The Satan Pit, Part 3: Beware of Rabid Dogma

The Doctor and the Writer

In my previous post, I looked at Ten's reactions to meeting the devil and praised agnostics and doubters for their openness and humility when it comes to questioning their views on the universe. Today, I want to zoom out of the Doctor's world, take a look at the use of art as a soapbox for ideology, and call attention to the men who both created this thought-provoking story and brought it to life. As always, we can learn a lesson from Doctor Who, this time about avoiding arrogant dogma and understanding your own influence.

Behind the scenes

Enter David Tennant (the Tenth Doctor), Matt Jones (author of The Satan Pit episodes...not pictured, despite my best efforts to scrounge up a photo) and Russell T Davies (then the head writer for Doctor Who and the man responsible for resurrecting the show in 2005 after 17 or so years of it being off the air. Basically, the hero of all Whovians). In 2006, these men had a powerful concept on their hands: to pit the Doctor against the villain of all existence, the devil. The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit was a daring story to tell in more than just an entertainment sense. It would require the show to dive headlong into some deeply controversial and intensely personal worldviews and emerge without getting burned or burning others in the process. 

As far as I'm aware, none of the three men have any particularly strong religious beliefs. DT's father was a minister, so while David grew up in a believing household, I don't think he identifies himself as being especially religious. I could be wrong, but if he is religious, he's not vocal about it. RTD is an atheist. (Matt Jones doesn't even have a picture on the internet, so what makes you think I can find out anything about his religious background?) That these men, safely guessing, don't put much stock in the concept of the devil and still managed to produce two episodes of such gracious, open-minded narration is laudatory. I mean, let's think about this. How often can the entertainment industry be justifiably accused of pushing a social/political/religious agenda on the viewing public? Answer: a lot of the time. Not including the number of celebrities who use their stardom to promote their own ideologies, you have plenty of movies, music, television shows, books and stage productions with clear messages that either condemn Christian beliefs or advocate secular worldviews. (Examples: too many to list. But consider how often pre-marital sex, secular humanism, non-theistic evolution, etc. are portrayed as cool or undeniably true...) Having "traditional" values and holding "narrow-minded" religious convictions is pretty much universally stereotyped as silly and uninformed at best and idiotic and bigoted at worst. How easy it would have been for the DW team to fall into the same pattern, especially in the considerably more secular U. K.

Except, they didn't. They exhibited the same kind of respect for religious belief and lack thereof as they do for pretty much everything else life can throw into the mix. If there is one message Doctor Who champions without fail is that it's right to honor life despite creed, color or sexuality. The only thing the show denounces is useless violence and hatred. They could have treated belief in the devil (and also God) as the hallmark of the unenlightened, but they gave it equal weight with non-belief. Matt Jones and Russell T Davies could have decided to let the Doctor say that no gods and devils existed. There are at least four times in The Satan Pit alone that Ten could have definitively put the matter to rest, denied the existence of the divine and convinced everyone on Sanctuary Base Six that the beast was nothing more than a regular monster. But the writers decided to leave it open, even at the very end. Ida asks the Doctor what he thinks the creature was; the Doctor's response? "I think...we beat it. That's good enough for me."

Not only was the script devoid of a particular agenda, but also David Tennant's portrayal of the Doctor was spectacularly respectful and humble. He could have delivered his lines with condescension or flippancy, but instead he gave us a Doctor who was honest and thoughtful. In the end, we aren't quite sure of what the Doctor believes, but I think that's because the Doctor himself isn't sure anymore. I love the acting choices DT made in this episode... (Aside 1: He is the KING of pauses. The places he puts them transcends a line into brilliance. The most amazing one I ever saw was in his 2009 version of Hamlet, when he's talking to Rosencrantz & Guildenstern about Fortune. They're making bawdy jokes and wordplay, but Hamlet's pauses turn what could have been a punchline into an attempt to gloss over awkwardness and embarrassment. Simply amazing.) (Aside 2: I'm of the opinion that the most important and significant peeks into the Tenth Doctor's character are in what he chooses not to say. Bad Wolf Bay, anyone?)

Overall, epic kudos to the lot of them. They took the subject of the story seriously, they treated all beliefs with respect and they didn't abuse their power and influence. Which reminds me...

Life imitates art

Doctor Who is only a TV show (sadly...sometimes I want to believe it's a documentary), but even as such, it has an incredible domestic and international following, of whom many are children. Because of the incredible depth and richness of the characters and stories, people get a lot more than simple entertainment out of it. Case in point: what you're reading. As such, the impact this British television show can make on society is significant, which places a good deal of responsibility in the hands of the actors, writers and directors involved. People respond to what they see, they become accustomed to and accept the messages they internalize, then they act upon those ideas. Life, as they say, does imitate art, and I think DW qualifies as art in its ability to inspire and to provoke thought. 

We can take a page from the DW creative team's book by learning the power our words, messages and actions have on those around us. As my mom says, what we write, what we say, how we dress, everything we do communicates something to someone. It's our responsibility to make sure what we're communicating is gracious, honest and true. Your daily life is a testimony to society, so don't take that lightly. What exactly are you testifying? (1 Cor. 10:31, ESV: "So whatever you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it to the glory of God.") People are watching, especially if you call yourself a Christian - your family, your friends, strangers on the street. Your children are watching and absorbing. You have incredible power to witness to and inspire others. Don't fall into the trap of believing you haven't a voice. As the Doctor says, "There's no such thing as an ordinary human."

On the other hand, beware of abusing your voice. We're called to share our beliefs with the world, not take the Bible and ram it down people's throats. Dogma in and of itself isn't bad. Having strong beliefs that stem from God's word is nothing to be ashamed of. However, the proliferation of that dogma is what has given modern Christianity such a bad rap. People can be downright cruel and vicious when "witnessing" to others, and it usually ends up as a judgment-fest or a shouting match. Your words of warning and the news of the gospel might be completely accurate, but if they're relayed without compassion, grace or a willingness to listen, what good is your testimony? Instead, may your words be "seasoned with salt" as it says in Colossians 4:6, so that your example can bring glory to God and reflect the love of Christ. You can have dogma, just make sure it's house broken and on an appropriate leash. Then, you can take it out for walks, meet people and impact the lives of those around you through the power of the Holy Spirit within you (Acts 1:8).

I'll leave you with perhaps the most amazing quote the Eleventh Doctor ever had:

Image from doctorbee tumblr

Until next time! May Moffat's plot twists not cause your brain to overheat.

Katya