simulacra-kklesia (part 16): Extreme Fakeover

People act differently in front of the camera, even when the camera isn't real."
-link and clip

Ever since our family toured Universal Studios when I was a kid,
and I learned that when people are eating ice cream on TV,
it's often not ice cream, but mashed potatoes..

...due to the heat of the lights..

I have realized that TV is inevitable even better/faker than the real thing.

Recently, Extreme Makeover made over a house in our city.
Tim has some good thoughts about this show.

I really want to like it; and do on many levels.
But I have many questions.

About the heat of the lights.

Here is a road sign around the corner from our house; something you don't see every day:
"Road Closed: Extreme Makeover."




But it was this video (from another city's filming) that captured my unease.
It should speak for itself;
but if you can't tell what's going on,
the answer is "nothing."
They filmed the whole famous "family returns in a limo to thunderous applause to see their home makeover.
Problem is it's all staged; no family in the car.
It was just to get the best shot for TV.

Just like church.




Hemant Mahta, the delightful atheist who "sold his soul on ebay,"...or better yet offered to visit and offer practical observations/critique of how Christian worship serviced come off to an unbeliever. What we we notice as visitors to a church service?

On pages 85 and 99 (at two different churches), he notices how hard it is to see the "stage" for the obtrusive video cameras.

"Every church seems to have a stage, regardless of the church's size." (73)

"Several times, when the pastor was right next to certain audience members, they weren't watching him, Instead, they were staring at one of the two large screens displaying a video image of the pastor." (102)