booklogging

There are twenty-nine contributions all in some way exploring the relationships between media and religion. Both terms are understood broadly: media includes the traditional print media, broadcast media and also ICT's; religion includes Islam and traditional religions, some references to new religions such as Wicca and not so new such as Mormonism, as well as issues of secularity. It is also broad in its geographical reach: America, Europe, Africa, and Asia are all mentioned though to differing degrees. As with most collections of essays it is somewhat mixed and not all of the essays will be what the reader might want to read at any particular time. However, it is a comprehensive collection in terms of the issues it covers. A variety of approaches are taken from more culturally analytical to theological enquiry outright and there are a number of interesting ideas and intriguing lines of enquiry amongst the collection. To react to everything in depth would be onerous and overlong for a book review on this blog, so I have opted instead for drawing attention to some of what I consider the more interesting and helpful content

The essays are organised into seven sections: the first deals with identity, the second with conflict; the third with popular piety; then media literacy; film; 'new' media and finally ethics. The first essay proper, by Stewart Hoover, does a good job of locating media in a social milieu marked by search for identity and uses some well-chosen examples for USAmerican television and identifies the complications caused by reflexive uses of media nicely as well as opening up the way that media often function in people's spiritual lives quite apart from any participation in organised religion. Lynn Schofield Clerk's essay (The 'Funky Side of Religion') is a must for those trying to get a handle on the popularity of Wicca in US teen drama and affords important insights to those of us interested in mission in the emerging mindscapes formed by contemporary media.

There are a handful of essays on how various religious traditions relate to media, Roman Catholicism being one and Islam another and these are interesting studies in how the negativity of a lot of media editors is handled in religious terms. I do have to say that I felt that the essays on Islamic approaches were the weakest items in the collections; somehow they seemed not to really engage with the issues at the kind of depth most of the other contributions attempted; I had hoped for some insightful comment and the interest of seeing things from a different perspective in them but felt that neither were really contributed. However it was interesting to read Rubina Ramji's article alongside Mark Silk's both dealing with the representation of Islam in American media. I felt that Ms Ramji's essay seemed to be attempting to pose Islam in victim mode without analysing the cultural significance of that strategy (or even its theological weight in relation to Islamic thought) while Mr Silk offered a more nuanced study of how things developed vis-a-vis Muslim communities after the twin towers fell.

I really enjoyed Jeremy Begbie's reflections on the way that (recorded) music is used in programme-making, especially, as a practioner of 'alternative worship', I find that one of the interesting things about it is the embracing of music reproductive technologies so that ambient sound is brought into worship. There is much in this essay to provoke reflection on just how that is done. Also of interest to Alt.Worshippers and others engaged in re-appropriating visual imagery into worship via new technology, is David Morgan's essay on protestant visual piety, which opens eyes to a dimension of piety that might otherwise be thought not to exist at all and well worth the read for that. I personally believe that one of the tasks flowing out of using media technologies in worship is to be able, implicitly, to use the recontextualisation into a service of worship as a way to resource congregants to reappropriate media images and other 'memes'when they are 'back' in everyday life. Therefore Mary Hess's article on practising attention in media culture was a joy to read: a really helpful introductory article along with follow-up references, it points to a few ways forward for constructive engagement in media literacy for the Christian communities.It is written from an educational standpoint and is readily translatable into church-based contexts.

The section on film is full of interest and would serve as a useful introduction to film criticism from a Chrsitan point of view as well as offering pointers for Christian communicators who want to be able to communicate with, against or ably in a culture where the popular canon of 'texts' include films. I enjoyed Pleasantville and so was delighted to find a study on that film which I felt was a commendable Christian response getting beyond the merely moral reactions.

I am glad to have this book on my shelves and there are a number of articles to which I will return and which have already helped inform my thinking on responsible 'world Christian' discipleship in a ITC-media culture including impacts on Christian communication and worship. I have to say that I'm not sure whether I would have boought it at £25 but having read the articles I do feel that it ought to be in the library and various of the contributions should be on reading lists. I will be commending some of them to the alt.worship and emerging church communities.