Seventh day Adventism in popular culture

Representation in cinema

The movie Evil Angels (released as A Cry in the Dark outside of Australia and New Zealand) portrays the events surrounding the death of Azaria Chamberlain, the daughter of Seventh-day Adventist Church pastor Michael Chamberlain and his wife Lindy. Lindy is falsely accused and convicted of killing the nine-week-old baby, and the public's unfamiliarity with of the practices of the religion are shown as one of the causes of public opinion turning against the Chamberlains.

Another Australian film, The Nostradamus Kid, depicts a coming-of-age story in which a Seventh-day Adventist young man grows up in the 1950s.

Hacksaw Ridge depicts the story of Desmond Doss, a Seventh-Day Adventist conscientious objector in World War II, who saved the lives of 75 wounded American soldiers on Okinawa at Hacksaw Ridge, and was awarded the Medal of Honor. Consequently, labelled as a conscientious objector for having declined to bear arms due to his belief, his strong faith in God lead him to instead carry a bible and the power of prayer into battle as weapons.

Representations in television

In the American series Gilmore Girls, one of the recurring characters, Mrs. Kim, is a very strict, caricatured Seventh-day Adventist.

In the House episode "Here Kitty", Dr. Gregory House refers to the events surrounding William Miller and the "Great Disappointment" of 1844. He remarks about Miller, "every time he was irrefutably proved wrong, it redoubled everyone's belief." Towards the end of the episode the patient rebuts House by saying "his followers never faded out, they became the Seventh-day Adventists – a major religion".

The 1970s situational comedy, All in the Family alludes briefly to Adventists. In the sixth season episode "The Little Atheist", the comical bigoted main character Archie Bunker says, speaking of his unborn grandson, "Raise him a Luferan if you want, raise him a Norman with seven wives, a holy roller, a Seventh-day Adventurer".

The Family Guy tenth season episode "Livin' on a Prayer" makes light of some people's skepticism towards Adventists. Lois Griffin, the mother from the main family in the series, states, "I don't know who's crazier, these people or those Seventh-day Adventists." (In context, this statement follows a conversation with a Christian Science family who resist modern medical treatment for their son with cancer.) The view cuts to a scene with two ordinary-looking men:

Man 1: "I'm a Methodist. We believe that the Lord is our Saviour, and we remember Him by going to church and praising him every Sunday."Man 2: "I'm a Seventh-day Adventist. We believe all the same things that you believe, but we go to church on Saturdays."Man 1: "What!!??..." (with a greatly exaggerated or hyperbolic, comical reaction).

Two and a Half Men child actor Angus T. Jones and recent Seventh-day convert, called Two and a Half Men "Filth," and urged fans to "stop watching."

Girls' Season 4 episode "Tad & Loreen & Avi & Shanaz" complains about the bothersome persistence of door-to-door evangelist Adventists, confusing Jehovah's Witnesses with Seventh-day Adventists. The fictional character Avi Mensusen, states,

"Shanaz, do we get Watch Tower? It's those annoying Seventh-day Adventists, again."

The dialogue falsely attributes the Watch Tower Society to Adventists, but it is the well-known domain and literature often distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses.

Representations in literature

In Black Boy (1945) by Richard Wright, "Granny" is said to be a Seventh-day Adventist.

In Alas, Babylon (1959) by Pat Frank,

"He said, 'Jim, maybe I could be persuaded to trade for honey.'""'I'm sorry, Randy. We're Adventists. We don't drink whisky or trade in it.'"

In The Stand (1978) by Stephen King,

"...biked out to north Boulder... Boulder's 'old' residents. Stan Nogotny said it was as if the Catholics, Baptist, and Seventh-day Adventists had gotten together with the Democrats and the Moonies to create a religious-political Disneyland."

The Brothers K (1992) by David James Duncan includes Adventist characters.

In Towing Jehovah (1994) by James Morrow,

"'The Lord was lookin' out for him.' The freckled sailor slipped a tiny gold chain from beneath his polo shirt, glancing at the attached cross like the White Rabbit consulting his pocket watch.Neil winced. This wasn't the first time he'd encountered a Jesus aficionado. As a rule, he didn't mind them. Once at sea, they were usually diligent as hell, cleaning toilets and chipping rust without a whimper, but their agenda made him nervous. Often as not, the conversation got around to the precarious position of Neil's immortal soul. On the Stella, for example, a Seventh Day Adventist [sic] had somberly told Neil that he could spare himself the "trouble of Armageddon" by accepting Jesus then and there." (see: Seventh-day Adventist eschatology)

In The Terminal Experiment (1995) by Robert J. Sawyer,

"'But isn't immortality boring?'""...'Forgive me... but that's one of the silliest ideas I've ever heard... I want to read all the great books, and all the trashy ones, too. I want to learn about Buddhism and Judaism and Seventh Day Adventists. [sic] I want to visit Australia and Japan...'"

In the award-winning Tree of Smoke (2007) by Denis Johnson, a fictional character Kathy Jones, a Seventh-day Adventist aid worker, is included.

Horror novelist Ray Garton was raised Adventist, as was fellow novelist Steven Spruill. They claim to be the only Adventist novelists they know of.

Other media

Postage stamps have portrayed Adventist subjects. For instance, in July 2001 the Russian Post issued a stamp portraying the Adventist church in Ryazan, as part of a series on religious buildings. This was the first depiction of an Adventist church on a Russian stamp.