A History of Evil in Popular Culture


Book Description

Evil isn't simply an abstract theological or philosophical talking point. In our society, the idea of evil feeds entertainment, manifests in all sorts of media, and is a root concept in our collective psyche. This accessible and appealing book examines what evil means to us. Evil has been with us since the Garden of Eden, when Eve unleashed evil by biting the apple. Outside of theology, evil remains a highly relevant concept in contemporary times: evil villains in films and literature make these stories entertaining; our criminal justice system decides the fate of convicted criminals based on the determination of their status as "evil" or "insane." This book examines the many manifestations of "evil" in modern media, making it clear how this idea pervades nearly all aspects of life and helping us to reconsider some of the notions about evil that pop culture perpetuates and promotes. Covering screen media such as film, television, and video games; print media that include novels and poetry; visual media like art and comics; music; and political polemics, the essays in this book address an eclectic range of topics. The diverse authors include Americans who left the United States during the Vietnam War era, conservative Christian political pundits, rock musicians, classical linguists, Disney fans, scholars of American slavery, and experts on Holocaust literature and films. From portrayals of evil in the television shows The Wire and 24 to the violent lyrics of the rap duo Insane Clown Posse to the storylines of the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter books, readers will find themselves rethinking what evil is—and how they came to hold their beliefs.




Encyclopedia of Creativity


Book Description

Creativity influences each of our lives and is essential for the advancement of society. The first edition of the successful Encyclopedia of Creativity helped establish the study of creativity as a field of research in itself. The second edition, published in 2011, was named a 2012 Outstanding Academic Title by the American Library Association's Choice publication. Featuring 232 chapters, across 2 volumes, the third edition of this important work provides updated information on the full range of creativity research. There has been an enormous increase in research on the topic throughout the world in many different disciplines. Some areas covered in this edition include the arts and humanities, business, education, mental and physical health, neuroscience, psychology, the creative process and technology. Fundamental subjects are discussed such as the definition of creativity, the development and expression of creativity across the lifespan, the environmental conditions that encourage or discourage creativity, the relationship of creativity to mental health, intelligence and learning styles, and the process of being creative. Creativity is discussed within specific disciplines including acting, architecture, art, dance, film, government, interior design, magic, mathematics, medicine, photography, science, sports, tourism and writing. A wide range of topics are covered. Here is a partial overview by topic: Business and organizational creativity: Advertising, Creative Economies, Creativity Consulting and Coaching, Corporate Creativity, Creativity Exercises, Entrepreneurship, Group Dynamics, Innovation, Leadership, Management of Creative People, Patents, Teams, and Training. The Cognitive Aspects of Creativity: Altered and Transitional States, Analogies, Attention, Breadth of Attention, Cognitive Style, Divergent Thinking, Flow and Optimal Experience, Knowledge, Logic and Reasoning, Metacognition, Mental Models, Memory, Metaphors, Mind Wandering, Mindfulness, Problem-Finding, Problem-Solving, and Remote Associates. The Creative Process: Attribution, Constraints, Discovery, Insight, Inspiration, Intentionality, Motivation, Risk-Taking, and Tolerance for Ambiguity. Education: Children’s Creativity, , Education, Intelligence, Knowledge, Metacognition, Play, Prodigies, Programs And Courses, Talent And Teaching Creativity. Neuroscience Research: Cellular Matter, Grey Matter, Cellular Density; EEG, Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (Fmri), Music and The Brain, Pupillometry, Systems, The Cerebellum and Transcranial Electrical Stimulation. Psychology: The Big 5 Personality Characteristics, Bipolar Mood Disorders, Childhood Trauma, Depression, Deviance, Dreams, Emotions, Expressive Arts, Grit, Introversion, Jungian Theory, Mad Genius Controversy, Openness, Schizotypy, Suicide, Therapy and Counseling Trauma and Transcendence and Transforming Illness and Visual Art. Social Aspects of Creativity: Awards, Birth Order, Criticism, Consensual Assessment, Diversity, Eminence, Families, Friendships and Social Networks, Geeks, Mentors, Millennials, Networking, Rewards, And Sociology. Society and Creativity: Awards, Climate For Creativity, Cross-Cultural Creativity, Destruction Of Creativity, Law And Society, Social Psychology, Social Transformation, Voting, War, and Zeitgeist. Technology: Chats, Computational Creativity, Computerized Text Analysis, Gaming, Memes, Networks and Maps, and Virtual Reality.




Understanding Folk Religion: 25th Anniversary Edition


Book Description

This book has served the missiological community for twenty-five years as a resource for understanding human spirituality in any context. Thousands of students have incorporated the principles of this book into ministry around the globe. This twenty-fifth anniversary edition seeks to enable those who now bring their passion for mission to contemporary contexts affected by globalization, climate change, and political perspectives unimagined when this book originally appeared. Every community, wherever it is on earth, has its share of beliefs and values that manifest themselves in practices that reflect spiritual engagement. Those engaged in mission need to appreciate how underlying beliefs and values are reflected in handling spiritual power, worship and blessing, and interaction with others. Gospel communicators must account for these elements as they seek to make God’s intentions known to people who are searching for God. The models presented early in the book are essential for establishing what people consider spiritually critical. Applying these models in any religious environment will enable message-bearers to engage with beliefs and practices that promote a gospel presentation that makes sense. To that end, we commend this book for effective missional engagement.




Political Practices and International Order


Book Description

International order is one of the most challenging issues in political ethics today, and its place within the multifaceted fleld of politics is frequently debated. The diverse phenomena resulting from 'globalisation' - particularly in the wake of the end of the so-called Cold War - urge us to think about our 'world' in terms of a single political entity. Besides the existing international institutions, however, it is still open to question what this entity should be and what concrete political practices should correspond to it. In the essays collected in this book, political scientists, sociologists, philosophers, theologians and policy advisors explore how political practices can be institutionally localised without necessarily becoming incorporated into structures of governance. Political ethics, as presented in this book, seeks to address the particular practices of power, justice, and peace of citizens themselves, and to assess their relevance for the shaping of international insti




Pop Culture Goes to War


Book Description

Pop Culture Goes to War, by Geoff Martin and Erin Steuter, explores the persistence of and opposition to militarism in American life. It provides a comprehensive overview of the role of toys, video games, music, television and movies in supporting contemporary militarism. Resistance to militarism is highlighted through the traditional mediums of music and movies, and increasingly through the arts, 'culture jamming,' and the satire of The Daily Show, The Onion, The Simpsons, The Colbert Report, and South Park.




Heroic Girls as Figures of Resistance and Futurity in Popular Culture


Book Description

Heroic Girls looks at the recent proliferation of young girl heroes in many recent mainstream films and books. These contemporary ‘final’ girls do not just survive but rather suggest that in doing so they have fundamentally changed something about themselves and or the world around them, seeing them become the ‘First Girls’ of this altered reality. The collection brings together a wide range of perspectives and cultural viewpoints that describe many recent narratives that explore the idea of a Final Girl and her “after-story”. The essays are divided into four sections, beginning with more theoretical approaches; cross-cultural examples; the ways in which fictional narratives bear strong relation to real-world circumstances; examples that more strongly depict themes of resistance, survival, and individual agency; and, finally, those that describe something more fundamental and transformative. Films and television shows covered in the collection include The Girl with All the Gifts, The Witcher, The Hunger Games, Star Wars, The Fear Street and Pan’s Labyrinth. This book will be of interest to researchers and students of film studies, gender studies, and media studies.




The Palgrave Handbook of Popular Culture as Philosophy


Book Description

Much philosophical work on pop culture apologises for its use; using popular culture is a necessary evil, something merely useful for reaching the masses with important philosophical arguments. But works of pop culture are important in their own right--they shape worldviews, inspire ideas, change minds. We wouldn't baulk at a book dedicated to examining the philosophy of The Great Gatsby or 1984--why aren't Star Trek and Superman fair game as well? After all, when produced, the former were considered pop culture just as much as the latter. This will be the first major reference work to right that wrong, gathering together entries on film, television, games, graphic novels and comedy, and officially recognizing the importance of the field. It will be the go-to resource for students and researchers in philosophy, culture, media and communications, English and history and will act as a springboard to introduce the reader to the other key literature in the field.




Routledge Handbook of Social and Cultural Theory


Book Description

If today students of social theory read Jurgen Habermas, Michel Foucault and Anthony Giddens, then proper regard to the question of culture means that they should also read Raymond Williams, Stuart Hall and Slavoj Zizek. The Routledge Handbook of Social and Cultural Theory offers a concise, comprehensive overview of the convergences and divergences of social and cultural theory, and in so doing offers a novel agenda for social and cultural research in the twenty-first century. This Handbook, edited by Anthony Elliott, develops a powerful argument for bringing together social and cultural theory more systematically than ever before. Key social and cultural theories, ranging from classical approaches to postmodern, psychoanalytic and post-feminist approaches, are drawn together and critically appraised. There are substantive chapters looking at – among others – structuralism and post-structuralism, critical theory, network analysis, feminist cultural thought, cultural theory and cultural sociology. Throughout the Handbook there is a strong emphasis on interdisciplinarity, with chapters drawing from research in sociology, cultural studies, psychology, politics, anthropology, women’s studies, literature and history. Written in a clear and direct style, this Handbook will appeal to a wide undergraduate and postgraduate audience across the social sciences and humanities.




The Pop Culture Parent


Book Description

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.




The Oxford Handbook of the Bible and American Popular Culture


Book Description

The study of the reciprocal relationship between the Bible and popular culture has blossomed in the past few decades, and the time seems ripe for a broadly-conceived work that assesses the current state of the field, offers examples of work in that field, and suggests future directions for further study. This Handbook includes a wide range of topics organized under several broad themes, including biblical characters (such as Adam, Eve, David and Jesus) and themes (like Creation, Hell, and Apocalyptic) in popular culture; the Bible in popular cultural genres (for example, film, comics, and Jazz); and "lived" examples (such as museums and theme parks). The Handbook concludes with a section taking stock of methodologies and the impact of the field on teaching and publishing. The Oxford Handbook of the Bible and American Popular Culture represents a major contribution to the field by some of its leading practitioners, and will be a key resource for the future development of the study of both the Bible and its role in American popular culture.