The BBC Nativity series is missing something crucial...
Blogged by James Preece on 23rd December 2010
I've not watched all of it, which will of course make me vulnerable to accusations of being the sort of person who criticises things without having watched them, but I have watched most of it. The truth is, I've watched enough.
If you think that real life is like Eastenders then you'll love it. If you think that human beings are highly predictable two dimensional characters who bumble along according to modern stereotypes and expectations then you'll think it's great.
Personally, I always find these "realistic" dramatisations a bit tedious. The writers are always so keen to make the whole thing "believable" that they feel compelled to come up with reasons and explanations for everything. Nobody is allowed to do anything because they freely choose to, everybody has to do things because "that is what most people would do if they found out their girlfriend was pregnant". An explanation is given for why Mary was getting married (the priests were putting pressure on her parents) and why it was Joseph (he was the only guy available with teeth) and why Joseph took Mary to Bethlehem (her dad makes it clear that she will be killed if he doesn't).
Things happen and the cast are along for the ride.
If we are supposed to identify with the characters, we certainly can't do it at the level of "what would I have done in that situation?" we can't because the only answer to the question is "exactly the same thing, what choice would I have had?".
Nobody has any choice. It's all so tedious.
Austen Ivereigh loves it.
Many have criticised the scene where Joseph accuses Mary of adultery, I can understand the point those people are making but honestly - there is a serious case of gnat straining going on here.
The real problem with this dramatisation is far, far worse.
In the Gospel according to St Luke, Mary says "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." In the BBC nativity she does not.
This is crucial.
In the BBC version, she has no choice. In the BBC version the angel character turns up, tells her she's going to have a baby and Mary gets cries about it. "You have been chosen" says the angel but she has no choice. It's just another thing that just happens to her.
In real life, Mary said yes.
Mary's "Yes" is the arguably the most important moment in the Gospel of Luke. The birth, death and ressurection of Jesus are monumentally important, but without that "Yes" you can call off the whole show. Put away the crib and send the wise men packing because baby Jesus is cancelled.
Now you might think I'm making a bit of a fuss considering it's just one line, but the truth is that Mary's "Yes" changes everything. The BBC Mary is a victim, she was minding her own business when *wham* God makes her pregnant and she has to deal with it. The real Mary actively participates in the redemption of mankind, she says "Yes".
The wimpering BBC Mary goes to see Elizabeth because she is fretting about whether the angel thing even happened, the real Mary announced to Elizabeth that "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior" and "he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name".
Mary is the prototypical disciple and a model of the Church. The message of the real nativity isn't "look at all these things that happened to these poor people" but rather "look at what wonderful things happen when people say yes to God".
Reader Comments
+7
Richard Collins said...
Thank you, James. I was beginning to think that I was the only one who did not like it.
+
+10
pattif said...
"Mary's 'Yes' is the arguably the most important moment in the Gospel of Luke."
Mary's "Yes" is arguably the most important moment in the history of the world.
+
+5
Genty said...
That's an excellent and thoughtful piece, James.
The synopsis and the explanation of the writer were enough for me so, no, I didn't bother to watch. But I don't see how you can avoid historical dramas reflecting current mores. As L. P. Hartley wrote: "The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there."
The crucial difference is that up to the 1960s, centuries' old religious values largely underpinned society with a pervading faith and a working knowledge of the Bible and the NT. The arts reflected this, although the whittling had already begun.
In our post-modern world where personal belief is all and one idea is as good as another, the events in Christ's life, death and resurrection are up for grabs. And if you're not a believer, and have no background in biblical/NT study the answer is a "cutting-edge" narrative of what you would regard as a myth with the inevitable emphasis on the shocking lack of 21st century pro-choice. We've seen it before with Christ being portrayed merely as a rabble-rouser.
On the plus side, clearly Christ still holds a fascination even for those who would deny Him. The antidote to this one-off, never-to-be-seen again drama is a rereading of the Gospels. And what a wonderful opportunity for Catholic teachers to dissect the drama's wrongfootedness next term. Too much to expect, I suppose.
I await with interest the same imaginative treatment being afforded to the prophet.
Happy Christmas to one and all, with the anticipation of our bestest gift - the Pope by-passing the bishops to speak directly to the faithful on R4's Thought for the Day. Hooray!
+
+4
epsilon said...
I agree with both you *and* Genty
I too was very disappointed it was not faithful to the Gospel and not showing (even a modern-day version) of Mary's Yes and Elizabeth's greeting. Where has there ever been any notion in the Gospels that Joseph was hot-tempered? Definitely Episode 3 went too far.
"And what a wonderful opportunity for Catholic teachers to dissect the drama's wrongfootedness next term." - we have got to pray for miracles!
+
+3
Ben Trovato said...
I didn't bother watching it after hearing the writer on the radio proclaiming that personally he did believe in the Immaculate Conception, when the context made clear he thought he was talking about the Virgin Birth.
(Actually I wouldn't have watched it anyway, not having a TV and all - and iPlayer I reserve for things worth the effort, which are few and far between...)
+
+5
epsilon said...
If just one Eastenders-loving young girl on the brink of aborting changes her mind as a result of watching this, is it not worth it?
+
+5
salisbury john said...
you are absolutely right James - it is nauseatingly soap opera genre two dimensional. to be honest given the trash way the BBC dealt with the Paschal Mystery a couple of years ago [which Bishop Conry the man in charge of evangelisation in Britain but who says 'you can't talk to young people about salvation' loved] then the Beeb were never going to make much of the Incarnation either. apart from making Mary's 'fiat' look like some kind of pseudo happy clappy charismatic psychic experience -the Joseph character displays nothing of the man in the Infancy Narratives described as 'just and honourable'- he is only fleetingy heroic but on his terms not that of victimal saint. Well what can you expect from the homophilic driven BBC....its worldview is not that of the Evangelist, St. Luke
+
+8
Emma said...
Despite what you say which is undoubtedly correct, in this increasingly secular society I personally was very pleased to see the BBC spending 4 nights on passing on the Christmas message which should please all Christians....
+
+7
Sarah said...
Is it passing on the Christmas message? Is it proclaiming the divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ? My view is that the BBC has done a fine job of reducing the story of the Nativity to a mere story.
+
+5
Gareth said...
I concur and this is the point I made on my blog: there is no Magnificat; on the last episode where were the angelic hordes of heaven?
The Archangel is made to look like some bloke out of the pub, so everything is left as a kind of 'did it happen or didn't it' in that Exorcism of Emily Rose way that will reinforce the empty slogans of the organised atheists.
Shame on the BBC.
+
+6
epsilon said...
In fairness they did use the angel word in the final Episode4.
As an educator I have to say that young people respond to visuals much better than words these days, and we were left in no doubt that the Birth of the baby Jesus in Bethlehem 2000 years ago was the most important birth of all time.
+
+10
Kerry said...
Well what a self righteous lot you are! I bet you were brought up in noble “Christian” households and had everything explained using the correct biblical terms!! Well good for you!! As Christians surely we are expected to spread the “Good News” of Jesus Christ in any way we can to make it more comprehensible to the masses and so what if the writer retold the events of Christ’s conception and birth as a “story”. It was one that was though provoking and easy to understand retold as a gripping drama. Far better that people who never go to church and never read the bible get an insight into these wonderful events. Surely we are meant to plant seeds. The BBC may have planted a forest.In any case it has certainly given people the message that Christmas is not just about a guy in a red suit that clambers down chimneys.
+