests, it is fairly obvious that this show is communicating an idea. You can't have a new normal with out an old one. And that idea is that homosexuality is, or should be considered, normal. The idea is that traditional ideas of family can be put aside in favor of more “progressive” ideas. The idea is that as long as we love each other, we are a family. And if you don't comply to this new normal you are obviously backward in your thinking.

What do you think? What kind of worldview is this? Is this a family? Is homosexuality normal? How do we think about this? These are questions you will have to answer for yourself. As you watch TV, listen to music, read magazines, just remember:

Everything comes with a worldview, and

“Ideas have consequences.”

-Summit Ministries

~Steven Hamilton