Drawn to the Gods: Religion and Humor in the Simpsons, South Park, and Family Guy (Taschenbuch)

Buchdaten
Verlag:	New York University Press
Autor:	David Feltmate
Veröffentlichung:	11.04.2017
Sprache:	englisch
Seiten:	283
Preis:	$30,00 (Verlag) 29,34 € (08.02.2024) 35,48 € (01.03.2024)
ISBN/ASIN:	1479890367

Drawn to the Gods examines the worldviews put forth by three wildly popular animated shows–The Simpsons, South Park, and Family Guy–to demonstrate how ideas about religion's proper place in American society are communicated through comedy. The book discusses a wide range of American religions, including Protestant and Catholic Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Bud- dhism, Native American religions, new religious movements, "spirituality," Hinduism, and athe- ism. Along the way, it argues that jokes about religion are influential tools for teaching viewers how to interpret and judge religious people and institutions.

Feltmate develops a picture of how each show understands and communicates what consti- tutes good religious practice, as well as which traditions it seeks to exclude on the basis of race and ethnicity, stupidity, or danger. With gags ranging from Homer Simpson's spiritual jour- ney during a chili pepper-induced hallucination to South Park's boxing match between Jesus and Satan to Peter Griffin's worship of the Fonz, each show uses humor to convey a broader commen- tary about the role of religion in public life. In so doing, The Simpsons, South Park, and Family Guy offer different understandings of what it means to be a good religious American.

Inhalt

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Sacred Centers
2. The Difference Race Makes: Native American Religions, Hinduism, and Judaism
3. American Christianity, Part 1: Backwards Neighbors
4. American Christianity, Part 2: American Christianities as Dangerous Threats
5. Stigma, Stupidity, and Exclusion: “Cults” and Muslims

Conclusion

Appendix: Episodes Referenced

Notes

Bibliography

Index

About the Author

Quellen

amerikanishe Sekundärliteratur