Back in March, I asked many of you to participate in an online survey for a class project (Henriet and Tamara's Final Project Survey). Henriët was hoping for at least 20 responses, but I had more faith than that and so I set the bar higher at 50.
Now if you know anything about survey response rates, you'd understand that Henriët's expectation was much more realistic. Well, forget the stats - because you blew them right out of the water with 117 responses! You guys are awesome! Thank you!
Who Took the Survey?
For those who took the survey, you may recall (I know, I know, it's been awhile) that we asked up front about your personal beliefs, and at the end, we asked if you were a boy or a girl, young or old - you know, the typical demographic questions.
Here's a quick, unscientific snapshot of who took the survey:
- Age: 46% were 31-45; 42% were 46 or older; 12% were 30 or younger.
- Gender: 55% female; 45% male.
- Location: 60% western US; 30% the rest of US; 10% outside US.
- Worldview*: 70% had a biblically-based worldview; 30% did not.
- Attend religious service in last 6 months?: 85% yes; 15% no.
* This was a somewhat subjective call on our part based on how you responded to the personal belief questions. Several people elaborated more in the comments, which was very beneficial.
The TV Shows We Love...and the Ones We Don't
We then asked you about the types of shows you liked to watch. Some clear patterns emerged here:
- Game shows: 67% of you are not interested at all. So who's watching Deal or No Deal?
- Spiritual/religious shows: 93% of the non-Christians Just Said No. Overall, 54% of you said no.
- Science fiction: Again, not a favorite with 62% voting "not interested."
So what types of shows do you guys like? Cable news, crime drama and network news. Go figure.
Guess what the #1 TV show was on our list? Home Improvement at 67%! Touched by an Angel was next on the list at 46%. I still miss that show. And the least favorite? Overall, it was The Simpsons at 31%; however, 50% of the non-Christians really like the show.
About Eli Stone
Some of you made it to the Eli Stone questions. If you didn't get to answer these questions, it's because you hadn't watched the show - primarily because it was new and you hadn't heard of it. However, the hilarious fill-in-the-blank response of why folks hadn't watched the show is because it was past their bedtime! Going back to that age demographic mentioned earlier...
The questions in this section of the survey were a bit more complicated. We were just trying to see if Eli Stone could stand up as a "theological aesthetic" in our culture. In other words, could the show be used to form aesthetic judgments about popular culture? Huh? Yup, I hear you.
Overall, the responses from those with a biblical worldview showed mixed, inconclusive results. However, the responses from Christians who didn't necessarily espouse a biblical worldview indicated that Eli Stone was a perfect model. The non-Christian responses were split down the middle.
The Paper and the Grade
The first paragraph in the conclusion of the paper sums up well what our project was all about:
This paper serves as a case study to demonstrate the value and necessity of developing an appreciation, approach and ability to interpret various forms of popular culture. It focuses on a television show that demonstrates postmodern thinking and a spiritual motif. These elements are particularly useful in interpreting popular culture.
With these survey results in hand, along with Gordon Lynch's methodology in Understanding Theology and Pop Culture, and a "discussion" with the notable theologian, Lesslie Newbigin, we cranked out a 41-page paper!
And yes, we did get an "A." Thank you again for your help!
Both the shows that scored so high, Home Improvement and Touched By An Angel are wholesome shows. Guess that should tell us something.
Posted by: dishnetwork | Sunday, May 17, 2009 at 02:56 AM