Holy Terror: Understanding Religion and Violence in Popular Culture

by Christianson,Eric S.

• ISBN13: 9781845533601
• ISBN10: 1845533607
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2014-10-16
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The authors of religious scriptures have rarely had difficulty enhancing sacred narratives with the rhetoric of violence. The phenomenon continues in the easy cohabitation of violence and religion in film, music and literature, and this raises a number of important questions: To what degree does violent rhetoric shape belief and values? How might we understand the social function of violence in popular discourses? How might we understand audience empathy with violent protagonists in popular narratives? What is the significance of violence being associated with particular religious groups or ideas in the media? Reflecting on these issues in depth and with striking originality, scholars of religious studies, biblical studies, film studies and sociology have analysed a range of phenomena, from the discourse of terrorism to the spectacle of World Wrestling Entertainment. The result is a vital contribution to understanding an area of religious and cultural discourse that is relevant to us all.

Author Biography

Eric Christianson is an independent scholar based in the UK. He is the author of Ecclesiastes Through the Centuries (Blackwell, 2007) and co-editor, with Peter Francis William Telford, of Cinma Divinit: Religion, Theology and the Bible in Film (SCM, 2006). Christopher Partridge is Professor of Religious Studies, Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion, Lancaster University, UK. He is co-editor, with Eric Christianson, of The Lure of the Dark Side: Satan and Western Demonology in Popular Culture (Equinox, 2009) and author of Dub in Babylon: Understanding the Evolution and Significance of Dub Reggae in Jamaica and Britain from King Tubby to Post-punk (Equinox, 2010)

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
In the Discourse of Terrorism
Seeing Beyond Fear of Terrorism on the Web	p. 10
Violent Superwomen: Super Heroes or Super Villains? Judith, Wonder Woman and Lynndie England	p. 25
In Cinema
Biblical Epic and the American State: The Traitor and Sanctified Violence in Esther and the King (1960)	p. 42
Cease to Exist: Manson Family Movies and Mysticism	p. 53
The End is...a Blockbuster: The Use and Abuse of the Apocalypse in Contemporary Film	p. 63
A Case Study: The Violence of The Passion of the Christ
Counterfictional Suffering: Authenticity and Artistry in The Passion of the Christ	p. 82
Controlling Passions: The Regulation, Censorship and Classification of the Violence in The Passion of the Christ within Britain	p. 93
The Passion as Media Spectacle	p. 103
Protest as Reaction, Reaction as Text: The (Con)Textual Logics of The Last Temptation of Christ and The Passion of the Christ	p. 112
In Sport
The Religious Significance of Violence in Football	p. 122
Cultivated Outrage: World Wrestling Entertainment and the Religious Excess of Violence	p. 135
Notes	p. 150
Bibliography	p. 158
Filmography	p. 173
Index	p. 175
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