Mediatiserad religion i ramen av humor : En studie av den amerikanska sitcom-serien the Big Bang Theory

Sammanfattning: Since 2007 the American sitcom the Big Bang Theory has spread throughout the world. With its twenty million watchers it is one of the most popular sitcoms of our time. The starting point for this essay is that the humourus series with the more or less geeky main characters is more than just entertainment - it is a part of the mediatization of religion. This means that media is affecting the recipients’ view on religion in general and the personal religion. As we watch TV, we get socialized into how to act in our every day life. In this case, it is about religion depicted as entertainment. Through a film analysis of a number of selected scenes from the first three seasons of the series, this essay stresses the representation of the religious traditions Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism and religion in general. On the basis of etnocentrism, exitocism and a differentiation between religious praxis and religious beliefs my conclution is that Jews are portrayed in a very ”modern” and secular way, Christians are narrow-minded and quite stupid and Hindus are doing strange rituals and believe in very unreasonable phenomena. Religion in general is portrayed as something accepted but it should be rational and religous practice has its own time and place.