- Bibleman
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Bibleman is an American video series with an evangelical superhero character (originally played by Willie Aames). The series includes videos, books and live shows, where they tour locations around North America.
Contents
Bibleman Live
The live show has been described as falling between "a high budget Sunday school pageant, a Batman movie, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."[1] The production borrows heavily from popular culture, including films, popular music and video games.
Reception
The videos and live show have been well received by children, the target audience. The series has been described as dogmatically evangelical.[2] In 1998, sales made up less than one percent of the Christian children's video market. Three years later, sales climbed to eleven percent of that market. It held third place behind first place Veggietales and second place Penguins 3-2-1[3] The Dove Foundation gave the series its "Family-Approved" Seal for "this energetic battle against evil."[4]
However, several adults have criticized the show's fight scenes as promoting violence, despite the fact one show (Conquering The Wrath Of Rage), and its live counterpart, addressed the violence issue. Another criticism towards the show is that it reflects a low budget.
Of Bibleman, Marc Peyser of Newsweek writes,
Much of Christian entertainment, like the "Bibleman" videos featuring a Scripture-quoting superhero, is designed as a kinder, gentler yet more searching alternative for an audience that has long felt overlooked by the prevailing media and entertainment culture. But as those products have become more successful-and the people in those industries have become savvier-the category has edged closer to the mainstream. Pop music that never mentions the word Jesus. Movies that spend as much time blowing up buildings as saving souls. As with other groups that have created their own subcultures-women, African-Americans, gays and lesbians-Christian entertainment has emerged from its sheltered infancy and has begun to straddle two worlds: the religious one that created it and the secular one it was designed to avoid.[5]
Notes
The opening sequence to the "Genesis" Bibleman videos showed how Miles Peterson got saved. This is similar to Willie Aames's own life story.
The first two Bibleman videos (then called "The Bibleman Show") "Big Big Book!" and "Back To School" were never re-released on DVD and are now quite rare. This is also true for "Bibleman Live 2000: Conquering The Wrath Of Rage."
The series first began as "The Bibleman Show" and later "The Bibleman Adventure". When Thomas Nelson took over the series (from Pamplin Entertainment), the series was renamed "Bibleman: Genesis", possibly to distinguish it from their own series, "Bibleman: Powersource"
References
- ^ Santana, Richard W.; Erickson, Gregory (2008). Religion and popular culture: rescripting the sacred. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-7864-3553-1. http://books.google.ca/books?id=vZpYxZDsuHQC&pg=PA12&dq=%22high+budget+sunday+school%22&hl=en&ei=JE3LTteYO8HIsQKbhbXBDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22high%20budget%20sunday%20school%22&f=false.
- ^ Hendershot, Heather (2004). Shaking the world for Jesus: media and conservative evangelical culture. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. p. 7. ISBN 0-226-32679-9. http://books.google.ca/books?id=hZfe-exSVkoC&pg=PA7&dq=even+dogmatically+evangelical&hl=en&ei=DTPLTvD5K8HV0QHG9Nj7Dw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=even%20dogmatically%20evangelical&f=false.
- ^ Ashdown, Simon (July 1, 2001), Christian kidvid converts more consumers, http://kidscreen.com/2001/07/01/30942-20010701/, retrieved 2011-11-21
- ^ Christian Cinema: The Dove Foundation, Bibleman: Lambasting the Legions of Laziness, 2010, http://www.christiancinema.com/catalog/article_info.php?articles_id=5629#, retrieved 2011-11-21
- ^ Peyser, Marc (July 16, 2001). "God, Mammon and 'Bibleman'". Newsweek 138 (3): 44-48. ISSN 00289604. http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/apocalypse/65/mbarchive/peyser.html. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
External links
- Official website
- Bibleman at the Internet Movie Database
- Bibleman at TV.com
- TBN Page
- International Catalogue of Superheroes profile
- Burgett, Todd, Movie Review: BibleMan, http://www.christianbookpreviews.com/Movie-BibleMan.php, retrieved 2011-11-21
Categories:- 1990s American television series
- Christian children's programming
- Superhero television programs
- Trinity Broadcasting Network shows
- American children's television series
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