By Alex Sosler Like most of life, I didn’t have the sense to know what decision I was making. I watched May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers a few years prior. It portrayed thoughtful, beautiful, compelling relationships. It displayed redemptive hopes and real fears, leaving and returning home. I thought because the…
Author: matthewbrake84
Ryan Murphy, As American as Apple Pie and Demons
Ilaria Biano, PhD Clive Barker once said, “There are apparently two books in every American household—one of them is the Bible, and the other one is probably by Stephen King,”[i] thus suggesting an inseparable connection between American culture, religion, and the horror genre. If one were to seek a champion of this cultural milieu within…
“There is no God!”…but God: Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3, Theodicy, and Psychological Growth
By David Armstrong Caveat Lector: Massive spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 ahead. James Gunn, who grew up Catholic, has offered two kinds of statements on religion in interviews. In one set of statements, he sees the value of faith, prayer, and meditation; in another, he has professed himself “anti-religion,” at least when…
Oppenheimer and the Deification of Humanity
By Walter Staggs, PhD The gap between what a film is meant to convey versus what actually gets conveyed (and therefore lost) can often be vast. In this case, though, Christopher Nolan delivers on his assertion that Oppenheimer is about consequences, particularly the kind that are out of our control once the genie is out…
Which Fantasy, Whose Theology? Reflections on Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination: Part 3 – The Post-Christian, Postsecular, and Postmodern
By Andrew D. Thrasher (Click Here to Read Part 2) Underlying contemporary Western culture are the three posts, and each of these, especially the first, underlines a major portion of my co-edited volume, Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination. The post-Christian turn is characterized by both the turn away from traditional Christian orthodoxy and practice and…
Whose Fantasy, Which Theology? Reflection on Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination: Part 2 – Invented Religion and Hyperreal Religion
By Andrew D. Thrasher (Click Here to Read Part 1) Carole M. Cusack and Adam Possamai are known for coining the phrases invented religion and hyperreal religion, respectively. While both terms are referring to how popular culture helps to inform and shape contemporary religions, the first refers primarily to how religions are invented based on…
Whose Fantasy, Which Theology? Reflections on Theology, Fantasy, and Imagination: Part 1 – The Baptized Imagination
By Andrew D. Thrasher When I was in undergraduate at George Mason University in 2011, I took a brand-new course in a discipline I came to pursue for more than another decade. The course was called “Religion, Fantasy, and the Imagination” and I remember by the end of that semester, I dreamed I would teach…
Call for Papers: Religion and the Television Procedural
Title: Religion and the Television Procedural: Investigating Faith, One Hour at a Time Volume Editor: John W. McCormack Abstract and CV Due: December 15, 2023 Contact: ProceduralReligion@gmail.com The procedural drama is one of the most reproduced and reliably bankable formats in American television. Franchises such as Law & Order, CSI, NCIS, FBI, and the Chicago…
Extended Call for Papers: Theology and Religion in Daredevil
Title: Faith, Morality, and the Man without Fear: Theology and Religion in Daredevil Editors: Taylor Thomas and Regan Hardeman Abstract, CV, and Proposal due: September 30, 2023 Initial Final Paper due: February 28, 2024 Created by Stan Lee, Bill Everett, and Jack Kirby in 1964, Daredevil is a triumph in comic book writing that provocatively…
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End – On Sin, Loss, and Immortality
By James Mahoney “Elf mage Frieren and her courageous fellow adventurers have defeated the Demon King and brought peace to the land. But Frieren will long outlive the rest of her former party. How will she come to understand what life means to the people around her?” That is the back-cover synopsis for the popular…
Pop Culture and Theology 