Transcendencja i sekularyzacja. Motywy religijne we współczesnych amerykańskich serialach telewizyjnych

TRANSCENDENCE AND SECULARIZATION. RELIGIOUS MOTIFS 
IN CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN TELEVISION SHOWS SUMMARY This book investigates the not yet thoroughly examined subject of different representations of religious motifs in television shows. The subject matter appears particularly important in the face of recent changes in religious structure of the American society. Between the years of 1992-2014 a significant increase in the numbers of the so called nones (short for non-denominational person) has been noted. What is interesting, one could observe that, simultaneously with this retreat from institutionalized religion, there was a steady rise in the numbers of television shows depicting religious themes. Confronted with the research problem described above, the author aims to undertake a detailed analysis and interpretation of religious motifs in selected titles. Specific representations of such themes are described in a broader socio-cultural context, with particular emphasis on the relation between the portrayals in question and specifically American secularization processes. First chapter describes the present state of research and lays down the theoretical foundations of the study. The author presents the issue of the specificity of American secularization, which, according to José Casanova, significantly differs from analogous processes observed in Western Europe. The most important approaches in the study of television shows’ authorship are also outlined. Considering the well-founded arguments, which point out that it is impossible to specify a single person acting as auteur in television productions, the analysis is conducted according to the interactive model of auteur theory. Within that framework showrunners, network executives, prosumers, critics and commentators are all considered to be potential authors of the television discourse. The introductory part concludes with the criteria for selecting shows for analysis. Chapters Two and Three focus on shows that include a theme of Divine intervention: Joan of Arcadia (2003-2005) showrunned by Barbara Hall, Saving Grace (2007-2010) by Nancy Miller and Eli Stone (2008-2009) by Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim. Consecutively, chapters Four, Five and Six concentrate on shows depicting eschatological issues: Lost (2004-2010) showrunned by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, The Leftovers (2014-2017) by Lindelof and Tom Perrotta and the first season of True Detective (2014) by Nic Pizzolatto. Even though the analyzed shows represent a wide array of genres and encompass a broad spectrum of different representations of religious themes, they all seem to explicitly emphasize religious syncretism and positively valorize spirituality. Furthermore, Eli Stone and True Detective explicitly and harshly criticize religious institutions. Therefore, shows selected for the study seem to confirm the growing influence of secularization understood as a retreat from organized religion. However, detailed analysis also shows, that under the superficial layer of declarative universalism present in all the shows featured in the dissertation, there lays a distinctly Judeo-Christian religious imagery, which still seems to play a vitally important role in American society. The final chapter consists of conclusions and suggestions for further research. Keywords: American television shows, secularization, transcendence, religion, auteur theory, authorship, religious motifs, Joan of Arcadia, Saving Grace, Eli Stone, Lost, The Leftovers, True Detective