Pro-Family, Media Watchdogs Protest CBS's Sex-Charged Christmas Carol Parody
by Jim Brown and Jenni Parker
December 14, 2006
(AgapePress) - - CBS Television is once again under fire from conservatives, this time over a sexually-charged rendition of a popular Christmas carol. A pro-family media analyst is denouncing the network over its airing of a song that uses the melody from a familiar Christian-themed holiday song to glorify sexual anarchy.The Monday (December 11) episode of the network's popular sitcom Two and a Half Men featured actor Charlie Sheen singing a song about extramarital sex to the tune of "Joy to the World," a well-known hymn about the birth of Christ. In the parody song, Sheen boasts in anticipation about having sex on Christmas Eve on his second date with a woman.
Bob Knight is director of the Media Research Center's Culture and Media Institute. He says the airing of Sheen's irreverent song suggests that CBS has gone into "Hollywood mode" in an effort to shock and to get more press.
"You know, it's bad enough that Two and a Half Men is a non-stop sex joke with a kid right in the middle of the set," Knight observes. "But when they take on a Christmas carol that's beloved by millions and pervert it into an anthem of alley cat culture -- which is what the show's all about; it's not about men, it's about alley cats -- then they've gone over the line," he says.
Apparently, CBS feels the need to compete with other broadcasting companies when it comes to pushing the envelope, the pro-family media analyst asserts. "The network with the worst track record against Christians has been NBC in recent years," he notes, recalling how that network "tried to pull off The Book of Daniel and the Madonna special."
But now, Knight says, "CBS seems to feel that it's okay to trash Christianity and pervert one of the most beloved carols of all time." This begs the question, the Institute spokesman contends, of whether the network would do this to a Muslim cultural icon or to a Jewish one. "It seems as if Christians are the special target," he says.
From what happened on the Monday Two and a Half Men episode -- and from countless other incidents like it on the various TV networks -- the Media Research Center official insists that Hollywood's religion is clear. It is not Judaism or Christianity, he says; it is sexual anarchy.
And unless there is a pushback by viewers letting the sponsors know they are disgusted with this sort of fare, Knight warns, American families are likely to see a lot more of the same.
Christian Leader Calls on Pro-Family Viewers to Protest
Pro-family activist and decency advocate Don Wildmon, founder and chairman of the American Family Association (AFA), is encouraging fellow Christians to contact CBS and voice their displeasure over the December 11 episode of Two and a Half Men.
Wildmon says CBS and Sheen "have used the Christmas season to ridicule and mock Christ, Christmas and Christians," and the network apparently approved the actor's "vulgar adaptation of a favorite Christian Christmas carol," knowing full well that the parody would offend believers.
An online Action Alert on the AFA website urges supporters to use a provided link to send an e-mail message to CBS stating that they "deeply resent" the network's mocking of Christ and Christmas and asking for a public apology for the insult. According to the ministry's chairman, failure to issue such an apology would demonstrate CBS officials' continued approval of the mocking content in the Two and a Half Men episode, even after its offensive nature had been brought to the network's attention.
CBS knew the sexualized lyrics to the tune of "Joy to the World" would greatly offend Christians "but did not hesitate to air them," Wildmon contends. If CBS does not apologize for this incident, he adds, pro-family viewers should not hesitate to let the network know their future viewing of its programs will be "extremely limited."
