Christotainment: selling Jesus through popular culture

Abstract

Shirley R. Steinberg and Joe L. Kincheloe, eds. Christotainment: through Popular Culture. Philadelphia: Westview Press, 2009. 306 + xiipp. $40.50 (CAD). ISBN: 978-0-8133-4405-8 That religion and culture in Western society have long been wed comes as no surprise. Likewise, religion and the state, despite the high wall that separates them, also have a long history together that continues into the present time. For example, John McCain and Barack Obama both publicly claimed to be during the last presidential race in the United States. It is the political and ideological underpinnings of this relationship between Christianity and culture, or Christotainment, which Christotainment sees as the hostile takeover of culture and politics by Christians that it seeks to examine and understand (7-11). book is a collection of essays written by various scholars in the fields of education, cultural studies, and communication. Each essay aims to examine some aspect of the relationship between evangelical Christianity and culture or politics. Chapters one and two, Selling a New and Improved Jesus and Soldier Jesus, written by Kincheloe, one of the book's editors, examine the role of Domininionist Fundamental in American politics and the Dominionist takeover of Christian media. Each of these essays charges this particular group of with exploiting media and politics for its own aims. Chapter three, Onward Christian Drivers, examines the particularly Christian overtones in NASCAR, paying special attention to the evangelistic efforts of the drivers themselves. Chapter four, The Gospel According to Mel Gibson, offers a critique of the popular movie Passion of the Christ, arguing that it presents a fundamentalist, biased, and factually incorrect version of the Passion narratives. Chapter five, Convertoons, offers a balanced review of the animated Veggie Tales series that chronicles its attempt to break into the mainstream market. Chapter six, Screening Jesus, looks at Christian film and television, arguing that Christian film lacks any significant entertainment value. Its popularity by culture is primarily a reflection of the infiltration of religion into the everyday lives of people. Chapters seven and eight, The Battle for the Toy Box and Faith Talking Toys and Other Youth Purity Makers, look at the various ways in which Christian companies offer alternative versions of secular toys and thus develop ways for Christian youth to mark their identity. …