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Theology and Black Mirror

Edited by Amber Bowen and John Anthony Dunne - Contributions by Peter Anderson; Jeremiah Bailey; Amber Bowen; Andrew J. Byers; Elizabeth Culhane; Taylor W. Cyr; John Anthony Dunne; Celina Durgin; Douglas Estes; Megan Fritts; Rachelle Gilmour; Elizabeth Howard; Brandon Hurlbert; Dru Johnson; Rebekah Lamb; Joanna Leidenhag; King-Ho Leung; Patrick McGlinchey; James F. McGrath; Kris Song and Nathaniel A. Warne

Black Mirror, Netflix’s dystopian anthology, probes what it means to be human in a technological world. While the show raises interesting, if not disturbing, questions, it refrains from giving answers, putting the onus on viewers to continue the conversation. Accordingly, Theology and Black Mirror engages questions and prominent themes in the show with resources from the Christian tradition, including the academic disciplines of biblical studies, theology, philosophy, and ethics.

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  • Author
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  • TOC
  • TOC
  • Reviews
  • Reviews
  • Features
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Lexington Books / Fortress Academic
Pages: 354 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9
978-1-9787-1116-7 • Hardback • April 2022 • $126.00 • (£97.00)
978-1-9787-1117-4 • eBook • April 2022 • $45.00 • (£35.00)
Series: Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture
Subjects: Religion / Christian Theology / Ethics, Social Science / Popular Culture, Social Science / Media Studies, Social Science / Science and Technology, Performing Arts / Science Fiction

Amber Bowen is assistant professor of philosophy at Redeemer University (Hamilton, ON).

John Anthony Dunne is assistant professor of New Testament and the director of the Doctor of Ministry Program at Bethel Seminary (St. Paul, MN).

More Than Meets the Eye: An Introduction to Theology and Black Mirror

Amber Bowen and John Anthony Dunne

Part 1. Agency and Conditioning

1.Ethics through a Dark Lens: Ellul’s Technological Morality in Black Mirror

Peter Anderson

2.Barbarism, Boredom, and the Question Concerning Pornography in Fifteen Million Merits

Amber Bowen

3.Free Will and (In)determinism in Hang the DJ

Taylor W. Cyr

4.Too Many Twos: Ashley and the Artificial Authentic

Elizabeth Howard

5.Smithereens as Technological Theodicy: Addiction, Emergence, and Resistance

John Anthony Dunne

Part 2. Idols and Anti-Christs

6.Arkangel and the Death of God: A Nietzschean Critique of Technology’s Soteriological Scheme

Amber Bowen and Megan Fritts

7.Seeing and Being Seen in a Black Mirror, Dimly: Phenomenology and the Dim View of White Christmas

King-Ho Leung and Patrick McGlinchey

8.Evil Gods and the USS Callister

Celina Durgin and Dru Johnson

Part 3. Truth and Justice

9.Crowdsourcing Judgment: The Dark Side of Justice in Hated in the Nation and the Johannine Trial Narrative

Andrew J. Byers

10.Re-Dos and Re-Visions: Replay and the Search for Meaning in the Shepherd of Hermas and The Entire History of You

Jeremiah Bailey

11.King David and the White Bear Justice Park

Rachelle Gilmour

12.Alternate Eyes: Perspective Shifting in the Samson Narrative and Black Mirror

Brandon M. Hurlbert

13.“Not Some Crazy Spiritual Thing”: Rewards, Punishment, and Afterlife in Black Mirror

James F. McGrath

Part 4. Hope and Transcendence

14.Be Right Back and the Ethics of Mourning: (In)Authenticity and Resurrection in the Digital Age

Rebekah Lamb and Joanna Leidenhag

15.Reflecting the Infinite or the Finite? The Mirror Motif in Black Mirror and Gregory of Nyssa

Elizabeth Culhane

16.Memoria and The Entire History of You

Nathaniel A. Warne

17.Look Door, Get Key: Presence in Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch

Douglas Estes

18.Where are You? San Junipero and the Technology of Shared Space

Kris Song

19.Uploaded to the Cloud: Transhumanism and Digital Hope in Black Mirror

John Anthony Dunne

Theology and Black Mirror is a rich, rewarding, and provocative look at this cultural phenomenon that sheds new light on its familiar themes of future technology gone wrong. Moving beyond simplistic dystopian readings of the show, the book uncovers a deeper texture to Black Mirror’s challenges to the understanding of human nature, meaning, finitude, and transcendence embedded in theology and moral philosophy. This book helpfully reminds us that Black Mirror’s reflected anxieties about the powers and limitations of technology are inseparable from our enduring anxieties about our own.


— Shannon Vallor, The University of Edinburgh


By focusing on Black Mirror as a case study in the human condition, this striking volume offers profound theological reflection on what it means to find the courage to live in a technological age (especially when life so often seems unlivable). This is more than a book—it is an invitation. I pray that we all are up to the task of living into the possible future it envisions, while finding the fortitude to avoid the alternative future about which it warns.


— J. Aaron Simmons, Furman University


Charlie Brooker’s series Black Mirror is not the most popular show on television, but it may be the most impactful. In an era of mindless “binge” streaming, Black Mirror has managed to carve out a niche as a provocative, often gloomy exploration of the repercussions of twenty-first century technology. As such, Black Mirror has already generated notable philosophical interest, but theologians have been slower to respond, seemingly put off by the series’ pessimism and violence. Theology and Black Mirror features well over a dozen essays ranging across a number of topics, demonstrating a dogged willingness to peer into the darkness of Black Mirror and seek genuine theological insight.


— Christopher B. Barnett, Villanova University


Theology and Black Mirror goes beyond theological explorations of popular culture and sharpens conversations surrounding intersections of religion and taboo. The authors unflinchingly tackle mainstream representations of free will, addiction, pornography, and death through a variety of philosophical lenses. Challenging presumptions of morality in a digital world, the essays reflect on the humanity that is perceived lost yet inherently gained through encounters with anathematic evils; this book identifies those stories as essential tools for examining the intrinsic nature of theology to culture and acknowledges modern technology as both manifesting, and a manifestation of, the ethical underpinnings of human behavior.


— Jossalyn G. Larson, Missouri University of Science and Technology


5/18 & 5/25/22,The Two Cities Podcast: Amber Bowen and Anthony Dunne discussed the volume with some of its contributors on their podcast.

Part 1:http://www.thetwocities.com/culture/theology-and-black-mirror-part-one-with-dr-megan-fritts-dr-rebekah-lamb-dr-joanna-leidenhag-and-dr-king-ho-leung-podcast/

Part 2: http://www.thetwocities.com/uncategorized/theology-and-black-mirror-part-two-with-dr-jeremiah-bailey-elizabeth-culhane-prof-james-mcgrath-and-dr-nathaniel-warne-podcast/



Theology and Black Mirror

Cover Image
Hardback
eBook
Summary
Summary
  • Black Mirror, Netflix’s dystopian anthology, probes what it means to be human in a technological world. While the show raises interesting, if not disturbing, questions, it refrains from giving answers, putting the onus on viewers to continue the conversation. Accordingly, Theology and Black Mirror engages questions and prominent themes in the show with resources from the Christian tradition, including the academic disciplines of biblical studies, theology, philosophy, and ethics.

Details
Details
  • Lexington Books / Fortress Academic
    Pages: 354 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9
    978-1-9787-1116-7 • Hardback • April 2022 • $126.00 • (£97.00)
    978-1-9787-1117-4 • eBook • April 2022 • $45.00 • (£35.00)
    Series: Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture
    Subjects: Religion / Christian Theology / Ethics, Social Science / Popular Culture, Social Science / Media Studies, Social Science / Science and Technology, Performing Arts / Science Fiction
Author
Author
  • Amber Bowen is assistant professor of philosophy at Redeemer University (Hamilton, ON).

    John Anthony Dunne is assistant professor of New Testament and the director of the Doctor of Ministry Program at Bethel Seminary (St. Paul, MN).

Table of Contents
Table of Contents
  • More Than Meets the Eye: An Introduction to Theology and Black Mirror

    Amber Bowen and John Anthony Dunne

    Part 1. Agency and Conditioning

    1.Ethics through a Dark Lens: Ellul’s Technological Morality in Black Mirror

    Peter Anderson

    2.Barbarism, Boredom, and the Question Concerning Pornography in Fifteen Million Merits

    Amber Bowen

    3.Free Will and (In)determinism in Hang the DJ

    Taylor W. Cyr

    4.Too Many Twos: Ashley and the Artificial Authentic

    Elizabeth Howard

    5.Smithereens as Technological Theodicy: Addiction, Emergence, and Resistance

    John Anthony Dunne

    Part 2. Idols and Anti-Christs

    6.Arkangel and the Death of God: A Nietzschean Critique of Technology’s Soteriological Scheme

    Amber Bowen and Megan Fritts

    7.Seeing and Being Seen in a Black Mirror, Dimly: Phenomenology and the Dim View of White Christmas

    King-Ho Leung and Patrick McGlinchey

    8.Evil Gods and the USS Callister

    Celina Durgin and Dru Johnson

    Part 3. Truth and Justice

    9.Crowdsourcing Judgment: The Dark Side of Justice in Hated in the Nation and the Johannine Trial Narrative

    Andrew J. Byers

    10.Re-Dos and Re-Visions: Replay and the Search for Meaning in the Shepherd of Hermas and The Entire History of You

    Jeremiah Bailey

    11.King David and the White Bear Justice Park

    Rachelle Gilmour

    12.Alternate Eyes: Perspective Shifting in the Samson Narrative and Black Mirror

    Brandon M. Hurlbert

    13.“Not Some Crazy Spiritual Thing”: Rewards, Punishment, and Afterlife in Black Mirror

    James F. McGrath

    Part 4. Hope and Transcendence

    14.Be Right Back and the Ethics of Mourning: (In)Authenticity and Resurrection in the Digital Age

    Rebekah Lamb and Joanna Leidenhag

    15.Reflecting the Infinite or the Finite? The Mirror Motif in Black Mirror and Gregory of Nyssa

    Elizabeth Culhane

    16.Memoria and The Entire History of You

    Nathaniel A. Warne

    17.Look Door, Get Key: Presence in Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch

    Douglas Estes

    18.Where are You? San Junipero and the Technology of Shared Space

    Kris Song

    19.Uploaded to the Cloud: Transhumanism and Digital Hope in Black Mirror

    John Anthony Dunne

Reviews
Reviews
  • Theology and Black Mirror is a rich, rewarding, and provocative look at this cultural phenomenon that sheds new light on its familiar themes of future technology gone wrong. Moving beyond simplistic dystopian readings of the show, the book uncovers a deeper texture to Black Mirror’s challenges to the understanding of human nature, meaning, finitude, and transcendence embedded in theology and moral philosophy. This book helpfully reminds us that Black Mirror’s reflected anxieties about the powers and limitations of technology are inseparable from our enduring anxieties about our own.


    — Shannon Vallor, The University of Edinburgh


    By focusing on Black Mirror as a case study in the human condition, this striking volume offers profound theological reflection on what it means to find the courage to live in a technological age (especially when life so often seems unlivable). This is more than a book—it is an invitation. I pray that we all are up to the task of living into the possible future it envisions, while finding the fortitude to avoid the alternative future about which it warns.


    — J. Aaron Simmons, Furman University


    Charlie Brooker’s series Black Mirror is not the most popular show on television, but it may be the most impactful. In an era of mindless “binge” streaming, Black Mirror has managed to carve out a niche as a provocative, often gloomy exploration of the repercussions of twenty-first century technology. As such, Black Mirror has already generated notable philosophical interest, but theologians have been slower to respond, seemingly put off by the series’ pessimism and violence. Theology and Black Mirror features well over a dozen essays ranging across a number of topics, demonstrating a dogged willingness to peer into the darkness of Black Mirror and seek genuine theological insight.


    — Christopher B. Barnett, Villanova University


    Theology and Black Mirror goes beyond theological explorations of popular culture and sharpens conversations surrounding intersections of religion and taboo. The authors unflinchingly tackle mainstream representations of free will, addiction, pornography, and death through a variety of philosophical lenses. Challenging presumptions of morality in a digital world, the essays reflect on the humanity that is perceived lost yet inherently gained through encounters with anathematic evils; this book identifies those stories as essential tools for examining the intrinsic nature of theology to culture and acknowledges modern technology as both manifesting, and a manifestation of, the ethical underpinnings of human behavior.


    — Jossalyn G. Larson, Missouri University of Science and Technology


Features
Features
  • 5/18 & 5/25/22,The Two Cities Podcast: Amber Bowen and Anthony Dunne discussed the volume with some of its contributors on their podcast.

    Part 1:http://www.thetwocities.com/culture/theology-and-black-mirror-part-one-with-dr-megan-fritts-dr-rebekah-lamb-dr-joanna-leidenhag-and-dr-king-ho-leung-podcast/

    Part 2: http://www.thetwocities.com/uncategorized/theology-and-black-mirror-part-two-with-dr-jeremiah-bailey-elizabeth-culhane-prof-james-mcgrath-and-dr-nathaniel-warne-podcast/



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