Abstract
Prompted partly by their apparently contradictory media practices of anathematising
film-going on the one hand and embracing television viewing on the other, I
investigate in this thesis the interactions between television, religion and everyday
life of a group of Marthoma Christian families in Kerala. I argue that an image
suspicious and reformed ecclesial group like the Marthomites have accepted
television and perceive that they have incorporated it without seriously undercutting
their everyday life and traditional religious practices. On the strength of the presence
of a few Hindu and Muslim families in this study I further demonstrate the similarity
with which families of different religious persuasions watch both secular and
religious television. Television, even while symbolising a culture shift for the
Marthomites in terms of their use of audio-visual communication, tends to reinforce
their (local) cultural and religious identities.
Taking advantage of the recent spread of television in Kerala and bringing in hitherto
unheard voices of television audiences this study complements the media, religion
and culture debate in suggesting that audiences in Kerala do not perceive their
religion and culture to have suffered greatly by television. Using the analogy of
prime time and prayer time I suggest that the relationship between television, religion
and culture is more subtle and complex. Prime time (television) influences domestic
religion (prayer time) but in turn is influenced by everyday life and public worship
(prayer time). This thesis hence adds voice to the calls for a fresh look at theories on
the influence of global media on local cultures and to those challenging some of the
major voices among media and religion scholars that pronounce television to be a
bane or a blessing. It also identifies the need for the Marthoma Church to have a
modest and realistic engagement with television acknowledging the use of image
based symbolic cultural products among her members and to rethink the role of art
and images in religious imagination and communication.
This thesis is organised in three parts. In Part One the theoretical, historical and
methodological framework of the study is worked out. In Part Two the primary
research data generated during a four month fieldwork in Kerala is analysed. In Part
Three the original research questions are revisited as part of concluding the study
highlighting the major findings and their implications.
