Description

Marveling Religion: Critical Discourses, Religion, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe is an edited volume that explores the intersection of religion and cinema through the lenses of critical discourse. The focus of the shared inquiry are various films comprising the first three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and corresponding Netflix series. The contributors explore various religious themes and how they intersect with culture through the canon on the MCU. The first part focuses on responses to the societal, governmental, and cultural context that solidified with clarity during the 2016 Presidential Election cycle in the United States and in the following administration. Additionally, it provides lenses and resources for engaging in productive public actions. Part two explores cultural resources of sustaining activism and resistance as well as some of the key issues at stake in public action. The third part centers on militarization and resistance to state violence. Taken in concert, these three sections work together to provide frames for understanding while also keeping us engaged in the concrete action to mobilize social change. The overarching aim of the volume is to promote critical discourse regarding the dynamics of activism and political resistance.

Table of Contents

Preface: Marveling Religion: Visual Culture as a Common Tongue
Daniel White Hodge and Jennifer Baldwin

Technology, Violence, and Sacrifice

Chapter One: “I See A Suit of Armor Around the World: Tony Stark's Techno-Idolatry and Self-Sacrificial Love
George A. Dunn and Jason T. Eberl

Chapter Two: Mimesis, Conflict, and Sacrificial Crisis in Black Panther
Matthew Brake

Chapter Three: Bulletproof Love: Luke Cage (2016) and Religion
Ken Derry, Daniel White Hodge, Laurel Zwissler, Stanley Talbert, Matthew J. Cressler, and Jon Ivan Gill

Power, Worth, and Society

Chapter Four: Old Gods in New Films: History, Culture, and Religion in Black Panther, Doctor Strange, and Thor: Ragnarok
Rhiannon Gran and Jo Henderson-Merrygold

Chapter Five: The Worthiness of Thor
Adam Barkman and Bennett Soenen

Chapter Six: “Who Are You?”:René Girard, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Black Panther
Ryan Smock

Chapter Seven: The Failure of a God: Thor, the Snap, and Post-Holocaust Political Theology
Andrew T. Vink

Product details

Published Sep 09 2022
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 284
ISBN 9781793621382
Imprint Lexington Books
Illustrations 9 b/w photos;
Dimensions 237 x 158 mm
Series Religion and Science as a Critical Discourse
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Anthology Editor

Jennifer Baldwin

Anthology Editor

Daniel White Hodge

Contributor

Will Abney

Contributor

Adam Barkman

Contributor

Whitney Bauman

Contributor

George A. Dunn

Contributor

Jason T. Eberl

Contributor

Rhiannon Grant

Contributor

Jo Henderson-Merrygold

Jo Henderson-Merrygold is a theological educator b…

Contributor

Imran Khan

Contributor

Ryan Smock

Contributor

Bennett Soenen

Contributor

Lisa Stenmark

Contributor

George Tsakiridis

George Tsakiridis is senior lecturer of philosophy…

Contributor

Andrew T. Vink

ONLINE RESOURCES

Bloomsbury Collections

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