24

By Sandra Ostapowich

I’m not a fan of Kiefer Sutherland. Never have been. I don’t know what it is about him. He just rubs me the wrong way. Maybe that’s why he’s great as Jack Bauer on the hit FOX TV show 24. Just because of him, I managed to avoid the show for four years. But then a friend convinced me to give it a shot. I haven’t missed it once since then.

Basically, the show centers on the work of the Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) headquarters in Los Angeles on a day in which a major national crisis is threatening to erupt into a major national tragedy. Each one-hour episode is one hour of that day.

One thing that really stands out about 24 is the graphic nature of the show. Not all that long ago, similar violence would earn a movie an “R” rating, or at least a “PG-13” one. When they say, “Viewer Discretion Advised” at the beginning of each show, they mean it! This means that, according to the Fourth Commandment, you aren’t to watch this show without your parents’ permission or against their will.

This show doesn’t pull any punches. Neither side hesitates to torture or kill their enemies, and the body count is high. In America, we’re normally safe and shielded. It’s startling, even disturbing, to see depictions of that kind of violence in your own living room, even if it is on TV.

Why are we so shocked? The show is certainly written this way intentionally, playing on all our emotions. It’s a rare feat, but the writers of the show have kept up the energy for five seasons now. I read in one place that they supposedly only write half the season’s shows ahead of time, so that the plot line can reflect real-world developments that take place during the year. They know that despite our desire to pretend otherwise, the real world is often graphic too. It’s messy, violent, vicious, cruel, and a whole list of other hor rific things. Let’s face it: we live in a world that has been racked by sin, and as a result, it is a twisted shadow of what God cr eated it to be. Everything has been corrupted, and shows like 24 remind us of how evil man has become. There’s a part of us that is drawn into this gruesome display against our will, waiting to see just how bad things can get.

But situations like that are also where heroes are made. On TV shows, someone eventually steps in and keeps things from getting to their worst imaginable low. Jack Bauer may be the main character and he often saves the day (or rather hour), but he also can be as vicious and cold as the bad guys he’s chasing—especially if he catches one. Jack is no Jesus. He’s not going to get through a day—or an hour, for that matter—without sinning in his quest to do good. And he’s going to save by making other people die.

You have a better Savior, who died instead of you. What they do on 24 is nothing compared to the suffering and pain of what our Lord went through winning our salvation. As Christians, we know that this life and the tragedies of it aren’t the end of the story. We know that despite the suffering and tragedy involved with living in this world, we deserve an eternity of much, much worse. We sin all the time just like everyone else, Christian or not. We may not murder or torture anyone, but we hurt others and fail to tend to their bodily needs. Every day we sin against others, intentionally and unintentionally. We aren’t really any better than those TV characters whose actions we condemn. Thank God we have forgiveness in Jesus’ suffering and death for us! I’m still not a fan of Kiefer Sutherland. But I like 24. I really don’t like extreme violence on my TV, but the twists and turns of the plot lines just draw me in. There’s a reason the show begins with, “Viewer Discretion Advised.” It’s not for everybody. But Christ’s death is.

Sandra Ostapowich is the Christian Education and Youth Director at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, Loveland, Colorado. She is also the Secretary of the Higher Things Board of Directors. Check out other things she’s written at blog.higherthings.org/madre or e-mail her at Ostapowich@higherthings .org.