Portrait of a Popular Primetime Post-modern Pluralist: exploring and analysing religious beliefs and values through commercial television DAN 6 th International Conference - April 2007 Lourdes Hill College Footprint Workshop B2

You have to think here You have to think inside the box

You have to think here Case Study: My Name is Earl Premise: Earl – rough, trouble maker who “only ever did bad things” Opening sequence

You have to think here My Name is Earl Problem - “When ever something good happened – something bad was just around the corner” Solution – “Do good things and good things happen.” Karma

You have to think here Exploring Karma Hinduism – karma ("action" or "deed"). Impact of previous deeds (usually in former lives) on one's current circumstances.

You have to think here Exploring Karma Buddhism– karma (Sanskrit, "action"). Moral law of cause and effect in which good actions have good effects and bad actions have bad effects. A Hindu concept that was absorbed, largely unchanged, into Buddhism.

You have to think here Karma and Earl Actions (karma) V Beliefs His motivations for “doing good” – he is afraid to do bad He develops a conscience Earl becomes tolerant, respectful, compassionate and just

You have to think here Earl Hickey: postmodernist? pluralist? Is karma Earl’s only motivation? References to Christian God? Forgiveness? – Is Earl’s list a way of seeking forgiveness or a reversal or karma?

You have to think here Karma and Grace Karma – “do bad things and it will come back to bite you” (Earl) Unlike karma, Grace is undeserved. Grace – do bad things – repent – God forgives

You have to think here Karma and Grace “You know what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics – in physical laws – every action is met by an equal or opposite one. It’s clear to me that…

You have to think here Grace and Karma “…karma is at the heart of the universe. And yet, along comes an idea called grace to upend all that ‘as you sow, so shall you reap’ stuff. Grace defies reason and logic” - Bono

You have to think here Classroom Applications Religion and values must be the focus, not the series My Name is Earl merely provides the hook or launch pad into an investigation

You have to think here Classroom Investigations Your Turn – How are / can you use technology as a tool to engage students in the exploration of Religious beliefs and values Share with your group

You have to think here Classroom Investigations “Propose a Christian response to… karma” (CSCF – Lutheran Education Australia) Comparing Karma and Grace

You have to think here Classroom Investigations Actions V Beliefs – What are your motivations? Deconstructing Earl’s beliefs and values (with reference to Religion)

You have to think here Classroom Investigations Exploration of the Hindu Faith Exploring Oppositions: Yin / Yang Law / Gospel Sin / Grace Good Karma / Bad Karma

You have to think here Classroom Investigations Religious Pluralism in society – Eastern thinking in Western Society Representations of Religion in Society

You have to think here Resources My Name is Earl – Series 1 (DVD) Earl’s list – list-my-name-is-earlhttp:// list-my-name-is-earl Official Website - rl/ rl/