{"id":3192,"date":"2017-08-25T11:57:22","date_gmt":"2017-08-25T15:57:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/?p=3192"},"modified":"2017-08-25T12:04:38","modified_gmt":"2017-08-25T16:04:38","slug":"bbc-drama-chief-calls-inspiring-stories-television","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2017\/08\/bbc-drama-chief-calls-inspiring-stories-television.html","title":{"rendered":"BBC Drama Chief Calls For More Inspiring Stories on Television"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Unless you\u2019ve been living beneath the proverbial rock, you\u2019ve likely heard the latest buzz about Game of Thrones<\/em>, the popular HBO fantasy series inspired by George R. R. Martin\u2019s \u201cA Song of Ice and Fire\u201d series. Martin wrote the books with a deliberately \u201cgrey\u201d moral outlook\u2014many of the characters perform despicable acts alongside their noble deeds, and the story is praised for being realistic in its depiction of tragedy, sex, and violence. In Westeros, what\u2019s right and wrong constantly shifts.<\/p>\n

Even before the show\u2019s massive success, that emphasis on stark grittiness and moral ambiguity has been taking its place as the new trend in entertainment, as seen in mega-hits like Breaking Bad<\/em> and The Sopranos<\/em>. And it\u2019s no wonder\u2014here in the real world, our certainties in our politicians, job security, and even in the very idea of a universal standard of goodness have been slowly undermined over the past decades.<\/p>\n

But what if what we truly need isn\u2019t characters who reflect our brokenness, but ones who we can look up to?<\/p>\n

One influential British entertainment executive is calling for fewer dark tales in television, and has begun actively advocating for something a little more inspiring. Piers Wenger is the controller of BBC drama commissioning, and he\u2019s set to bring audiences something a little happier than the usual grim drama.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there is an awful lot of very dark drama across all channels and I would love to see some more inspiring stories,\u201d he said, in an interview with The Guardian<\/em>. \u201cSo I would love a Sunday night show which examines heroism and what it means to be a hero. I would love to be pitched more ideas that take us into entertaining worlds \u2013 worlds that might even be aspirational.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Wenger embraces the idea that there must be a blend of inspiration and darkness in television, he feels things have become severely imbalanced\u2014we\u2019ve become all Yin and no Yang.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there has to be a mix,\u201d he told The Guardian<\/em>. \u201cSometimes we need to go to very dark places to take stories apart to understand the world and understand the way the world is changing around us, but we need a better mix.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is the first statement of this kind from a major, contemporary television executive, but likely won\u2019t be the last. Public hunger for inspirational content is growing as audiences everywhere become fatigued by the combination of on-screen and real-life bleakness. According to Wenger, the darkness and death of BBC dramas are, in fact, beginning to repel viewers and affect ratings.<\/p>\n

It seems that can only take so much grim.<\/p>\n

The upcoming changes to BBC\u2019s lineup is likely to have a ripple effect, influencing shows overseas\u2014including in America. We may yet see fewer Game of Thrones<\/em> and Orange is the New Black<\/em>, clones, with more positive shows taking their place.<\/p>\n

While the common argument against positive programming is that inspirational shows tend to be less \u201crealistic,\u201d this is precisely their strength. Grim entertainment holds a mirror up to the audience and tells them, \u201cThis is what you look like, and that\u2019s okay.\u201d To a point, this is needed\u2014we\u2019re all flawed, human beings, and exploring our failings is an important way of dealing with them. But all too often, contemporary shows simply revel in that brokenness instead of attempting to address it.<\/p>\n

Inspirational content, however, holds up an image not of us as we are, but of our best selves, saying \u201cThis is what you could be.\u201d And so instead of making an audience comfortable in their moral failings, positive and aspirational content challenges us. It pushes us to be better, to be more truthful, more heroic, more empathetic and loving.<\/p>\n

This is sometimes an uncomfortable process, especially for a culture that has increasingly idolized the bad guy, and the anti-hero protagonist for whom the ends always justify the means.<\/p>\n

But the benefits of maintaining the balance of light and darkness are many. Because of social media and 24\/7 worldwide news coverage, we\u2019re constantly exposed to the worst that humanity has to offer, upping our anxieties, our fears, and our sadness. But when we counter that with happier themes in our entertainment, we can more easily find hope.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s in hope that we find strength. In our overly-cynical world, it has become too easy to bash the human race, and to give up on the hope that we could become something better.<\/p>\n

But the truth is this: we can. Sometimes, we just need a little inspiration, and Wenger\u2019s decision to include more positive programming at the largest broadcaster in the world is sure to send waves of change out into the rest of the entertainment industry.<\/p>\n

Get ready to be inspired.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unless you\u2019ve been living beneath the proverbial rock, you\u2019ve likely heard the latest buzz about Game of Thrones, the popular HBO fantasy series inspired by George R. R. Martin\u2019s \u201cA Song of Ice and Fire\u201d series. 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