The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture最新文献

{"title":"Torture and the Replication of Religious Iconography at the Abu Ghraib Prison: A Visual Semiotic Experiment","authors":"J. Paul","doi":"10.3138/JRPC.23.3.342","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3138/JRPC.23.3.342","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract: Mixing self-selected images of abuse from the Abu Ghraib prison scandal with religious imagery, this paper gives a commentary on the offences committed there. The author notes that this paper is not intended to be an in-depth historical or sociological treatise explaining the abuse at Abu Ghraib. Rather, this paper is a visual semiotic experiment crafted primarily to combat a moral blindness that allows individuals to ignore, or even to justify, such degradation and brutality. By appropriating and re-mixing these images, this work seeks to transform them into messages that call out and question religious, cultural, and political justifications for the use of torture.","PeriodicalId":219603,"journal":{"name":"The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture","volume":"9 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131567590","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Intelligent Design Creationism and the Mechanisms of Postmodernity","authors":"Curtis D. Carbonell","doi":"10.3138/JRPC.23.3.276","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3138/JRPC.23.3.276","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract: This article provides a critical reading of Intelligent Design proponents' attempt to create a wedge in secular society to reinsert a theistic worldview. It argues they assert their wedge via the mechanisms of postmodernity: following Frederic Jameson, those informational elements of mass culture that allow them to present their ideas as an alternate to that posed by evolutionary biology. It centres on a representation (by the philosopher of science Robert Pennock) of Intelligent Design advocate, Philip E. Johnson as a postmodern thinker. This article revises Pennock, claiming that while Johnson does attack modern science in his project to champion Intelligent Design, Johnson is not a representative of many precepts of postmodernity. In particular, this chapter reads Johnson as clearly supporting a Christian metanarrative. Moreover, Johnson is a representative of a strategy formulated by the conservative organization, The Discovery Institute, and their campaign called the Wedge Strategy. Exempli...","PeriodicalId":219603,"journal":{"name":"The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture","volume":"29 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129655867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"John, Paul, Jorge, and Ringo: Borges, Beatles, and the Metaphor of Celebrity Crucifixion","authors":"Nathan Timmons","doi":"10.3138/JRPC.23.3.382","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3138/JRPC.23.3.382","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract: Although the impact of fame on John Lennon's music and personae has been well documented, issues of celebrity are often overlooked in critical studies of Jorge Luis Borges. However, a comparison of their respective crucifixion narratives, “The Ballad of John and Yoko” and “The Gospel According to Mark,” which were completed almost synchronously in April 1969, illuminates striking thematic and personal similarities between the two writers during a time in which each was experiencing an unprecedented growth in popularity. As such, Lennon's life and music provide important lenses through which one can better interpret the meaning and context of Borges's later work.","PeriodicalId":219603,"journal":{"name":"The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture","volume":"7 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115116376","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"\"What We Have Here Is a Failure to Communicate\": Same-Sex Marriage, Evangelicals, and the Canadian News Media","authors":"D. M. Haskell","doi":"10.3138/JRPC.23.3.311","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3138/JRPC.23.3.311","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract: From the time it was introduced, evangelicals in Canada were fervently opposed to the federal government's same-sex marriage legislation and from 2003 to 2006 several evangelical organizations waged an extensive lobbying campaign against it. To persuade the public and federal politicians to support their position, these organizations employed a sophisticated communication strategy that focused on three core arguments. The arguments, which were worked into speeches, petitions, presentations, letters, and media-savvy talking points, were not based on theological ideals but secular, empirical data. This study content analyzed news coverage from Canada's national newspapers and national television news programs that focused on evangelicals and the same-sex marriage debate. Based on the extant literature it was hypothesized that in their news coverage, in order to mitigate the influence of the evangelicals' position (with which they disagreed), journalists would ignore/omit the evangelicals' three co...","PeriodicalId":219603,"journal":{"name":"The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture","volume":"43 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129392478","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Christotainment: Selling Jesus through Popular Culture","authors":"Russell L. Meek","doi":"10.5860/choice.46-6132","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5860/choice.46-6132","url":null,"abstract":"Shirley R. Steinberg and Joe L. Kincheloe, eds. Christotainment: Selling Jesus through Popular Culture. Philadelphia: Westview Press, 2009. 306 + xiipp. $40.50 (CAD). ISBN: 978-0-8133-4405-8 That religion and culture in Western society have long been wed comes as no surprise. Likewise, religion and the state, despite the high wall that separates them, also have a long history together that continues into the present time. For example, John McCain and Barack Obama both publicly claimed to be Christians during the last presidential race in the United States. It is the political and ideological underpinnings of this relationship between Christianity and culture, or Christotainment, which Christotainment sees as the hostile takeover of culture and politics by \"Dominionist Fundamental Christians\" that it seeks to examine and understand (7-11). The book is a collection of essays written by various scholars in the fields of education, cultural studies, and communication. Each essay aims to examine some aspect of the relationship between \"evangelical\" Christianity and culture or politics. Chapters one and two, \"Selling a New and Improved Jesus\" and \"Christian Soldier Jesus,\" written by Kincheloe, one of the book's editors, examine the role of \"Domininionist Fundamental\" Christians in American politics and the \"Dominionist\" takeover of Christian media. Each of these essays charges this particular group of Christians with exploiting media and politics for its own aims. Chapter three, \"Onward Christian Drivers,\" examines the particularly Christian overtones in NASCAR, paying special attention to the evangelistic efforts of the drivers themselves. Chapter four, \"The Gospel According to Mel Gibson,\" offers a critique of the popular movie The Passion of the Christ, arguing that it presents a fundamentalist, biased, and factually incorrect version of the Passion narratives. Chapter five, \"Convertoons,\" offers a balanced review of the animated Veggie Tales series that chronicles its attempt to break into the mainstream market. Chapter six, \"Screening Jesus,\" looks at Christian film and television, arguing that Christian film lacks any significant entertainment value. Its popularity by culture is primarily a reflection of the infiltration of religion into the everyday lives of people. Chapters seven and eight, \"The Battle for the Toy Box\" and \"Faith Talking Toys and Other Youth Purity Makers,\" look at the various ways in which Christian companies offer alternative versions of secular toys and thus develop ways for Christian youth to mark their identity. …","PeriodicalId":219603,"journal":{"name":"The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture","volume":"73 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127395628","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mortality Plays: Pain, Penance, and Admonition in Se7en and Saw","authors":"Deborah Wills, Andrew Wilson","doi":"10.3138/jrpc.23.3.397","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3138/jrpc.23.3.397","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract: The 1990s noir-horror film Se7en and the ongoing Saw franchise both preach a pedagogy of pain whereby victims are either fatally punished for their sins or reformed through macabre penitential ordeals. These films challenge the values of the modern, post-enlightenment world, recalling an idealized medieval world as an alternative. This paper explores the way these films articulate this conflict and draw on conflicting elements of the Christian tradition and the conventions of the horror genre. Investigating the films' tropes of vision and spectacle and their provocative practice of homiletics, this paper ultimately considers the solution proffered a fallen world and whether this solution might offer more hope than despair.","PeriodicalId":219603,"journal":{"name":"The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture","volume":"12 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128183467","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Women and Blogging: An Exercise in the Thealogy of Carol Christ","authors":"Gina Messina‐Dysert","doi":"10.3138/JRPC.23.2.155","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3138/JRPC.23.2.155","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract: According to Carol Christ, the “voices of women are a lifeline,”1 a sentiment that has been loudly echoed by women in blogging communities. Blogs have offered a voice to all who wish to be heard—and women have consistently created and participated in blogging communities at a higher rate than men in search of the opportunity to share their thoughts and experiences in a public forum. Within blogging communities, women have been empowered to engage in embodied thinking and bring together their personal experiences with philosophical and theological reflection. Thus, blogs have become a tool for women's experiences, ideas, and questions to be further shaped and modulated through those of other women.","PeriodicalId":219603,"journal":{"name":"The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture","volume":"38 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116971156","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Theological and Psychological Reflections on Identity in Sport","authors":"N. Watson","doi":"10.3138/JRPC.23.2.182","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3138/JRPC.23.2.182","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract: This essay examines “athletic identity” from a Christian theological and psychological standpoint. In discussing the concept of identity within the sports world, I address a range of related issues such as idolatry, sin, and states of heart such as pride and humility. According to Phil Night, founder and chairperson of Nike, sports “define the culture of the world”1 and thus an examination of the cultural context in which identity is formed is also presented. Areas for future research are provided in the conclusion, for example, reflections on identity for sportspersons with physical and intellectual disabilities.","PeriodicalId":219603,"journal":{"name":"The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture","volume":"34 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124103367","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Theater in a Crowded Fire: Ritual and Spirituality at Burning Man","authors":"Chris Klassen","doi":"10.5860/choice.48-2152","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5860/choice.48-2152","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":219603,"journal":{"name":"The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture","volume":"60 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116792813","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"“I Think You and I Are Destined to Do This Forever”1: A Reading of the Batman/Joker Comic and Film Tradition through the Combat Myth","authors":"Michael D. Nichols","doi":"10.3138/JRPC.23.2.236","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3138/JRPC.23.2.236","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract: This paper compares comic and film representations of the characters Batman and the Joker to the structure and characterization of religious narratives known as “combat myths,” which generally portray a figure of order defending society against a chaos monster. The paper also demonstrates how the Batman film of 2008, The Dark Knight, updates the mythic theme by casting the opposing characters as representatives of democratic society and terrorism, respectively. Ultimately, I argue that by investigating how the rivalry of Batman and the Joker reinvigorates this ancient, cross-cultural mythic theme, we gain insight into the enduring popularity and significance of these characters.","PeriodicalId":219603,"journal":{"name":"The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture","volume":"13 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125268183","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}