World News and Trends: TV Negatively Portrays Fathers
Father Knows Best was a popular American television series several decades ago. But on television Father doesn't know best anymore.
Fathers are often depicted as bumbling and incompetent, if depicted at all, according to a study from the National Fatherhood Initiative, a nonprofit organization that monitors media depictions of family situations.
The group examined 102 prime-time shows on five American networks and found that 15 feature as regular characters fathers of teen and preteen children. Of those 15, only four shows received a positive rating from the group, and two of those four shows were slated to be canceled.
Such biased depictions of fathers, and the absence of fathers from so many shows, are cause for concern because "a substantial number of young men are now growing up clueless about what their primary role in the future family will be: that of a father," said Don Eberly, the organization's chairman. "At a time when children badly need fathers, the networks portray them as missing, confused, aloof or completely uninformed."
Film critic Michael Medved described the entertainment industry's battle for your mind in his 1992 book Hollywood vs. America: Popular Culture and the War on Traditional Values. "Hollywood no longer reflects—or even respects—the values of most American families," he writes. "On many of the important issues in contemporary life, popular entertainment seems to go out of its way to challenge conventional notions of decency."
He adds that the power of the entertainment industry "to influence our actions flows from its ability to redefine what constitutes normal behavior in this society."
Entertainers have "assumed a dominant role in establishing social conventions. The fantasy figures who entertain us on our TV and movie screens, or who croon to us constantly from our radios and CD players, take the lead in determining what is considered hip, and what will be viewed as hopelessly weird."
True at the time he wrote those words, they are even more true—and prophetic—seven years later. Some 2,000 years ago another writer—and prophet—cautioned us to think wholesome thoughts (Philippians 4:8). He warned we are engaged in a battle "not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against . . . the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil" that try to influence our thinking and ultimately control our behavior. (Sources: USA Today, Philippians 4:8; Ephesians 6:12, New Revised Standard Version.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: September - October 1999
Course Content
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
Scott Ashley
Scott Ashley was managing editor of Beyond Today magazine, United Church of God booklets and its printed Bible Study Course until his retirement in 2023. He also pastored three congregations in Colorado for 10 years from 2011-2021. He and his wife, Connie, live near Denver, Colorado.
Mr. Ashley attended Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas, graduating in 1976 with a theology major and minors in journalism and speech. It was there that he first became interested in publishing, an industry in which he worked for 50 years.
During his career, he has worked for several publishing companies in various capacities. He was employed by the United Church of God from 1995-2023, overseeing the planning, writing, editing, reviewing and production of Beyond Today magazine, several dozen booklets/study guides and a Bible study course covering major biblical teachings. His special interests are the Bible, archaeology, biblical culture, history and the Middle East.
