Sex 'n’ religion on TV

CYNTHIA RAMSAY

The Jewish Independent took a sneak peak at VisionTV’s new documentary series Sex + Religion. In one episode, actress, writer and performance artist Jamie Sneider was featured, along with some provocative snapshots from her 2009 Year of the Jewish Woman calendar. Another episode focused on actor/photographer Leonard Nimoy, whose photographic essay about the feminine presence of God, appropriately called Shekhina, has raised more than eyebrows. Rarely has 22 minutes gone by as quickly.

The series is hosted by Canadian broadcast journalist and writer Laurie Brown. The two episodes watched by the JI also featured a sixth-generation Mormon and former missionary who was excommunicated for creating a hunky Men on a Mission calendar, his failed attempt to “encourage a broader acceptance of human and religious diversity”; and an artist who tackles such difficult subjects as pedophilia in the Catholic Church. The series will cover a range of views – from clergy to prostitutes – on topics including, but not limited to, virginity, contraception, polygamy, pornography, sexuality in marriage, prostitution, homosexuality and eroticism.

The documentaries only touch upon the issues and people featured, rousing interest especially because they offer more questions than answers, though the series has a clear liberal bias. This is apparent not only by the people interviewed and the empathetic way in which they are portrayed, but also in the choice of wardrobe for Brown, who is dressed more devilishly than divinely, in a red camisole with a bulky silver necklace and a black leather jacket. She introduces each segment seated in a black chair placed on the far right of the set, while the rest of the screen is left bright white.

Sex + Religion was created and co-produced by Gemini Award-winning Riddle Films (Jason Charters and Liam Romalis) and Creative Anarchy Inc. (Robert Sandler). It began on Sept. 20 and airs Mondays, 8 p.m., until Dec. 27. For more information, visit visiontv.ca.

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