The theology of Gavin and Stacey

So...this is a decidedly off-topic post for Faith & Thought but it does at least address a topical issue, as the BBC has just screened the 'Finale' (we'll see) of Gavin and Stacey to 12.3 million viewers on Christmas Day.  (Spoiler alert for what follows if you have yet to see this show and plan to do so).

On the principle that if all things are in God then everything has a 'theology' what does the popularity of this show say about the beliefs of mainstream popular culture? On the simplest level there is the unremitting 'feel-good-ness' of it all, much smiling and partying and hugging - for the central characters that is. What is valued is 'family' and 'togetherness', a clique within which Nessa is an indispensable member, But perhaps the standout performance of the piece is Laura Aikman's portrayal of the arch-villain Sonia, a vacuous, selfish and controlling character. Devoid of redeeming qualities, she is eventually rejected by the in-group and forgotten about. Now while it is true that drama often needs a good villain to keep the action moving, it was striking to this reviewer just how unsympathetically she is depicted, and how thoroughly she is 'othered' by the group.  Although her character has behaved badly for many years, it seems that no-one from the wider group has sought to understand her motivations, or challenge her, or extend love towards her. She is left with no hope of redemption, and there is no glimmer of feeling sorry for her once she is ditched at the altar, as the dramatist's attention moves on and her character is forgotten.

The parallels of this lightweight TV show with Rene Girard's theory of mimetic desire are surprisingly strong (1). Smithy spends most of the episode uncertain about where his heart truly lies and it is only when the wedding celebrant (somewhat unbelievably) takes a straw poll of the opinions of the gathered witnesses that he comes to accept that it is really Nessa he desires, not Sonia. Having bowed to this mimetic desire, which cements the group identity, the only appropriate response towards Sonia is to scapegoat her. This is done seemingly without violence, but only because the emotional and psychological injury done to Sonia is not explored (2). As the in-group races from the ceremony to chase Smithy's true love, there is no reaction shot of Sonia, no invitation to understand her or to rehabilitate her. The show ends with a 'family photo' of the key characters, the in-group has been preserved and strengthened through its rejection of the unloved (admittedly unlovely, though still human) outsider.

It is unusual to see scapegoating celebrated quite so uncritically, and stranger still that it should provide the centrepiece to the most popular British television entertainment this Christmas. But it serves as a powerful reminder that the theology of much popular culture is still saturated with an ideology based on divisions between us and them, whereas the Christ-child came to bring reconciliation and mutual understanding.

(1) René Girard, I See Satan Fall like Lightning, 10. printing (New York: Orbis Books. 2001).
(2) violenceandreligion.com/mimetic-theory/