Holly Hunter's getting some rave reviews for a new television show described this way in the Hartfourd Courant:

In the new series "Saving Grace" (TNT, 10 p.m.), she portrays a tough, hard-living cop whose vices may be getting the best of her. But when faced with tragedy, she also meets an angel in the form of a grizzled Leon Rippy, who offers her another chance if she'll straighten up a bit.

It made me wonder what it means when guardian angels hit popular culture, as they do periodically in film, literature and on television. My hubby, the retired English professor, has tracked trends in literature when more "romantic" and "fantastical" ideas come into vogue. He said it often happens when a culture makes a technological leap or prizes rational thinking over spiritual knowledge or is in need of escape from events that dehumanize.

"It's a Wonderful Life" for instance, the classic angel movie, came out right after World War II ended, as people were reeling from a world completely changed and yet, at the same time, ramping up for the Made in USA consumerism that was on its way and eventually defined the 1950s.

Question: Why do you think an angel television show is on TV now?

(This post is being simulblogged at Journey to Vatican III and A Matter of Opinion.)

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