Althouse: "Kristin Chenoweth Defends GCB from Newt Gingrich Attacks: 'Don't Talk About My Show!'"

March 15, 2012

"Kristin Chenoweth Defends GCB from Newt Gingrich Attacks: 'Don't Talk About My Show!'"

Sometimes the political news just seems way too specific.

But, okay, Kristin, you adorable little gnome, bounce your TV show PR off the Republican Party's not-so-adorable big gnome.

105 comments:

edutcher said...: ABC thought this would be just another Lefty snark fest, but, like L'Affaire Fluck, it's blown up in their faces.

They forget the Ditzy Twits rule: Never diss your audience.; 3/15/12, 11:07 AM
Patrick said...: I'm sure that after making a public show of condemning gingrich, she will send him a private note thanking him for the publicity.; 3/15/12, 11:11 AM
CJinPA said...: Why would anyone think a show based on a novel called "Good Christian Bitches" is mocking Christians??

Please, let these creative people be creative in the only way they know how - the predictable, safe, uncreative way.; 3/15/12, 11:12 AM
Wince said...: GCB abbreviates "Good Christian Bitches"? Not sure a broadcast network show could get away with that "B" in any other context.

GCB, which is based on Kim Gatlin’s novel Good Christian Bitches, revolves around a group of churchgoing Dallas women who love fashion, plastic surgery and God. Chenoweth stars as scheming ringleader Carlene Cockburn, a flashy millionaire who delivers dialogue like “cleavage helps your cross hang straight.; 3/15/12, 11:13 AM
edutcher said...: If it's all "characters and fun", why do they need to initialize it instead of using the original title?; 3/15/12, 11:13 AM
Bill said...: At some point, major media realized they could stop pandering to the whole country and just go after their target audience. That means that the majority of shows can afford to tick off half the country and play to their base.

Newt and other high-profile folks can raise a stink but it just obscures what's really happening. For every outraged person who takes offense and protests loudly there're a dozen people who are quietly realizing "These people hate me. They really hate me, and everything I stand for." The true effect of that isn't being felt yet but the seeds are planted.

It's worse than outrage. It's indifference.; 3/15/12, 11:18 AM
Ann Althouse said...: I don't know anything about the show, but I think it's part of Christianity to be critical of people who flaunt their religion and are not in some truer deeper way genuinely religious.

So I could imagine something called "Good Christian Bitches" actually coming from Christian values.; 3/15/12, 11:20 AM
KCFleming said...: Chenoweth has those weird surgical lips that make me think of the Halloween wax lips we had as a kid.

I'll believe Hollywood is applying cruel neutrality to its mockery when they film Good Muslim Bitches.; 3/15/12, 11:26 AM
CJinPA said...: "So I could imagine something called "Good Christian Bitches" actually coming from Christian values."

And Western tolerance is what allows - encourages - attacks on Western culture.

The problem with Christians, apparently, is that if you mock them, they don't chop your head off.

On a simple, creative, basis, the point being made, apparently, by this book/show, has already been made. Thoroughly and repeatedly. It's just more glaringly...old fashioned...now, in the face of so much religious intolerance that I shall not identify for fear of having my head chopped off.; 3/15/12, 11:32 AM
James said...: 'll believe Hollywood is applying cruel neutrality to its mockery when they film Good Muslim Bitches.

The Shahs of Sunset debuted last weekend. I hope Bravo offices have excellent security.; 3/15/12, 11:32 AM
Thorley Winston said...: 'll believe Hollywood is applying cruel neutrality to its mockery when they film Good Muslim Bitches.

There’s a Canadian comedy series called “Little Mosque on the Prairie” which is in its sixth season.

I've heard it's quite good.; 3/15/12, 11:35 AM
Wince said...: So I could imagine something called "Good Christian Bitches" actually coming from Christian values.

But here, it's not. And the broadcast network (double) standard with respect to the "B" word is the secular feminist standard.

"We're Christians when we mock them" is just too convenient.; 3/15/12, 11:35 AM
Fen said...: “I would never do anything that would make fun of my own religion! I don’t think [GCB] does that.”

GCB, which is based on Kim Gatlin’s novel Good Christian Bitches, revolves around a group of churchgoing Dallas women who love fashion, plastic surgery and God. Chenoweth stars as scheming ringleader Carlene Cockburn, a flashy millionaire who delivers dialogue like “cleavage helps your cross hang straight"

[...]

Bring on the Sharia.

I bet we won't have to pay for her contraception either.; 3/15/12, 11:37 AM
Fen said...: Well, at least its not another dumb fat white guy schtick. Like we need another Family Guy, Homer Simspon, Al Bundy, or anyone Will Ferrel has portrayed.; 3/15/12, 11:40 AM
rcocean said...: Yep, and if they ran a show called "Good Jewish Bitches" - nobody would complain.; 3/15/12, 11:41 AM
Paddy O said...: "I don't know anything about the show, but I think it's part of Christianity to be critical of people who flaunt their religion and are not in some truer deeper way genuinely religious.

So I could imagine something called "Good Christian Bitches" actually coming from Christian values."

I agree with this. But those are the sorts of Christian values that get a person alienated and crucified. The publicly religious do not like to be called out and so it makes for low ratings.

I've not seen the show, but honestly having been in churches I've known people like that, that I have no interest in watching them on television as some sort of entertainment.; 3/15/12, 11:41 AM
Kchiker said...: It’s just “Harper Valley PTA” as a television series.

If that song had just been recorded, Newt would be criticizing it, too....; 3/15/12, 11:42 AM
Scott M said...: Well, at least its not another dumb fat white guy schtick. Like we need another Family Guy, Homer Simspon, Al Bundy, or anyone Will Ferrel has portrayed.

Al Bundy doesn't belong in that group. He was no better or worse than the other members of his family. It's when the father is the worst of the bunch, which happens far more often than not, that it's crossed the line if only in sheer volume with no counterbalance. Against Peter Griffen, Homer Simpson, and whole host of others, you've got...what, Peggy Hill?; 3/15/12, 11:43 AM
Thorley Winston said...: Shows like this – particularly ones that premier so late in the season – rely on generating some sort of media storm to get people to watch or they won’t get picked up. A lot of them are just put on the air to fill up time at the end of the season and won’t be around next year unless they manage to break out of the pack somehow.
The smart thing for Gingrich – or for any other public figure when asked about a show that s/he’s expected to condemn – to do would be to pretend he never heard of the show and moved on to the next question. Or better still, start talking about a show that was on opposite this one and give them a boost in the ratings (making it even more difficult for this show to get picked up).; 3/15/12, 11:44 AM
Bryan C said...: I've watched a couple episodes of GCB (the girlfriend wanted to see it) and found it wasn't as cringingly awful as I expected.
It's most telling as a look at what TV folks imagine churchgoing Christians and Texans to be like, having never actually met any.

The writers prefer to quote from the same Imaginary Revised Version of the Bible that Jules used in Pulp Fiction. Mostly the usual lame jabs and trite observations. But it does have lots of boobs, so there's that.; 3/15/12, 11:46 AM
traditionalguy said...: Good Christians are getting some air time. So what's wrong with that? Newt is playing his attack the media games again.

If a man s seeking a relationship with a woman, then finding an educated, well raised, non-addicted to substances, Christian woman, with her own money, and with a Church social group that keeps her active in a safe environment is the ultimate good known to man on earth.; 3/15/12, 11:46 AM
One Particular Harbor said...: I haven't seen the show, and I rarely watch sitcoms anyway (grew up on the good ones, the new ones don't measure up, IMO), but I get the idea behind the show.

C'mon -- when you have Real Housewife of the OC, Alexis Bellino, aka "Jesus Barbie" parading her shallow, name-it-and-claim-it, Jesus WANTS me to have a boob job! Christianity all over Bravo, GCB seems like a pretty fair take on some representations of Christianity.

Christ spent a LOT of time showing up the Jewish religious hierarchy for their hypocrisy. Was he anti-religion? Or an anti-Semite? No.

The show may suck, for all I know, but I think the premise is a good and timely one.; 3/15/12, 11:47 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: I wonder how a show called Fabulous Muslim Fuckwits would go over?

I'm quite certain liberals would be appalled at the insensitivity if such a show.; 3/15/12, 11:47 AM
Thorley Winston said...: It’s just “Harper Valley PTA” as a television series.
Again?; 3/15/12, 11:47 AM
CJinPA said...: “There’s a Canadian comedy series called “Little Mosque on the Prairie” which is in its sixth season. I've heard it's quite good.”

Wikipedia:

“…at its core the show is essentially a traditional sitcom whose most unique trait is the simple fact of being set among an underrepresented and misunderstood cultural community.”

“…while the show sometimes tackles storylines with a political edge, such as a character being unable to attend a conference in the United States after being wrongly placed on a no-fly list or the mosque being raided by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, even these situations are explored as much for their humour as their politics.”

Wow. They really stick it to those Muslims, huh?

What’s GCB about again?

“GCB, which is based on Kim Gatlin’s novel Good Christian Bitches, revolves around a group of churchgoing Dallas women who love fashion, plastic surgery and God. Chenoweth stars as scheming ringleader Carlene Cockburn, a flashy millionaire who delivers dialogue like “cleavage helps your cross hang straight."..”

A wee bit different approach.; 3/15/12, 11:51 AM
One Particular Harbor said...: @Hoosier Daddy

There is (or was) a reality show based on Muslims leaving in Dearborn (I think). I saw outtakes of one episode, and while that was not the actual title, it should have been.

All the show proved (at least from those clips) is that the Muslim community has their own versions of Snooki and "the Situation".

Now there's that Persian ex-pats in LA one, too.

We really don't need scripted sitcoms when there are all too many people lining up to embarrass their cultures, families, religious affiliations, etc., as long as you pay them.; 3/15/12, 11:52 AM
One Particular Harbor said...: *living in Dearborn.; 3/15/12, 11:53 AM
CJinPA said...: "The show may suck, for all I know, but I think the premise is a good and timely one."

Yes, very timely.

This IS 1980, right?; 3/15/12, 11:53 AM
One Particular Harbor said...: Oh, please. Megachurches are doing very well, and they tend to harbor these enclaves of flashy, prosperity theology Christians. Hardly a 1980 phenomenon. And, like I said, Alexis Bellino is proof positive that Christian women like this exist. She and her revolting husband belong to Jentzen Franklin's scam of a Church. Google the clips from when Franklin and Jim Bellino discussed how Alexis' breast implants were a gift from God and were intended to help evangelize the good news.; 3/15/12, 12:03 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Christianity entails a lot of self-critique. It's not about being puffed up with pride about how great you are.; 3/15/12, 12:05 PM
Ann Althouse said...: So, naturally, you don't go ballistic when you are mocked.

This is all good.

And yet... you're not supposed to be proud. But getting all offended doesn't seem too Christian to me.; 3/15/12, 12:06 PM
One Particular Harbor said...: Or puffed up with Restalyne and silicone...; 3/15/12, 12:06 PM
Alex said...: Ann - I think Christians have enough of being mocked while Muslims get total protection because of violence. Stop the mockery, it's degrading and offensive.; 3/15/12, 12:15 PM
Alex said...: N - I'll believe you are sincere about being anti-religion when you go after Islam with equal fervor. I mean with the same zealous determination that you go after Christianity every single damn fucking day.; 3/15/12, 12:17 PM
MayBee said...: I really don't see why it's so hard to just not watch the show you don't like. It's not like it's advocating any kind of harmful lifestyle. It's just goofy.
It seems un-Presidential to run against a tv show.

FWIW, about Shahs of Sunset, many of the Persians on it are Jewish, not Muslim. Making them exiles, not Expats.; 3/15/12, 12:19 PM
glam1931 said...: "Slut" is apparently now the most offensive word in our culture, but "bitch" is apparently the new keyword to hilarity, at least on Disney-owned ABC. So tell us again who's misogynistic? Check out the upcoming ABC sitcom "Don't trust the B.... in Apt. 23", premiering next month.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_Trust_the_B----_in_Apartment_23; 3/15/12, 12:21 PM
Thorley Winston said...: Christianity entails a lot of self-critique.

My experience with self-criticism is that it usually involves talking about one’s own personal shortcomings. Casting aspersions about other people, not so much.; 3/15/12, 12:22 PM
Anonymous said...: So I could imagine something called "Good Christian Bitches" actually coming from Christian values.

Ann is right. Art doesn't exist without tension.

You need the Good Christian baseline to give the bitchiness to the Bitches.

True Christianity take a slap and doesn't get upset, but prays for and serves the slapper.

Pharisaic Christianity is always in the fight to push back and win.; 3/15/12, 12:24 PM
One Particular Harbor said...: I mean with the same zealous determination that you go after Christianity every single damn fucking day.

Um...?

Could you please explain that comment?

How do I "go after Christianity every single damn fucking day"?

Do I mock "Christians" like Alexis Bellino? Hell, yeah! But hardly every damn fucking day. The topic doesn't really come up all that much. And that's not going after Christianity by any means. It's pointing out the ridiculousness of actually having your pastor come over to your house and discussing the spiritual and theological merits of your titty job on public television. Which is pretty fucking mockworthy, IMO.

But please point out these specific examples of me mocking Christianity every damn fucking day.; 3/15/12, 12:24 PM
Kchiker said...: In a way, Newt hit the jackpot. There seems to be a lot of sympathy for the mindset that Christian, heterosexual males are horribly victimized in American society.

As if they read the story of the prodigal son and considered the jealous brother the hero.; 3/15/12, 12:25 PM
CJinPA said...: And yet... you're not supposed to be proud. But getting all offended doesn't seem too Christian to me.

Personally, I am not "offended" by media portrayals of Christianity.

But, the thing about Christians (and the West in general) only being allowed to self-criticize and not ever judge other religions or cultures? Nah. I'll pass on unilateral disarmament.

At some point, you defend your culture or it goes away. And I kind of like Western Civilization.; 3/15/12, 12:29 PM
CJinPA said...: There seems to be a lot of sympathy for the mindset that Christian, heterosexual males are horribly victimized in American society.

That man needs more straw.; 3/15/12, 12:31 PM
Portia said...: Oh, please. Megachurches are doing very well, and they tend to harbor these enclaves of flashy, prosperity theology Christians. Hardly a 1980 phenomenon. And, like I said, Alexis Bellino is proof positive that Christian women like this exist. She and her revolting husband belong to Jentzen Franklin's scam of a Church. Google the clips from when Franklin and Jim Bellino discussed how Alexis' breast implants were a gift from God and were intended to help evangelize the good news.

New show title: Good Christian Breasts; 3/15/12, 12:32 PM
KCFleming said...: "But getting all offended doesn't seem too Christian to me.
"

4. "Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules. You can kill them with this, for they can no more obey their own rules than the Christian church can live up to Christianity."; 3/15/12, 12:33 PM
KCFleming said...: I actually agree with Althouse, but push back only because this is the same device Hollywood uses, over and over and over again.

It's never anything but hatin' on the Jesus freaks.

They rarely make fun of themselves or of muslims or gays or lesbians etc etc.

Just the Christers.; 3/15/12, 12:37 PM
Kchiker said...: "At some point, you defend your culture or it goes away. And I kind of like Western Civilization.”

I understand that you’re responding to a bigger point...but does this statement lead you to defend your culture insofar as defending this TV show as part of it?; 3/15/12, 12:39 PM
ricpic said...: I endured ten minutes of watching GCB - a leftcoast fantasy version of grotesque and evil Amurricah - and survived the experience...barely.; 3/15/12, 12:40 PM
Thorley Winston said...: As if they read the story of the prodigal son and considered the jealous brother the hero.

I wouldn’t call him the “hero” (the term really doesn’t apply) but I do remember when I first heard the story as a child thinking that it reminded me a lot of the “Ant and the Grasshopper” and wishing that the father had acted more appreciative towards the son who tried to do the right thing rather than fawning so much as the one who blew his inheritance. Mind you, that wasn’t the point of the parable but I think it’s natural for people who try to do the right thing to identify more with the older brother.; 3/15/12, 12:42 PM
Anonymous said...: I'm pitching a show to CBS this afternoon about a girls basketball team called,"Nappy Headed Ho's". We'll market it as NHH. It won't rely on stereotypes at all. All good, right?; 3/15/12, 12:45 PM
CJinPA said...: And, like I said, Alexis Bellino is proof positive that Christian women like this exist.

Because the entertainment industry is all about finding a religon's ugliest stereotype and hammering it home for your viewing pleasure.

Wait. Hollywood elites actually abhor that approach. Unless the target is a politically acceptable one. And they've been wringing their hands over conservative Christians since at least 1980. It's old, and transparently political.; 3/15/12, 12:46 PM
traditionalguy said...: Is cosmetic surgery pagan?

Christians find hope and a purpose in life that brings glory to Jesus by serving others...like fixing cleft pallets on babies, or fixing flat chests on otherwise beautiful women, or building and supporting orphanages for abandoned children.

False humility in religion can be as bad as overt pride in keeping small rules. They are two sides of the coin that together are called religious legalism. Neither is what scriptures teach.; 3/15/12, 12:47 PM
Anonymous said...: Gingrich's point is this is the face they want to put on Christian Women. Shallow, superficial, hypocritical; dusted with a little of the Southerners are stupid meme. Very Original. Never seen it before.; 3/15/12, 12:50 PM
CJinPA said...: I understand that you’re responding to a bigger point...but does this statement lead you to defend your culture insofar as defending this TV show as part of it?

I think Pogo handled this kind of question already, by quoting a true visionary:

4. "Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules. You can kill them with this, for they can no more obey their own rules than the Christian church can live up to Christianity."

Nice try, though.; 3/15/12, 12:54 PM
Anonymous said...: I think the Professor is off in the comments here. Christianity teaches humility, but it doesn't require that you accept defamation. Yes my Jesus thinks I'm funny, but he doesn't require that I be mocked as a follower.

Here we go again. Christianity is huge in the African American Community. A show about inner city, black, baptist, Christian women, and the disproportionate amount of money spent on their hair would never make it to pilot.; 3/15/12, 12:56 PM
One Particular Harbor said...: Okay, CJ. Then just turn your television set any weekday morning and pick a televangelist show -- Joyce Meyer, Paula White, Benny Hinn, Joseph Prince, et al.

Hollywood doesn't have to pick these people. They're happy to put themselves on display.; 3/15/12, 12:56 PM
Anonymous said...: I haven't seen the show, cause most television sucks. But of the three words, GOOD CHRISTIAN BITCHES, I'd bet the plots focus on the last two words, Christian Bitches. I doubt it shows them doing much Good. Now I'll watch and find out. It's network TV. Should be able to tell in the first 10 minutes. Gingrich ain't so stupid.; 3/15/12, 1:00 PM
One Particular Harbor said...: "Fixing flat chests on otherwise beautiful women" is a purely subjective observation.

Yes, reconstructive surgery is a wonderful thing for many people, and we should all support and appreciate those surgeons who offer their services in charity.

Breast enhancement is all about showcasing women as sex objects, and that is not something supported by anyone but the shallow prosperity gospel set.; 3/15/12, 1:00 PM
Kchiker said...: "Nice try, though.”

It was an honest question. And you’re certainly not an enemy. You all sure love your Alinsky here. If any inconsistency is pointed out in your position, you quote Alinsky and move on. Nice device.; 3/15/12, 1:02 PM
MayBee said...: Kristin Chenowith is an outspoken Christian. I highly doubt she's on board with the concept that good Christians don't believe in breast implants, lip injections, and expensive clothes.; 3/15/12, 1:10 PM
bgates said...: Christianity entails a lot of self-critique. It's not about being puffed up with pride about how great you are. So, naturally, you don't go ballistic when you are mocked.

What if you really are better than everyone else, what with your Harvard degree and your Nobel prize &c?; 3/15/12, 1:12 PM
One Particular Harbor said...: She probably doesn't see that it's a "Christian" issue, per se. There's a wide variety of opinion about attire, makeup, plastic surgery among Christian circles. And, in her case, it's part of her chosen career culture. You could probably even say some amount of superficiality about your looks is necessary in her industry and has more to do with career viability than sexual objectification.

But, in general, no, Jesus does not want you to get a pornstar boob job with which you can evangelize the masses.; 3/15/12, 1:15 PM
MayBee said...: She probably doesn't see that it's a "Christian" issue, per se.

So you are up for declaring Alexis Bellino to be the worst kind of Christian, but also for letting Chenowith decide what's best for her, based on her career choice.

Maybe Jesus looks at people who get plastic surgery and says, "So?"; 3/15/12, 1:19 PM
Anonymous said...: Here is where I believe Professor Althouse is off in the comments above. The prerequisite for being a Christian is to understand that you are a sinner, of which, I'm a professional.

This includes the sin of pride along with anything else. So the philosophy of the religion, and membership requirements do not conflict with taking offense.

To suggest that Christians should accept being stereotyped, as some type of consistent output of what they are taught, is off base.

We are allowed to sin (freewill). Then we say "forgive me please"; and forgiveness is given. And that includes the sin of pride, which is where our tendency to take offense stems from.

Alinsky is full of shit, when he assumes Christians think they can live up to their values. It is precisely the opposite that define Christians, and why we think Jesus is so kick-ass.; 3/15/12, 1:19 PM
edutcher said...: Just because you can take a joke and be self-aware doesn't mean you have to sit still when some creep Leftist spits in your face.

Bill said...

At some point, major media realized they could stop pandering to the whole country and just go after their target audience. That means that the majority of shows can afford to tick off half the country and play to their base.

Actually, that's not true. The broadcast nets' ratings are lousy (even they admit it) and the number of households in this country with at least one TV set is falling.

(you may have to be a Boomer to appreciate the significance of that little factoid); 3/15/12, 1:20 PM
CJinPA said...: You all sure love your Alinsky here. If any inconsistency is pointed out in your position, you quote Alinsky and move on. Nice device.

That's actually the first time I've ever referenced Alinsky. Ever. And only because I just happened to see it referenced, and it was apt. I mean, whether you did it intentionally or not, you did deploy his tactic.

You implied that defending Western Culture must require me to defend any attempt to undermine its (in this case, religious) moorings because the show was a product of the culture.

It's the "your religion/culture is tolerant so you must tolerate anything that undermines (however lamely) your culture because it's tolerant" argument. Me no like.; 3/15/12, 1:24 PM
Joe said...: I thought the show looked like it would be dumb, so I haven't watched it or missed it and don't care.

Not watching a show you don't like: what a radical concept.; 3/15/12, 1:25 PM
One Particular Harbor said...: @MayBee

If Alexis Bellino hadn't filmed herself, her husband and her "pastor' (and his poor wife -- the look on her face through all this is priceless) actually discussing her breasts at the breakfast table, I'd have no opinion of her boob job at all (other than it makes her look ridiculous).

She herself chose to frame her boob job in Christian terms, including having her pastor explain, on national tv, that her breast job is a gift from God.

Chenowyth, to my knowledge, hasn't discussed her boob job (if she even has one) or any other cosmetic procedures she may have had, in ANY context.

What is your point? What are you trying to say here? Do you even have a point?; 3/15/12, 1:27 PM
CJinPA said...: Okay, CJ. Then just turn your television set any weekday morning and pick a televangelist show -- Joyce Meyer, Paula White, Benny Hinn, Joseph Prince, et al.

Wait, I thought you were talking about a specific type. Boob jobs, or something? Not sure where Benny Hinn fits in, but if it's now just about knocking televangalists, I think Hollywood has covered that pretty well.; 3/15/12, 1:28 PM
traditionalguy said...: N..Don't be so narrow minded. When God decided that his lonely man Adam needed a helper, God came up with the beautiful female figure which God showcased as he presented her to Adam; whereupon Adam's first response was, "Wow, that's it."

Since the resurrection on Easter morning, Christians have been empowered to come out from under miserable legalism and live as a new Adamic race...and that includes our wives being showcased as sexually attractive like Eve.

Fear not. Between age 60 and death was never 25 years until modern medicine . So get a scrub and a lift and you too can be show cased by your spouse as her arm candy at Church until you are 85.; 3/15/12, 1:29 PM
One Particular Harbor said...: Oh, sure...

As long as my husband lets me drag him to be resculpted, faux-tanned, Botoxed, and hair-implanted to studly "Adamic" perfection.; 3/15/12, 1:37 PM
Kchiker said...: "You implied that defending Western Culture must require me to defend any attempt to undermine its (in this case, religious) moorings because the show was a product of the culture. “

I think entertainment options like this give many a reason to prefer Western culture. I don’t take this show as an attempt to undermine religious institutions just like I don’t think that 'Desperate Housewives’ is trying to get people to move to the inner city or to the farm.; 3/15/12, 1:38 PM
MayBee said...: What is your point? What are you trying to say here? Do you even have a point

My point is that Kristin Chenowith, who is the subject of this blog post, is a Christian who is not against women who have gotten plastic surgery and wear expensive clothes while being Christian.

There are people who go to church and are still really mean people. There are people who go to church and are still very invested in their outward appearance.
Chenowith (and I'm guessing Jesus) would be much more upset with the former.; 3/15/12, 1:38 PM
Alex said...: All I see is the Hollywood jihad against Christianity going on for 20+ years easily. It's awful.; 3/15/12, 1:39 PM
MayBee said...: This show is also much more interested in the former as well.

While Gingrich seems more interested in making the point that just because a group tolerates you making fun of them doesn't mean it's right to make fun only of the groups who tolerate it.; 3/15/12, 1:42 PM
One Particular Harbor said...: @CJ

Scan the audiences of those shows -- plenty of shallow Christianity on display, not to mention the messages being "preached".

The point is that, generally speaking, shallow, self-involved, materialistic "Christians" exist, and, specifically, women like the ones portrayed in this show exist.

Frankly, it's pretty unmanly to be whinging and whining about how it's not faiiiir, wahwahwah, that Hollywood makes fun of Christians but not Muslims, boohoo...

Let's see -- Christ is beaten to a pulp, nailed to a cross, mocked, ridiculed, spat on, and murdered in front of his mother, and He doesn't complain, but some dumb show poking at a particularly shallow and phony expression of Christianity, and you're SOOOO offended.

Aren't Christians called to NOT be offended? Geez. Man up already, 'k? It's a stupid TV show. No one's persecuting you. If you want to complain about something, how about the Christian pastor in Iran who's going to be put do death for his beliefs? Don't hear him whining about how unfair Hollywood is, boohoo.; 3/15/12, 1:51 PM
Anonymous said...: Breitbart's death resurrected Alinsky, and the good Professor has educated us.

He is once again publicly and politically relevant. Alinsk Away!; 3/15/12, 1:52 PM
Anonymous said...: I sin right in Church looking at all the hot women in their Sunday best. Lutherans have some lookers man.

As soon as the Pastor says, "As a called and ordained servant of the word, I forgive you all your sins", I'm clean for the week.

...and immediately start all over again, looking at all the hot women in the church.; 3/15/12, 1:58 PM
Synova said...: "And yet... you're not supposed to be proud. But getting all offended doesn't seem too Christian to me."

There was a lady at my church... young, blond, big hair, playboy figure. She'd wear sweaters and miniskirts to church. She had a deep southern accent. Was married to a pilot, so... officer, upper-class, and what goes with that. If anyone was her own stereotype it was her.

Sweetest lady ever. She gave me a fur coat (rabbit, yes) and said, "Every girl needs a coat for dress-up, darlin'"

Can I be offended for her, and still be a Christian?; 3/15/12, 2:02 PM
CJinPA said...: I think entertainment options like this give many a reason to prefer Western culture. I don’t take this show as an attempt to undermine religious institutions just like I don’t think that 'Desperate Housewives’ is trying to get people to move to the inner city or to the farm.

Oh, I agree it's not an "attempt" to do anything but appear edgy by targeting a safe group - and sell advertising. But the cumulative effect of 30 years of this schtick - in entertainment media and beyond - isn't too pleasant.

Real entertainment options would include those that challenge the protected classes. Those options don't exist.; 3/15/12, 2:06 PM
Alex said...: Synova - god bless women like her. People like that make this country what it is.; 3/15/12, 2:07 PM
Alex said...: I know that ABC failed because I won't watch this show due to being offended FOR Christians. I'm not a Christian, but I hate when an entire group is piled on exclusively for so long. Where are Good Muslim Bitches?; 3/15/12, 2:09 PM
Kchiker said...: "Real entertainment options would include those that challenge the protected classes. Those options don't exist.”

I see everyone lampooned. Granted, if we’re talking comedy...the best comedic targets will usually be the most familiar. You could make the funniest show ever about Islam and I wouldn’t even get the references.; 3/15/12, 2:11 PM
One Particular Harbor said...: A quick Google search reveals that All-American Muslim was cancelled due to Christian groups pressuring advertisers, such as Lowe's, to drop out (Lowe's did).

So...Hollywood was fine with sending up Muslims, but it was Christians who put a stop to it.; 3/15/12, 2:13 PM
MayBee said...: South Park.
30 Rock.
To some extent, Modern Family.; 3/15/12, 2:14 PM
Alex said...: The real reason Hollywood won't make a show about Muslims is they view Islam as a protected Eastern religion that should never be ridiculed. Christianity is a Western religion that is supposed to be fought and mocked. This is a sacred principle to leftists.; 3/15/12, 2:14 PM
Alex said...: N - false comparison.

All-American Muslim -

Each episode follows members of the various families going through the events of their daily lives, with emphasis placed on how their faith affects their actions. Interview segments with individual cast members are interspersed throughout, in which they explain specific points of Islam and how they relate to the various situations. Cast members also appear in short round table segments in which they discuss general principles of Islam as they relate to specific events depicted in the episode.

So AAM was a serious reality show and GBC is a fictional mockery.; 3/15/12, 2:15 PM
CJinPA said...: TCB-n-a-Flash said...

Guilty.; 3/15/12, 2:18 PM
One Particular Harbor said...: Oh, puhleeze..."serious" reality show...? Now there's an oxymoron if I ever heard one.

Even from the few short outtakes I saw from the show, this was about as serious as the Jersey Shore.

That I saw these clips on The Soup and Chelsea Lately is a pretty good indication of the seriousness of the show.; 3/15/12, 2:18 PM
CJinPA said...: The real reason Hollywood won't make a show about Muslims is they view Islam as a protected Eastern religion that should never be ridiculed. Christianity is a Western religion that is supposed to be fought and mocked. This is a sacred principle to leftists.

One has to be enlightened to be self-loathing. They hate what the West was. Don't like what it is. And see as its only saving grace that it can be changed into something else -- using its own Western tolerance to kill it.

Also, they don't mock Islam because they don't want to be murdered. That too.; 3/15/12, 2:22 PM
CJinPA said...: So...Hollywood was fine with sending up Muslims

Come on. In what way was that a 'send up?'

Someone tried that by citing "Little Mosque on the Prairie." Neither one serves as a Muslim example of GCB. Not even close.; 3/15/12, 2:25 PM
CJinPA said...: I see everyone lampooned.

Really? Blacks? Hispanics? Muslims? We must have different cable providers. And live on a different planet.

Granted, if we’re talking comedy...the best comedic targets will usually be the most familiar. You could make the funniest show ever about Islam and I wouldn’t even get the references.

Most of us never met the southern Christian conservatives mocked on Good Christian Bitches. We were educated via decades of media mocking. I'm pretty sure you have a similar, superficial awareness of Islam - it's been in the news quite a bit since September 2001 for some reason I can't recall.; 3/15/12, 2:30 PM
One Particular Harbor said...: It's a send up when you pretend to take people seriously but showcase them like a circus sideshow, even editing material to help them make fools of themselves.; 3/15/12, 2:32 PM
CJinPA said...: Frankly, it's pretty unmanly to be whinging and whining about how it's not faiiiir, wahwahwah, that Hollywood makes fun of Christians but not Muslims, boohoo...

OK, buddy. You set me straight. That is an honest, accurate reflect of my posts. And, yes, you are right to question my manliness. I promise to shut up and not point out any inconsistencies on the part of the multi-billion-dollar, uniformly liberal entertainment industry, lest my penis shrink.; 3/15/12, 2:35 PM
CJinPA said...: It's a send up when you pretend to take people seriously but showcase them like a circus sideshow, even editing material to help them make fools of themselves.

They made them look like fools by acting like Muslims, where their faith is the source of humor, or by acting like the Christians on Jersey Shore? 'Cause you seem to be implying the latter.; 3/15/12, 2:41 PM
Anonymous said...: God forbid, those good Christian bitches weren't called sluts--then all hell would break loose.; 3/15/12, 2:47 PM
One Particular Harbor said...: I never saw an entire episode of All American Muslim, so I have no idea how they may have exploited the participants. All I know is, for a bunch of supposedly devout Muslims, they came off as dumb and shallow and ridiculous as any of the Housewives or Jersey Shore kids. Which, I suppose, makes them "All American".

Good comedy is always based in human nature -- in our failings, our hypocrisy, our paradoxes, our moments of triumph, etc.

I have seen nothing that indicates GCB isn't countering their portrayal of hypocritical Christians with story lines about good hearted Christians, or about seemingly shallow Christians acting in selfless ways, or seemingly righteous Christians acting in selfish ways.

I suspect we'll get all of the above, especially if Kristin Chenowyth is serious about her faith and has read through the scripts.

Who would even want to watch a show in which everyone was always good and perfect and everyone was incredibly one dimensional and never showed any inconsistencies in thinking or acting?

Anyway...this pretty much says it all for me...

http://youtu.be/PKpQRjj_WbU; 3/15/12, 3:13 PM
CJinPA said...: Who would even want to watch a show in which everyone was always good and perfect and everyone was incredibly one dimensional and never showed any inconsistencies in thinking or acting?

Viewers of the Lifetime Channel?; 3/15/12, 3:24 PM
X said...: GCB: a gay man's take on Christianity. so, grain of salt and all that.; 3/15/12, 3:25 PM
Thorley Winston said...: Who would even want to watch a show in which everyone was always good and perfect and everyone was incredibly one dimensional and never showed any inconsistencies in thinking or acting?

Viewers of the Lifetime Channel?

Trekkies?

O/T but I have tickets to see Shatner’s World at the Orpheum Theater tonight and couldn’t resist ;); 3/15/12, 5:50 PM
Blue@9 said...: In a way, Newt hit the jackpot. There seems to be a lot of sympathy for the mindset that Christian, heterosexual males are horribly victimized in American society.

Disagree. If Newt dislikes the show, he should have kept his mouth shut and let the show die on its own. This way he's given them a few extra weeks before cancellation.

To the Christians: You could get upset about this, complain about how it's unfair stereotyping... or you could just ignore it and let it die.

Do I know the show is already destined for failure? No, but derivative one-joke-pony shows tend to die pretty quickly--unless they can find a Snooki-like trainwreck to keep the audience's attention.; 3/15/12, 5:57 PM
el polacko said...: 0h jeezus, newt, we're not gonna run on that 'murphy brown' crapola again, are we?! this 'gcb' show is just a variation of 'steel magnolias' substituting a church setting for the beauty parlor..and broadway star, chenoweth, is a devout christian herself. this cheap stirring up of the torch-and-pitchfork crowd by politicians is what has damaged the GOP brand. can we please get back to serious issues like the economy??; 3/15/12, 7:34 PM
ken in tx said...: If you want to see some hot church ladies, look at some long haired red-headed Scots-Irish Presbyterian women. However stay away from those Michigan Presbyterian churches, where the only ones I saw there were short haired East German Olympics type women.; 3/15/12, 8:13 PM
Revenant said...: this 'gcb' show is just a variation of 'steel magnolias' substituting a church setting for the beauty parlor

If Newt Gingrich came out against Steel Magnolias I'd be seriously tempted to vote for him in the primaries.; 3/15/12, 8:34 PM
shirley elizabeth said...: Too many comments to catch up on more than a few...they replaced the B to stand for Belles before they released the show.

Also, before I got offended by anything while watching it (bc I didn't find it offensive) I was reminded of Hope Floats. It's just a Christian Texas version.

I think people know more nice Christians than they do hypocritical Christians, or at least know when someone is just trying to do their best to live up to a high standard. It's only the stupid people that will think one type of person is representative of the whole group, and those people won't listen when you complain anyway so there's really no reason to cry about it.; 3/15/12, 9:17 PM
Rusty said...: "Good Christian Bitches"

That would be a great name for a band.; 3/16/12, 7:58 AM