Knight Rider and the Men Who Love It

Fast cars, big explosions, secret agents, high tech gadgets, and half naked women all make the new version of Knight Rider a show for men. Wednesday marked the premier of the newly re-vamped NBC version of the old classic. With the exception of the half-naked women, much about the show was fun. It had the cheesy dialogue and the less than proficient acting at points (those elements seem standard for television these days), but the cooler, more high-tech KITT is what made the show.

The premiere episode, while not being particularly insightful or captivating, did make me think about man’s drive (no pun intended) toward the bigger, the better, the faster, and the cooler. Why is it that nearly every man is after the bigger, better, faster, and cooler thing? Why do we have that desire? I believe it is partly because God has made us that way. I know some will immediately default to the “Fall” and assume that this driving passion is a materialistic worldview implanted in us by our culture (perhaps even shows just like Knight Rider), and chalk it up to our sin nature. But I don’t think that answer recognizes the creation account.

In Genesis God creates the world and it is mostly rugged and untamed; yet he places man in the center of the Garden of Eden. Here, God tells Adam to keep the garden, tend it, cultivate it, and multiply over the face of the earth. Inherent within that command is the command for man to make the rest of the world look like Eden. There is, built into men, this desire to cultivate, create, and make things bigger, better, faster, and cooler. It is a God-given drive within men. It’s not that women don’t want cooler toys too. But for some reason we almost always associate those desires with men. It’s usually men who push for the bigger TV, the faster car, the coolest new gadgets and equipment. And that is partly because of this innate passion for those very elements of bigger, better, faster, cooler.

Since it’s obviously not for its dialogue, its plot development, its writing, or its acting, why will hundreds of young men tune in to watch Knight Rider this fall? Because it displays some cool toys and appeals to that desire for such elements. While it won’t win an Emmy, it will probably win some fans.