By Jeffrey D. Long Introduction In the first part of this two-part series on the ‘two Georges’–Harrison and Lucas–who have played roles in infusing Hindu themes and thought into Western popular culture, I focused upon George Harrison, whose Hindu connections and commitments were quite open and well known. Starting with the brief sitar passages in…
Call for Papers: Theology and Black Panther
Call for Papers: Theology and Black Panther Theology and Pop Culture is currently seeking contributions for a potential volume from Rowman and Littlefield on the character of Black Panther in comics, television, and film with a specific emphasis on Black Liberation Theology. Essays should be written for academics, but avoid “jargon” to be accessible for…
Hindu Themes in Western Popular Culture: A Tale of Two Georges, Part One
By Jeffery D. Long Introduction: Who Are the Two Georges? The basic premise of this two-part series is that a variety of Hindu themes have come to permeate Western culture and consciousness over the course of the last fifty years. As many readers may know, Philip Goldberg has chronicled this phenomenon in his groundbreaking work,…
Stranger Than Fiction: Giving Yourself to the Story
By Leigh Lim Nothing illustrates the difficulty in coming up with a masterpiece better than “Stranger Than Fiction,” a fable about a person living his life and a writer writing about his thoughts and choices. In a crazily “meta” twist on the idea of the unseen hand (I guess in this film it is a…
Liberation Theology in Black Panther
By Corey Patterson Marvel Studios’ film Black Panther blends superhero action, drama, thriller, and a variety of other genres in an unforgettable film experience. Unlike the previous stand-alone Marvel pieces, this story explores the societal and cultural factors that shape the titular character, T’challa a.k.a. Black Panther. One of the most prominent themes found in…
Jessica Jones: Freedom and Guilt
By Corey Patterson With the upcoming second season of Jessica Jones set to premiere on Netflix March 8th, I thought it’d be a good idea to revisit the first season and all its intricacies. The series, along with Daredevil, helped shape the Marvel TV show landscape over the past few years by introducing us to…
The Philosophy of Young Sheldon
By Cole DeSantis One of the most popular shows currently airing on CBS is the series “The Big Bang Theory.” First premiering eleven years ago, the show tells the story of four young, socially awkward scientists in their various social and personal exploits. The show quickly gained popularity due to one of these characters, the…
Logan, Diana, and Thor: Christ-Haunted Heroes
By Armond Boudreaux It is easy to think of superheroes as a uniquely American and uniquely modern creation. Their eagerness to go out into the world and punch bad guys certainly appeals to American sensibilities, and the sci-fi origins that characterize many of them certainly speaks to modern preoccupations with science and technology. And of…
Freedom, Despair, and the Self
By Cole DeSantis One of the more memorable moments from the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival in 1969 was folk guitarist and singer Richie Havens’ set, which opened the festival. Anyone who, like myself, is interested in music and culture from that era will recall how Havens was asked to open the festival after several…
The Secular Future of Black Mirror
By Carina Julig The wildly popular Black Mirror aired its fourth season recently, delivering more narratives examining our complicated relationship with technology and the pros and cons of what a high-tech future could look like. Black Mirror is a British television show produced by Netflix, where each episode is an individual story—think The Twilight Zone…
Pop Culture and Theology 