Spirituality and Television

[Smoreslover]

Recently I saw a post called spirituality and video games. I thought it'd be interesting to do a similar one with tv shows or movies instead.

For me, I often find anime a can be quite spiritual at times and have learned many valuable lessons from them.

Shows I can think of at the moment that have caused me to learn many lessons are:

1.Inuyasha

2. Sailor Moon

3. Supernatural

4. Avatar the last airbender

5. Doctor Who

5. Pokémon, it has it's moments

6. Tales of the Abyss

There is many more but these are the ones that come to mind right away.

[mamahawk]

Nice list :) Love Avatar the last airbender,

I would add:

Naturo
Sense 8
(**** I can't think of any others lol)


I just read an interesting article about hedonistic submission (which didn't turn out to be what I thought it was going to be about lol but oh well). Part of the argument it was trying to make was that "The bigger the home entertainment centers, the more the synapsis of the brain are neutralized...And in this quest [for self-actualization], community perishes"

Then in the comment section the men were talking about TV (but TV shows in particular v. movies) being the "glass teet of society" these days.

I don't completely agree with them (the world isn't just black and white after all, and the tone of the article sounded almost like a "kids these days" rant), but there were parts that could agree with as well.

I think technology in general has increased our capability for understanding and compassion (if we let it), even though we should still stay aware of what messages are trying to be pushed and why. But at the same time, it's become so much easier for many of us to tune out our surroundings and become so wrapped up in ourselves and our journey that we can sometimes forget that, in a cosmic way, everyone else's journey is also our journey.

How many of us actually know or talk to our neighbors these days? How many of us go to city council meetings and let our voice be heard? Look at just the sheer number of people who don't vote because they don't see the point. Can we even call our neighborhoods communities anymore?

Of course this is not all to blame on TV, there are many factors contribute to this disconnection, but I'd definitely say there are many of us (myself included) that just veg out, and the only way we get involved is by signing online petitions.

Not exaaactly what you were probably looking for in a response, but this was the only thread connected to TV, so I thought "why not" XD

[Ahriman]

Death Note is a very spiritual show. It's an anime. Check it out if you haven't already.

[Uma]

Star Trek, the original series. Brilliant scripts if you ignore the cheese.

[Carnate]

Until recently, it had been about a decade since I had a TV. And when I did have one, I rarely watched it.. we turned it on one day and it didn't work. We shrugged and went back to other things.

We decided to get a TV for our daughter because it was important for her to be able to talk to her friends about popular TV shows. We made the choice, and shortly afterwards, won a 55 inch TV.

Of course, this isn't to say that I don't watch TV shows.. although it's fairly rare these days.

Firefly always ranks highly.. the Reavers paint a strong picture about the depravity of humans without humanity.
The Newsroom was highly thought provoking, and was cancelled.. likely because it was too much so.
Game of Thrones.. for obvious reasons.
Breaking Bad also had a great story that highlights a downward spiral.

As for anime:
Naruto was great for the development, perseverance, and ties to friendship and loyalty.
The Twelve Kingdoms.. sadly was cancelled due to the writers death; but showed great promise (and is still great in its own right).
Baccano is another of my favourites; about immortality, strife, and conflicts with others.

[Shivani Devi]

Speaking of Anime:

Neon Genesis Evangelion and the Human Instrumentality Project. The spiritual references in that just blew me away...I don't know how many times I had flashes of a mini-satori whilst watching that.

I also liked Inuyasha, but not to the same extent. It was quite a spiritual experience for me, as was Howl's Moving Castle.

Death Note was okay, but it was based on the eternal ethical conundrum of 'is killing evil people morally wrong?'.

The original series of Yu-Gi-Oh! with all the Egyptian references - NOT GX, NOT Zexal, but Duel Monsters in original form with the Battle City reference. The tale of Thief King Bakura and how his village was torched, his parents murdered and their blood was mixed with gold to make the Millennium Items...How Ryu Bakura had this psychotic entity living within...how Ryu was innocent but lost his innocence with the possession...well, it made my make my very own Fiend Deck didn't it...with Dark Necrofear, Dark Ruler Ha Des, Giant Germs, Grave Squirmers, Creature Swaps...I could go on.

At first, I won quite a few tournaments with that deck...but as the 'power creep' crept with Konami wanting more money out of the franchise, more powerful cards were made and my beloved Fiend deck bit the dust. I still have it and take it out from time to time just to relive those memories of being a top notch 'Duelist'.

[Hemera]

Merlin
Superman
Lord of the Rings
Life of Pi
Into the Wild
Jonathan Livingstone Seagull
Once Upon a Time

There are so many...

I tend to think of television as an anathema of spirituality unless the
programme informs in a way you find satisfactory - impartial if it reports
opinions.

I see little point in watching fiction. (I have little interest in reading fiction anyway
these days). It's watching someone else's imagination often syndicated which
tends to kill off one's own imagination. At least reading allows one to exercise
this faculty.

People here have reported difficulties with visualisation and many repliers
warn that television crushes imagination and concentration.

♥

[Shivani Devi]

Originally Posted by Lorelyen

I tend to think of television as an anathema of spirituality unless the
programme informs in a way you find satisfactory - impartial if it reports
opinions.

I see little point in watching fiction. (I have little interest in reading fiction anyway
these days). It's watching someone else's imagination often syndicated which
tends to kill off one's own imagination. At least reading allows one to exercise
this faculty.

People here have reported difficulties with visualisation and many repliers
warn that television crushes imagination and concentration.

♥

Hence why I love David Attenborough and his wildlife documentaries. I went out and splurged $200 on the whole set a week ago.