A Matrix of Meanings: finding God in pop culture

Engaging Culture

by Craig Detweiler, Barry Taylor

From the glittering tinsel of Hollywood to the advertising slogan you can't get out of your head, we are surrounded by popular culture. In A Matrix of Meanings Craig Detweiler and Barry Taylor analyze aspects of popular culture and ask, What are they doing? What do they represent? and What do they say about the world in which we live? Rather than deciding whether Bono deserves our admiration, the authors examine the phenomenon of celebrity idolization. Instead of deciding whether Nike's "Just do it" campaign is morally questionable, they ask what its success reflects about our society.
A Matrix of Meanings is a hip, entertaining guide to the maze of popular culture. Plentiful photos, artwork, and humorous sidebars make for delightful reading. Readers who distrust popular culture as well as those who love it will find useful insight into developing a Christian worldview in a secular culture.

Genres: Cultural, Theology, Religion, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Pop Culture, Christianity

352 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2003

About the author

Craig Detweiler is an award-winning author, filmmaker, and cultural commentator who has been featured in The New York Times and on CNN and NPR. He is President of the Wedgwood Circle, a philanthropic collective that invests in good, true, and beautiful entertainment. He serves as Dean of the College of Arts and Media at Grand Canyon University.

Reviews

[Tela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book during my college year at K-State as a psychology major. At the time I was taking a Mass Communication Psych course that focused on pop culture and advertisement. This book wasn't part of the requirement. I got it because it caught my attention while looking at Relevant magazine. The content combines theology and pop culture. This book has made me more aware how God's glory can be communicated through humans.

[Dr. Jason Frazier · Rating 2 out of 5]

I vehemently disagreed with the authors’ premise, so I found myself frustrated by their assertions throughout the book. Their position is one where you take pop culture & Scripture in tandem. This is in contrast to most Christians who view pop culture through the lens of Scripture & not the other way around. It is incredibly dangerous to have a fluid theology that is so malleable as to bend every which way based on your love of pop culture. This is what the authors put forth. When Scripture is not your baseline for truth & righteousness, you will never come to proper conclusions. There were scattered nuggets of truth in the book. Yet they were less frequent than I had hoped.

[Lilly Pittman · Rating 2 out of 5]

A great reading if you're looking for something to intersect theology and pop culture. As someone who is more interested in theology than pop culture, it is long-winded when it comes to pop culture references. The theology is great, but you'll need to dig for it. A worthwhile skim.

[Stephen Bedard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting look at the intersection of pop culture and theology. Because of the nature of entertainment, this book is now dated. Still there are some timeless principles.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book before I even knew who Craig Detweiler is (he ended up being my department head when I went to university). This book is great but no comparison to being able to sit down and talk with him about media and communication and the use, abuse, and manipulation of visual arts and music in modern culture.