Reviewing Lifetime's new show: "The Sisterhood: Becoming Nuns"
photo credit: zap2it
New Lifetime reality series, "The Sisterhood: Becoming Nuns," is about 5 young women who are interested in becoming Catholic nuns. These young women will work alongside nuns in order to see if the nun life is for them.
The 5 prospective nuns will endure the discernment phase (the phase where they will decide if they want to continue on their path of holiness).
These women will leave behind their families and significant others for 6 weeks. They will give up all of their worldly items (cell phones, make up, etc) and learn from nuns from three different convents. They will be tested in their spiritual strength and in their fellowship with other prospectives.
The cast members include:
Christie, a 27 year old woman from California who loves country music and God.
Claire, a 26 year old devout Catholic who works as a parish music minister in her hometown. She was home-schooled in her devout Catholic home.
Eseni, a 23 year old former beauty queen from Bronx, New York. She had rebelled against Church when she was a teenager. She has returned to Catholicism, in hopes of finding her true spiritual calling. She has a boyfriend, named Darnell, which will play a major role in her discernment phase.
Francesca, a 21 year old recent graduate and devout Catholic. This New Jersey native does struggle with various positions of the Church, but still wants to see whether or not the nun life is for her.
Stacey, is 26 years old and is a musical theater performer. This New Yorker has been a Catholic all of her life and lives for the Lord above.
Right now, the show is walking the prospectives through the discernment phase. The 5 hopefuls are being tested in their faith to see if they are truly devoted to entering the nun life.
My Two Cents:
When I first heard about this show, I thought it was a little strange. I had no idea that nuns still existed. You don't see many convents around and it was hard to wrap my head around young people yearning to become nuns. So, I decided to DVR the show, and I have to say, I'm hooked. Even though I'm not Catholic, or much of anything, I find it a fascinating study of how people act in a religious setting.
The girls listed above have their own reasons for becoming nuns. Each are in a different place in their faith, and this does become an issue with Claire.
I find Claire to be somewhat of a 'holier than thou,' self-righteous bitch. She has repeatedly judged each girl for where they are in their faith, and in last night's episode, she hit a new low in her patronizing behavior. She and the rest of the cast where outside and talking. She put herself on this 'better than you all' pedestal and told the girls that she is more devoted in her faith than the girls. She called the girls "drama queens," for being emotional during the process. This upset Francesca and Eseni. Eseni was wanting to throw down with Claire, and I don't blame her. As the show keeps going on, I've found myself hating Claire more and more. People like her are the reason why I can't stand religion. If she becomes a nun, the world will be doomed.
Christie is someone who scares me a bit. On the series premiere of the show, she talked about how she received the calling to become a nun. She said she had a vision of Jesus swaying with her and flirting with her. To me, she seemed a little bit delusional. I don't think Jesus flirts with his people. I find it a bit creepy how Christie romanticizes her relationship with Jesus. I know I can't judge because I don't know anything about the Catholic faith, but I'm just explaining how I feel about the whole thing. It's a tad creepy.
Eseni is the only one that I like. She seems like the most down-to-earth female on the show. She has struggled a lot with what she wants. Her dad cheated on her mom, and that plays a huge role in her relationship with Darnell. I sort of don't like Darnell because he is making her choose between her calling and their relationship. I don't think that is fair. On last night's episode, she and the girls bought some wine and returned to the convent. She asked the girls if they knew what "twerking" was. Claire had no idea. Eseni showed her, which made Claire uncomfortable. The patronizing bitch actually narked on her for it.
Francesca is someone that I'm still not sure about. She seems really nice and everything. I was a little put off by her disdain toward her make up being taken away. I do understand her reasoning (she suffers from acne), but, six weeks without make up is really not that serious. Sometimes I go days without wearing make up and I have no shame. Besides, it is on the inside that counts.
Stacey seems pretty cool, but I still don't know much about her. She seems to be someone who flies under the radar and is quiet about her faith. She is someone who has been there for the girls who are struggling. She loves everyone, whether they are struggling or strong. She is anything but patronizing or condescending.
In conclusion, I do recommend this show. It is pretty interesting. The nuns in the show seem to be warm and welcoming, which is nice to see. Would I ever become a Catholic? I don't know. My boyfriend happens to be Catholic, and if we ever move up to the next level in our relationship, I'm sure I'd have to become one in order to tie the noose in a Church (for some reason, I want to marry in a Church...weird eh?). I was brought up in a Protestant home, but after being burned by religious types, I feel angry and uncomfortable around them.
If I ever was to join a Church, they would have to prove to me that they won't judge me for being born and raised out of wedlock. They would also have to prove to me that they don't take issue with my traumatizing past.
