The onslaught of Ramadan religiosity on television approaches; the mixture of consumerism and faith.
Farid Pribadi, a Sociologist at the Universitas Negeri Surabaya, writes in the “Ramadan Illusion on Television” that the upcoming fasting month of Ramadan is the season for television screens to be filled to bursting with religious themed soap operas, general entertainment shows, and even quizzes and sitcoms with an overtly Islamic theme, where the performers habitually wear Muslim and Arab dress.
Farid worries that the phenomenon of religious themed television, while ostensibly having the possible effect of deepening the spiritual meaningfulness of the fasting month, is too much mixed up with materialism and consumerism, and quotes the thinker Yasraf Amir Pilliang, who defined such things as post spirituality.
Farid in particular takes a dim view of Islamic themed quizzes and sitcoms; the former where viewers attempt to win prizes – often cash ones – by phoning in an answer to some question of religious significance, is a degradation of Ramadan and an insult to the poor; the latter being non-educational and often featuring insulting or nearly crude lines designed to get laughs.
Ultimately the problem of “post spirituality” in television is bound up with the capitalist nature of the medium, as television station owners are primarily guided by the profit motive, and hence will pander to the lowest common denonminator in order to win viewers, and make more money, he says. surya
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Outside Ramadan, this religious-themed materialism is sadly ever-present as well. Preachers are springing up from various religious tradition — whether Christianity, Islam, or Buddhism — with their own form of the prosperity gospel and televangelism channel.