Into the Dark: Seeing the Sacred in the Top Films of the 21st Century (Cultural Exegesis Series) (Paperback)
Read inside (PDFs):
Table of Contents, Preface, & Chapter 1 (portion)
Publisher: Baker Book House
Author: Detweiler, Craig
ISBN-13: 9780801035920
Binding: Paperback
List Price: $22.99
Westminster Bookstore: $20.69
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Publisher's Description: In Into the Dark, Craig Detweiler, a well-respected film expert and media spokesperson on Hollywood and Christianity, examines forty-five twenty-first-century films that resonate theologically—from The Lord of the Rings trilogy to Little Miss Sunshine—offering groundbreaking insight into their scriptural connections and theological applications.
Detweiler uses the IMDb, the wildly popular Internet Movie Database, to select today's most influential contemporary films. Into the Dark dissects the theology of everyday life, exploring the work of the Spirit of God in creation and redemption to discuss "general revelation" through cinema and sometimes unlikely filmmakers.
"Memory, community, and imagination offer a strong starting place for theological reflection," Detweiler writes. Driven by the art of the films, Into the Dark opens up lively discussion topics, including anthropology, the problem of evil, sin, interconnectivity, postmodern relationships, ethics, fantasy, and communities in crisis. Notable movies discussed include Gladiator, United 93, Million Dollar Baby, and Walk the Line.
This book is recommended for college and seminary students in film, theology, and communications courses as well as pastors, film fans, and those interested in Christianity and the cinema.
Author Information: Craig Detweiler, (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is codirector of the Reel Spirituality Institute and adjunct professor of theology and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary. He has written scripts for numerous Hollywood films, and his documentary, Purple State of Mind, was released in 2007. He has been featured in the New York Times, on CNN, and on NPR and is the coauthor of A Matrix of Meanings.
336 pages
Published July 2008 |
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"Craig Detweiler's Into the Dark is a passionate, thoughtful assessment of the spiritual aspects of cinema. Detweiler provides a refreshingly open-minded engagement with Hollywood, insisting on an integrative approach to general revelation wherein the cinematic 'good, true, and beautiful' are broadly defined and broadly discovered. It is uncommon to hear Christians speak of mass entertainment as 'a form of Mass, a common grace,' as Detweiler does, but such a perspective is sorely needed and appropriately provocative."
- Brett McCracken, film critic for Christianity Today and Relevant
"Soak a brain in billions of digital bytes of filmic splendor and an equal amount of dynamic theology, awaken it to the 'sudden and miraculous grace' available at the intersection of faith and film, and you've got Craig Detweiler's tour de force. A brilliant, timely, and useful piece of work from the only brain that could have produced it!"
- Dick Staub, author, The Culturally Savvy Christian and Christian Wisdom of the Jedi Masters, and host of The Kindling's Muse
"Hallelujah! What a refreshing book. Rather than the usual fruitless wholesale condemnation of modern culture, Craig Detweiler has delivered a theologically truthful and joyous exploration of one of the most powerful forces in today's overwhelmingly visual society--the movies."
- Valerie Mayhew, former television writer; the Brehm Center for Worship, Theology, and Art, Fuller Theological Seminary
"I was humbled and inspired by Craig Detweiler's encyclopedic work. As a Christian screenwriter in postmodern Hollywood, I struggle every day to find the intersection between my faith and my craft. Into the Dark illuminates many such points of cohesion but in places one wouldn't think—or even dare—to look. Detweiler could have easily restricted his analysis to softer cinema: the anemic family dramas or self-important epics that try to pass as spiritual fare. Instead he chose to find wisdom in film's most profound shadows. As a result, Into the Dark does more than inform; it invites us to open our eyes and discover the divine in even the most brutal of movies."
- Matt Greenberg, screenwriter of 1408, Reign of Fire, and the film adaptation of The Screwtape Letters
"Craig Detweiler is right when he says that film is a source of divine revelation. Into the Dark takes readers on a journey to discover how God is helping us understand our true identity, community, and divine history within popular culture. No Christian scholar, student, or film buff should be without this book. I highly recommend this amazing, divine journey into the dark."
- David Bruce, webmaster, Hollywood Jesus
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