The Truth Is Out There: Christian Faith and the Classics of TV Science Fiction - Softcover

Bertonneau, Thomas; Paffenroth, Kim

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1587431262 ISBN 13: 9781587431265

Publisher: Brazos Press, 2006

Synopsis

How does Star Trek's Captain Kirk live by the Golden Rule? How does The Twilight Zone show the effects of original sin in our world? And how do the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse make an appearance in The X-Files? In The Truth Is Out There, Thomas Bertonneau and Kim Paffenroth examine these and many other Christian themes in six highly popular science fiction television series-Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, The X-Files, Doctor Who, The Prisoner, and Babylon Five. The authors analyze each series to show its insight into many central aspects of Christianity, such as the battle between good and evil, virtue, community, grace, and the apocalypse. Their discussion will interest science fiction fans and will be a useful guide for church groups or undergraduate courses in pop culture.

About this title

About the Author

Thomas Bertonneau (Ph.D., UCLA) is an English professor at SUNY College at Oswego in Oswego, New York. Kim Paffenroth (Ph.D., University of Notre Dame) is a professor of religious studies at Iona College in New Rochelle, New York.

From Publishers Weekly

In a growing category of titles that mine popular culture for theological significance, this addition is notable for its scholarly aspirations and weight of critical apparatus. English professor Bertonneau and religion scholar Paffenroth "read" their DVD collections of classic TV sci-fi with tremendous seriousness, reflected through the literary and anthropological sensibilities of thinkers including Mircea Eliade, Nicolas Berdyaev and René Girard. The classics are an eclectic bunch, including iconic standards like Star Trek, The Twilight Zone and The X Files as well as series that found a smaller (but certainly devoted) following: Dr. Who, The Prisoner and Babylon 5. These series justify in-depth attention when they raise moral, intellectual and religious questions in imaginative ways. But even the most literate fans will struggle with the overstuffed academic style: "the Time Lords show a tendency to take their own rules and exegeses with an unbending, Pharisee-like seriousness; while not Gnostics, they display at times a characteristically Manichaean hauteur." Even readers suitably familiar with TV science fiction and humanities scholarship will wish for a lighter tone in discussing what is, however worthy of analysis, primarily intended as entertainment. (June)
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About this edition

• Publisher: Brazos Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1587431262
• ISBN 13: 9781587431265
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272