A Matrix of Meanings

A Matrix of Meanings
Author: Craig Detweiler
Publisher: Baker Academic
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2003-11
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 080102417X

A candid, often humorous look at how to find truth in music, movies, television, and other aspects of pop culture. Includes photos, artwork, and sidebars.

Eyes Wide Open

Eyes Wide Open
Author: William D. Romanowski
Publisher: Brazos Press
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2007-02-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1441200800

Grounded in Christian principles, this accessible and engaging book offers an informed and fascinating approach to popular culture. William D. Romanowski provides affectionate yet astute analysis of familiar, well-loved movies and television characters from Indiana Jones to Homer Simpson, and he speaks with historical depth and expertise on films from Casablanca to Crash and music from Bruce Springsteen to U2. Romanowski's confessional approach affirms a role for popular culture in faithful living. Practical, analytical approaches to content, meaning, and artistic style offer the tools to participate responsibly and imaginatively in popular cultural activities. An engaging read, this new edition introduces students and thoughtful readers to popular culture--one of the most influential forces in contemporary society.

God in the Details

God in the Details
Author: Eric Michael Mazur
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 342
Release: 2001
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780415925648

Seeking to explore the blurred boundary between religion and pop culture, God in the Details offers a provocative look at the breadth, diversity, and persistence of religious themes in contemporary American consciousness. Representing a diverse range of disciplines, the contributors criticaly assess the ways in which American popular culture reappropriates traditional religious symbols to serve the purposes of particular communities.

The Pop Culture Parent

The Pop Culture Parent
Author: Theodore A. Turnau, III
Publisher: New Growth Press
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2020-05-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1645070670

Parents often feel at a loss with popular culture and how it fits in with their families. They want to love their children well, but it can be overwhelming to navigate the murky waters of television, movies, games, and more that their kids are exposed to every day. Popular culture doesn’t have to be a burden. The Pop Culture Parent equips mothers, fathers, and guardians to build relationships with their children by entering into their popular culture–informed worlds, understanding them biblically, and passing on wisdom. This resource by authors Ted Turnau, E. Stephen Burnett, and Jared Moore, provides Scripture-based, practical help for parents to enjoy the messy gift of popular culture with their kids. By engaging with their children’s interests, parents can explore culture while teaching their children to become missionaries in a post-Christian world. By providing realistic yet biblical encouragement for parents, the coauthors guide readers to engage with popular culture through a gospel lens, helping them teach their kids to understand and answer the challenges raised by popular culture. The Pop Culture Parent helps the next generation of evangelicals move beyond a posture of cultural ignorance to one of cultural engagement, building grace-oriented disciples and cultural missionaries.

Popologetics

Popologetics
Author: Ted Turnau
Publisher: P & R Publishing
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2012
Genre: Apologetics
ISBN: 9781596383890

It's everywhere...all around us...so widespread it's almost part of the air we breathe. Some people love it, some people hate it, and some try to shrug it off or pretend it's not there. But, like it or not, notice it or not, popular culture plays a huge role in our day-to-day lives, often influencing the way we think and see the world. Some people respond by trying to pull away from it altogether, and some accept it without question as a blessing. But Ted Turnau reminds us that the issue is not so black-and-white. Popular culture, like any other facet of society, is a messy mixture of both grace and idolatry, and it deserves our serious attention and discernment. Learn how to approach popular culture wisely, separating its gems of grace from its temptations toward idolatry, and practice some popologetics to be an influence of your own. Book jacket.

God and Popular Culture

God and Popular Culture
Author: Stephen Butler Murray
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 388
Release: 2015-08-11
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

This contributed two-volume work tackles a fascinating topic: how and why God plays a central role in the modern world and profoundly influences politics, art, culture, and our moral reflection—even for nonbelievers. God—in the many ways that people around the globe conceptualize Him, Her, or It—is one of the most powerful, divisive, unifying, and creative elements of human culture. The two volumes of God and Popular Culture: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Entertainment Industry's Most Influential Figure provide readers with a balanced and accessible analysis of this fascinating topic that allows anyone who appreciates any art, music, television, film, and other forms of entertainment to have a new perspective on a favorite song or movie. Written by a collective of both believers and nonbelievers, the essays enable both nonreligious individuals and those who are spiritually guided to consider how culture approaches and has appropriated God to reveal truths about humanity and society. The book discusses the intersections of God with film, television, sports, politics, commerce, and popular culture, thereby documenting how the ongoing messages and conversations about God that occur among the general population also occur within the context of the entertainment that we as members of society consume—often without our recognition of the discussion.

Eyes Wide Open

Eyes Wide Open
Author: William D. Romanowski
Publisher: Brazos Press
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2007-02
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1587432013

This revised and expanded edition explores more deeply how Christians can most profitably and critically hear, read, and view pop culture.

God in the Details

God in the Details
Author: Eric Mazur
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 675
Release: 2010-10-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1136993126

Exploring the blurred boundary between religion and pop culture, God in the Details offers a provocative look at the breadth and persistence of religious themes in the American consciousness. This new edition reflects the explosion of online activity since the first edition, including chapters on the spiritual implications of social networking sites, and the hazy line between real and virtual religious life in the online community Second Life. Also new to this edition are chapters on the migration of black male expression from churches to athletic stadiums, new configurations of the sacred and the commercial, and post 9/11 spirituality and religious redemption through an analysis of vampire drama, True Blood. Popular chapters on media, sports, and other pop culture experiences have been revised and updated, making this an invaluable resource for students and scholars alike.

Religion and Popular Culture in America

Religion and Popular Culture in America
Author: Bruce David Forbes
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2005-11-17
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780520246898

PRAISE FOR THE FIRST EDITION: “A solid introduction to the dialogue between the disciplines of cultural studies and religion…. A substantive foundation for subsequent exploration.”—Religious Studies Review “A splendid collection of lively essays by fourteen scholars dealing with religion and popular culture on the contemporary American scene.”—Choice