Telewizyjny obraz pracy a wyobraźnia moralna. Interpretacje teologiczne

Abstract

The claim that television imparts a considerable influence on the moral imagination of man is nothing new today. An average viewer, however, knows little how much his imagination is based on what there is on tv. In my paper, I have presented an image of one kind of human activity, namely human labour, which is often shown in a popular television genre, the situation comedy. The first part of the paper is to expose the television image of human labour for the purpose of analysis, starting from the first television situation comedy of 1951: Love Lucy, through later comedies, whose plot goes on in American suburbs, in towns and villages. Each of the comedy, independent of its place of action, is supposed to arouse in the viewer a desire to carry out in life the Great American Dream, to gain a lot of money and a high social status. The second part of the paper deals with the Pope’s and Dorothy Sölle’s theology of labour. In both cases the point of departure being the dignity of the human person. This approach leads to a transformation of the economic systems present in the east and west, the fact which calls for a cultural transformation of the dominant image of labour, an image conveyed and supported by television. Having analyzed the situation comedies and confronted the image of labour they present with the theology of Pope John Paul II and Dorothy Solle, we come to a conclusion that the television image is a mere illusion of reality. Such an approach makes the viewer freer in his reception of the movie image of labour and helps him to retain criticism.