Profane Parables: Film and the American Dream - Hardcover

Matthew S. Rindge (author)

 
9781481304290: Profane Parables: Film and the American Dream
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 1481304291 ISBN 13: 9781481304290
Publisher: Baylor University Press, 2016

Synopsis

The sacred ethos of the American Dream has become a central pillar of American civil religion. The belief that meaning is fashioned from some mixture of family, friends, a stable career, and financial security permeates American culture. Profane Parables examines three films that assault this venerated American myth. Fight Club (1999), American Beauty (1999), and About Schmidt (2002) indict the American Dream as a meaningless enterprise that is existentially, ethically, and aesthetically bankrupt.

In their blistering critique of the hallowed wisdom of the American Dream, these films function like Jesus' parables. As narratives of disorientation, Jesus' parables upend conventional and cherished worldviews. Author Matthew Rindge illustrates the religious function of these films as parables of subversion that provoke rather than comfort and disturb rather than stabilize. Ultimately, Rindge considers how these parabolic films operate as sacred texts in their own right.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author

Matthew S. Rindge is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Gonzaga University.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
Baylor University Press
Publication date
2016
Language
English
ISBN 10 
1481304291
ISBN 13 
9781481304290
Binding
Hardcover
Number of pages
191

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9781602589940: Profane Parables: Film and the American Dream

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  1602589941 ISBN 13:  9781602589940
Publisher: Baylor University Press, 2017
Softcover