The bulletin of C8 programs for the coming days is surprising. On Sunday, one of the channel’s “highlights” will, for the first time, be the broadcast of the Mass on August 15, live from Cotignac. The rest of the day will honor the Catholic religion with a series on John Paul II then another celebrating Mother Teresa. The day will end with the TV movie Saint Philip Neri, biopic on the life of this 16th century priest.
The programming of several films and thematic series on the occasion of the feast of the Assumption on C8 disconcerts but does not amaze. Unlike the diffusion ofUnplannedthe next day at 9:05 p.m. In a statement, the channel announces the color: the film “sparked controversy by adopting the point of view of anti-abortion activists. “
Around the camera, evangelists
We discover the story of Abby Johnson, former director of a family planning clinic, who tells of having experienced a “spiritual awakening” after having attended an abortion. Released on March 29, 2019 in the United States, the feature film was a real success as it generated more than $ 8.6 million in North America revenues a week after its release. What about its reception on a national channel? “The export of this type of film to France is a bit new,” says Salomé Hédin, a doctoral student specializing in the communication of pro-life movements in France. In the anti-abortion activist networks, it is a film that is filmed and which has been viewed by activists. “
In the United States, the film is distributed by Pure Flix, a production company linked to evangelical Christianity. Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman, the two writers and directors, explain themselves on the official website of the feature film that “abortion is not an unforgivable sin” and that “the Lord offers mercy, grace and forgiveness which lead to healing and restoration of identity. »In France, Saje Production, a distributor specializing in the distribution of Christian-inspired films, takes care of Unplanned.
“It is a film produced by the evangelists, a movement very committed to what is called public religion, that is to say an affirmed presence of religion in the political and media spheres”, observes Mihaela. Alexandra Tudor, lecturer specializing in the field of religion and the media. If the question of propaganda may arise at first glance, “we see this tendency of the evangelists to participate actively in the defense of certain pro-life orientations through the media and the productions of popular culture,” he adds. she.
Right or catholization?
According to Mihaela-Alexandra Tudor, the programming of such a film in prime time on a large French channel is also the result of globalization “and therefore of the importation of another way of seeing the role of religion and secularism in society. The Bolloré channel is banking on the crisis in the practice of secularism in France. Recently, for example, the bill to fight “separatism” has brought this debate back to the fore.
In addition to the fact that evangelical currents have settled in France and have brought a vision of society that is not specific to French culture in terms of secularism, the dissemination of Unplanned “Also aims to recover a citizen agenda that relies on subjects and themes related to the enhancement of heritage and Christian tradition”, notes Mihaela-Alexandra Tudor. Themes “observable in conservative political discourse or more on the right. “
Can we say that C8 will soon be a channel politically anchored to the right from this fall? “It is not a right-wing but a catholization of the chain because the subject is not right or left but really religious”, notes Salomé Hédin. Thanks to this beautiful promotion window at 9 p.m., the channel therefore allows certain Catholic groups to take center stage while once again legitimizing their presence.
When the alternative mixes with the mainstream
From the first minutes of Unplanned, the public discovers the moment of the “revelation” of the main character. In a clinic, Abby Johnson attends the extraction of a fetus by suction. On the ultrasound screen, it appears to be struggling and is eventually removed. The scene is interspersed with shots of the heroine with tears in her eyes. “The image of the fetus is omnipresent in the communication imagery of militant anti-abortion groups”, notes Salomé Hédin. What is more astonishing, however, is that this kind of scenes are found broadcast at prime time on French television. “Abortion is considered a taboo subject on mainstream channels,” explains the doctoral student. That’s why [la diffusion sur C8] will herald a turning point. “
“This programming aims to recover more conservative audiences, disenchanted by the mainstream media,” adds Mihaela-Alexandra Tudor. This dissemination would therefore be the expression of a trend, that of offering a less institutionalized model to people tired of the system. “We see figures like Eric Zemmour or Michel Onfray who polarize, continues the lecturer. C8 is built on this polarization to retain and then be able to influence those audiences who claim traditional values and traditional Christian culture for the upcoming election. “
For the CSA, “there is no subject”
When it was announced, the question surrounding the promotion of a film that gives pride of place to obstructing the voluntary termination of pregnancy, even though it is a crime in France, is raised. The CSA, it does not intervene in the programming of the chains. “The more we trivialize this kind of practice, the more it can encourage people,” warns Salomé Hédin.
Joined by 20 minutes, the audiovisual gendarme indicates that there is “no subject” about this film. “It is the editorial freedom of the channels to decide to program a fiction like this one”, he adds. When contacted, C8 was unable to answer our questions.