Religious Imaging in Millennialist America

Ashley Crawford investigates how such figures as Ben Marcus, Matthew Barney, and David Lynchamong other artists, novelists, and film directorsutilize religious themes and images via Christianity, Judaism, and Mormonism to form essentially mutated variations of mainstream belief systems. He seeks to determine what drives contemporary artists to deliver implicitly religious imagery within a 'secular' context. Particularly, how religious heritage and language, and the mutations within those, have impacted American culture to partake in an aesthetic of apocalyptism that underwrites it.

Applies cultural studies examples/discussion to religious studies directly Arguably the first serious study of Matthew Barney's most recent work Applies broader public fascinations ie; The Joker in The DarkKnight

Autorentext
Ashley Crawford is a freelance cultural critic based in Melbourne, Australia, and is the author of a number of books on Australian culture.

Inhalt

Chapter 1: Introduction: American Gnosis.- Chapter 2. Delirium: A brief history of America's religious founding(s).-Chapter 3: Dualism: An exploration of good and evil via David Lynch's films.-Chapter 4 Delusion: On Mormon and Masonic symbolism in Matthew Barney's CREMASTER films.- Chapter 5: Deconstruction: On Judaic law and the apocalypse of language in Ben Marcus' The Flame Alphabet.- Chapter 6: Dereliction and Defecation: On the religious underpinnings in Matthew Barney's Subliming Vessel and Ben Marcus' Leaving the Sea and the apocalyptic imaging of Matthew Barney's River of Fundament.- Chapter 7. Dark Gnosis.