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 Since the 1970s, Robert Jewett and John Shelton Lawrence have discussed the appeal of violence for Americans in both entertainments and in foreign policy.  THE MYTH
OF THE AMERICAN SUPERHERO
(Eerdmans, 2002) describes the idealized, fantasy violence so
distinctive for American pop culture. They show that the American
heroic ideal, conveyed in formula stories of "the American monomyth,"
is explicitly anti-democratic and contagious. Crusading loners,
attracted by guns, bombs, and the call to destroy evil, act out the
premises of the myth with tragic consequences. This book shows how
Timothy McVey (the Oklahoma City bomber) and Theodore Kacznyski (the
Unabomber) have the courage of the mythic convictions ritually enacted
by celebrity stars such as John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, and Steven
Seagal. The linked page for THE
MYTH OF THE AMERICAN SUPERHERO provides a pathway to
comments,
reviews, table of contents, and the publisher.
Awards: John Cawelti Award of the American Culture Association, Best Book of 2002 Mythopoeic Society Scholarship Award in Myth and Fantasy Studies, 2004  CAPTAIN
AMERICA AND THE CRUSADE
AGAINST EVIL: THE DILEMMA OF ZEALOUS NATIONALISM (Eerdmans,
2003) portrays the conflicts arising out of
America's
biblically inspired civil religion that wavers between diplomatic work
for the international rule of law and violent crusading in wars for the
sake of peace. This civil religion derives from contradictory strands
within ancient Israel that were steadily transmitted to every
generation in American history. The zealous side of this nationalistic
religion currently drives American foreign policy in the wake of 9/11
and presents a face alarmingly similar to that of jihad among Islamic
militants and some groups in Israel. The linked page for CAPTAIN
AMERICA AND THE CRUSADE
AGAINST EVIL provide comments, reviews, table of contents,
and
our publisher.John Shelton Lawrence's entry at Wikipedia & Professional Résumé. Robert Jewett's vita at the University of Heidelberg. |
