Postmodernism and Pop Culture Religion

Paper Summary:

The paper explores the influence of postmodernism on religion by exploring the Judeo-Christian religious beliefs present in television cartoons. The paper discusses how the perception of religion has changed through the postmodernist lens and also demonstrates how the cartoons themselves have been transformed from a form of childhood entertainment to one where serious adult issues are explored. The paper examines the cartoons "Veggie Tales", "The Simpsons" and "South Park".

Outline:
Introduction
Religion and Child-Targeted Cartoons
Religion and Adult-Targeted Cartoons
Remarks on Crossed Worlds
Summary

From the Paper:

"The influences of postmodernism within society are both diverse in nature and heavily distributed in content (Hull 57). Improvement in the ease of communications and the time taken to invest in same has led to a society in which its participants are highly decentralized, especially in respect to shared cultural commonalities such as ethnic, geographic, or religious traits. Also, while these traits still exist and persist, they are represented in non-traditional formats that demonstrate their influence on the community but are not authentic representations of the original traits themselves."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Brown, Alan and Chris Logan. The Psychology of the Simpsons. New York: Benbella Books, 2006.
• Hull, Margaret Betz. "Postmodern Philosophy Meets Pop Cartoon: Michel Foucault and Matt Groening." The Journal of Popular Culture 34.2 (2000): 57-67.
• Koscianski, Leonard. "The Emergence of Critical Postmodern Art." Tamara: Journal of Critical Postmodern Organization Science 2.4 (2003): 76-81.
• Nehring, Neil. Popular Music, Gender, and Postmodernism: Anger is an Energy. San Francisco: SAGE Publications, 1997.
• Pinsky, Mark I. and Tony Campolo. The Gospel According to the Simpsons: The Spiritual Life of the World's Most Animated Family. New York: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001.

More papers on Postmodernism and Pop Culture Religion:

• Essay # 94818 : "Rap Music and Pop Culture"
• Essay # 51449 : "Gender and Pop Culture in Post-WWII America"
• Essay # 84100 : "Harris Glenn Milstead: His Importance to Pop Culture"

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