They Don't Know dubs

Farkel

It's interesting how dubs are portrayed in TV shows. What's interesting is how little the people who write those scripts know about the religion. I'll give two examples and then solicit others you folks may recall.

The first example comes from the pilot episode of the TV Series "Lie to Me." The plot revolved around a teenage boy who was suspected of a crime. This kid had very long hair. Think "Prince Valiant" hair. He and his parents were supposedly Jehovah's Witnesses. In one scene in the house, there was a religious poster in the background that had "Jehovah" on it, but the rest of the text was nowhere near anything the WatchCrap Society would ever print.

The second example was from an episode of "Law and Order - SVU." Some kid was accused of rape, and that kid was supposed to be a dub. One of the actors said his "Church had posted his bail." Excuse me if I'm wrong, but I have never heard of any Congregation posting bail for ANY dub under any circumstances. This includes parking tickets. Most dubs are too selfish and too uncaring to do any such thing. Besides, they don't have any "Churches." Churches are demonic. Their places of worship are called "Conflagrations."

The last item is thrown in for laughs. Dozens of years ago when I was a dub, I saw the comedienne Joan Rivers on Johnny Carson. She was talking about having an unexpected visit from some relatives. She told Johnny that she hid her booze and cigarettes and put some Watchtower magazines on her coffee table. Even as a loyal dub, I laughed my ass off when I saw that!

Any other misrepresentations of dubism on screen that you guys/gals remember?

Farkel

MidwichCuckoo

You've just jogged my mind about an episode of Kavanagh Q.C. (love that series) called ''Bearing Witness', where a 13 year old (JW) lad is in hospital refusing a blood transfusion. If you haven't seen it, it makes very uncomfortable viewing (in my opinion). The mother is constantly carrying her copy of the NWT. I won't spoil the ending for you, lol.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0618989/

sir82

Remember the Kevin Costner movie, "A Perfect World"?

They really botched the representation of JWs in that one, too.

With a couple hours of research, heck, 15 minutes of talking to an ex-JW, they'd get it right.

Maybe dubs are too boring, and so they have to be "creative" with JW belief!

MrFreeze

I remember an episode of the Simpsons where Marge gets a new doorbell. She is anxious for someone to knock on her door and try it out. The JW's come up to the door. They are just about to press it and the one says to the other "I just had a thought. Maybe we are bothering people by trying to change their religion. What if we don't have all the answers?" Then the other one says "You're right. Let's go get real jobs." They throw their literature to the ground and leave. Then Marge says "I would have feigned interest."

Giordano

The lack of insight into the mentality of the JW world tells me that JW's and the WTBTS can not give an effective witness. Their message is neither understood or respected. They only receive attention for negatives, their anti gov. stance in WW I and II. The blood issue and child abuse. Other then those things they are not so much misunderstood as they are ignored.

Being a JW is like playing on a perennially losing team......there's really no reason for anyone to give a crap.

cult classic

I saw the SUV episode. My dad txtd me and was like, "uh, jws don't bail people out of jail, lol."

There was one episode of The Practise that had a very accurate portrayal of JWs. Lisa G Hamilton's character, Rebecca, had been in an accident and was in a coma. She needed a blood transfusion. The firm was going to take over her care but her mother stepped into the picture and started insisting that she could not be given a blood transfusion because she was a JW. Dylan McDermott's character, Bobby, fought to have the transfusion court ordered. He argued that Rebecca wasn't a Jehovah's Witness. And was emphatic he could prove it because none of her co-workers ever heard her mention going to meetings (she often worked late). She also celebrated holidays and birthdays, etc.

It was very well written. We speculated that someone on the writing team was a JW or exJW.

Dogpatch

good one Farkel!

Where's my new blog piece?

fool. We miss you.

Want to moderate a new forum (looking for 2 mods - one for writers and one for vloggers - new paid-prizes deal that should attrack some attention at $50 a pop for the winners (chosen once a month - not to you of course) , who are a closed group who are the only ones allowed to vote on the best of each of the two caregories, writers and vloggers - each having separate blog accounts (free to ALL... but you have to enter your own work once a month or so, foo, otherwise you become a grandstander critic. Don't make me rush you! Obviously you won't make a damn penny off it, but hey, peeples is beginnin' to ferget whut you look like. Posters are being pasted on Boston benches that say, "Farkel gave up". Personally, I punched one of them out. Then I had to go to the doctors.

I digress...

Damn, I just can't read the screen in the mornings until my eyes dehydrate. So forgive me for spelling errors, I know better, I just sometimes can't see as well. I'm thinking about:
The Best of Bloggers of Randy's Retarded Typing.

I'm WORSE than hunt and peck! Have surgery to prove it. A new series, coming up. 2 viewers have signed up.

DOGZ

we're after you!

brizzzy

I saw the Practice episode a few years ago. He also argued that she wasn't a JW because she didn't carry a No Blood card, saluted the flag, etc. etc. It was very well researched. Actually, I thought the attorney who argued the case proved pretty conclusively that she wasn't a JW anymore (even my JW parents, who I watched the episode with, agreed). But the judge ruled in the mother's favor, and there was no blood transfusion. It ended up not mattering anyway, because miraculously, everything was alright and she woke up from her coma (of course - it's TV).

Strangely, nobody in the episode thought to ask her upon waking whether or not she actually considered herself a JW or would have accepted a blood transfusion. So there's no plot resolution there.

The pilot episode of Lie to Me really botched the JW portrayal bad. They got the lingo wrong and everything. My parents watched that episode (because they thought the show looked interesting) and then vowed never to watch again because of the way JWs were represented.

Scrubs also did an episode with a JW character who refused a blood transfusion (transcript here: http://scrubs.wikia.com/wiki/My_Half-Acre_transcript). I thought Dr. Cox's frustration in dealing with this woman was very well represented. Although, of course, in the end they found a way to treat her and she lived and all. Because it's TV.

Farkel

Giordano,

You wrote:

: The lack of insight into the mentality of the JW world tells me that JW's and the WTBTS can not give an effective witness. Their message is neither understood or respected. They only receive attention for negatives, their anti gov. stance in WW I and II. The blood issue and child abuse. Other then those things they are not so much misunderstood as they are ignored.

:Being a JW is like playing on a perennially losing team......there's really no reason for anyone to give a crap.

Excellent observation, and so true!

Farkel

Randy,

Sorry, but I kinda think I've lost my mojo the last year or so. I'll give you a ring soon, ok?

Farkel

They Don't Know dubs

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