Greetings from the Eye on the Paranormal! Things have changed yet not really when it comes to the wonderful wacky world of paranormal reality TV and those lovable para-celebs. In the past I think my humor was a little too biting and did cross the line at times for that I am sorry and will try to be more careful.
Coming & Going in the Land of Para-Reality TV
"Paranormal State" is gone. Ryan Buell and the PRS team still have seven episodes yet to air, but when will they be seen? Why is this show leaving us? Were the ratings sinking faster than Lindsay Lohan's stock in Hollywood? Or did Ryan and Chad Calek's show, "Ghost Prophecies" not get picked up by A&E after a single episode? Was there a falling out after Ryan learned that there was a new show called "Paranormal State: The New Class" featuring a young team of investigators seeking ghosts behind every door? One difference between the old class and the new one is that in Ryan's book, "Paranormal State: My Journey into the Unknown" he claimed his show was 100% accurate -- a true documentary. However, the new show is billing itself as a docu-drama meaning that some is real some is not. The viewer will have to figure out what's real and what isn't.
Gone from the airwaves is "The Ghost Lab". It seems Discovery pulled the plug after ratings never did climb for this "Ghost Hunters" type of show.
"Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal" returned for its third season. But A&E put it up against AMC's "The Walking Dead" and the ratings for Chip Coffey's show went on life support. Was it the hit zombie show or the fact that Mr. Coffey was playing a smaller role in the program? The show is not currently slated to return anytime soon.
Discovery Channel is working on a new reality series that they are being pretty low key about. It's called “The Exorcist Files”. Each week a case of demonic possession will be brought into your home so it'll be like "Paranormal State" meets "The Real Exorcist" only this show is allegedly endorsed by the Vatican. However, a Vatican spokesperson was unaware of such a relationship.
Where Is God In Those Paranormal Reality Programs?
Many people watch paranormal reality programs, even if they know they're staged. It's like passing a wreck on the highway -- we gotta look. What do we see in these programs? Usually it's nighttime. The lighting is low. People are holding meters, lanterns, cameras, etc. What do they find? Maybe a shadow that moves. They hear a noise. They encounter cold spots. Sometimes they have a psychic tag along that claims he or she can talk to the dead. If the dead talk, what do you hear? A word or two? Mumblings?
Is it just me, or have you not wondered, "Where is God in all of this?" I don’t expect the force that created everything to sit down and have coffee with Jason and Grant. I don't think Zack would be sent hurrying down a hall because Gabriel opened a door and was waiting on the other side. But out of all the paranormal TV shows, why is it they never catch an angel on film? They never catch the light of God. A psychic doesn't say, "I feel the presence of Christ” particularly on cases that involve the demonic. They might say I feel a demon is nearby but have we ever seen it? No. Has a spirit ever said to that same psychic that "Heaven is a fine place?" Or, "I should have listened to the preacher because hell really does suck." I'm not mocking religion at all. I have faith in God. Jesus is my savior and I have faced a demon in battle and cleared many from homes. But why has God, or anything related to Him, ever been caught and presented on a paranormal show? I'm sure that it would be a huge ratings boost.
Ron Tebo brought this fact up in a recent interview on Paradacity. He asked why no one has ever asked if there is heaven or hell on any of those shows? And why is that more than likely the answer would frighten them? Because our culture is moving away from a religion of good vs. evil, love vs. hate, of a life that lasts forever in body. It's easier to embrace the concepts of no right, no wrong, no good, no evil, and there is no promised land on the other side.
A friend told me they felt the reason that none have ever been captured on a paranormal reality show due to what they are finding is not the spiritual world at all -- just what we think the spiritual world should be. Whatever the reason we will keep watching and keep wondering.
1 comment:
I think there are many reasons that investigators do not ask where God is. However, I think of all the programs you've mentioned, Paranormal State was the most focused on spiritual issues that included spiritual solutions to problem activity. There is a narrow focus on these shows to attract a larger audience, and the message is less thorough because it would move into realms that would likely lose most of the audience. That's not to say that there should not or could not be media programming that would address some of these things. Morgan Freemen had a couple of specials that seemed to be the basis of a possible series that could cover such questions. Such a program could provide topics that would be less strictly related to God and more inclusive of the workings of everything together.
As for Heaven and Hell, the new program "I Survived...Beyond and Back" is taking a look at some of those possibilities in a way that focuses ONLY on the person who had the experience and people who were involved in witnessing or participating in their death and resuscitation. One person reported on his hellish experience and everyone else seemed to have a positive experience.
There is so much that is NOT shown on television...yet. But the enormous popularity of paranormal television may be paving the way -- or could pave the way -- for some more serious coverage of the studies being done, and stories being reported. That is, if some of the production companies don't screw it up by thinking exaggeration is a good thing because it may generate more "eyes" for advertisers to purchase. Some serious work needs to come to the forefront. I'm encouraged by seeing Clint Eastwood and other directors and producers looking at these topics-- in Hereafter, etc.
You run the risk when talking strictly about things from a relgious perspective, or a spiritual one that favors one point of view over another, of being labeled "religious television" when actually life's mysteries occur in all cultures at all socioeconomic levels. I like Celebrity Ghost Stories, personally. While some people might think actors can fake the sense of reality for something that didn't actually occur, and some may just be using the show as a chance to keep their image in the public eye, the fact that the famous and the powerful in the realm of media are being included in these stories, could inspire them to put their money behind more projects that could be useful. I'd like to see a serious producer, like Ken Burns, whose documentaries are so well-respected, take a look at some of the people who have been part of this world. William James, Edgar Cayce, Hans Holzer. And the researchers who have studied these things -- Gary Schwartz, Brian Weiss, Ian Stevenson, Hal Puthoff, etc. PEAR research Center from Princeton (Robert Jahn).
That's my take on it.
Diane (http://ghostdoctor.blogspot.com)
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