ABC debuted a new show Sunday night that has struck a nerve. GCB, aka “Good Christian Bitches” shows us what hypocrisy looks like in a hilarious way. For those of you who missed it, here’s the first episode in a nut shell.
The setting is an upscale neighborhood in Dallas, Texas (in real life, HighlandPark) and the story centers around a woman named Amanda who married her high school boyfriend that turned out to be a loser, left her penniless, and she’s force to return to Dallas and move in with her wealthy mom, Gigi. Amanda was no angel herself in high school. In fact, she was a “mean girl” – sort of the queen bee- and now, some of her victims are out for revenge, mainly Carlene Cockburn, played by Kristin Chenoweth. Amanda moves home with her two teenage kids and starts life over in Dallas which means finding a job, reconnecting with old friends ( the term is used loosely) and returning to her church. The characters are cliche – wonderfully so – big hair, big boobs, and too much make up. The men wear cowboy hats ( which no one in Dallas does) and drive obnoxiously big SUV’s. The first episode ends with Amanda getting a waitress job at a bar called “Booby-Liscious” because she can’t find work as a graphic designer. She announces it in front of the church congregation, just to get a rise out of her “good Christian” friends. The characters are well written and the cast is great which is why they may succeed in getting their message across.
Don’t bash the Christians
Who’s mad? The Parent Council on T.V. objects to using the word, “bitch”, (even though the title doesn’t say that) Another group has created a Facebook page called Boycott Disney, whose mission is to stop Disney and the ABC network from bashing Christians. I guess this is to be expected but it seems a little ridiculous. The show is in a late time slot, so the risk of small children seeing it is slim, and it’s not bashing all Christians, just the judgmental ones that love to bash others in the name of the Lord, which is the point. To judge each other according to our own standards is bad enough. But, to decide for God who passes muster and who doesn’t, is entirely different. It’s the height of arrogance. These will be the people who complain the loudest.
Religious piety could be one of the reasons that church attendance is on the decline in our country. People are turned off by the misuse of religion. They have watched people behave badly while hiding behind the veil of Christianity, and they don’t want to be a part of it. This isn’t to say that all church goers are like this. Hopefully most are not, but the few who insist on deciding who needs to be “saved” and who doesn’t, have ruined it for the rest. Politicians are among the worst abusers of religion. They use religious issues for their own gain. They set it up so that the only way to take the moral high road is to vote for them; therefore, the unspoken assumption becomes anyone who doesn’t, isn’t as “good.”
It’s a dangerous thing to assume that your faith is stronger than another person’s and therefore you have God’s approval and they don’t. GCB gives us a chance to have a sense of humor about it while hopefully pointing out what needs to be changed.
Love those Dallas ladies
Perhaps the group that could be more offended than anyone is Highland Park society. They are a community of well established people living in a very upscale neighborhood and often times are unfairly accused of being uppity, as are others who live in upscale neighborhoods in towns and cities everywhere. They may not appreciate the show portraying their lives as trivial and shallow, but hopefully they understand that this is a work of fiction, not a documentary. The truth is the setting could be anywhere in the Bible belt but it’s funnier in Dallas. Dallasites (particularly the women) are targets of satire because they are fun and interesting. They’re proud of Texas and their big hair and red lipstick. They’re proud to be Republican and they have the right to be. Some of my best friends live in Dallas and are the least boring people I know.
The message is a good one for all of us. Watch the show. The title Good Christian Bitches should be an oximoron but maybe it’s not. If you recognize yourself in one of the characters, laugh about it first, then do better.
Sundays at 10pm ( EST)
Great post – love the GCB show too!