Religion, Popular Culture, and the Nineties

Reading through this arresting collection of essays, I am struck by how refreshing it is to see critical analysis that handles the 1990s not merely as a transitional phase to the present time, but rather as an importantly generative era of its own that saw the culture express entirely new and enduring ways of grappling with faith and religion. Biano and the authors discuss a quirky and rich mix of visual media and the arts, displaying new and helpful ways of engaging this ever-increasingly important period of history to understand. * Kris Song, Bethel University *
This book should be required reading for anyone seeking to understand the diverse spiritual media made by 21st Century seekers. From trading cards to digital worldbuilding, Saturday morning cartoons to R-rated film, the essays demonstrate just how much creative experimentation was taking place with religion in the popular culture of the ‘90s. Come for the nostalgia, stay for the close reading, leave convinced that this decade was a gamechanger. * John W. McCormack, Aurora University *
Ilaria Biano has assembled a fascinating collection of essays on religious elements in the pop culture of one of the most spectacular decades of all time. The volume has a remarkable breadth, covering everything from Seinfeld, Tales from the Crypt, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Hip Hop, Magic: the Gathering, and so much more. As a child of the 90’s, I felt seen while reading this book, but I also found myself appreciating, in fresh ways, the role that media played in the unique cultural moment that the 90s were politically, technologically, and religiously. * John Anthony Dunne, Bethel Seminary *

Ilaria W. Biano (Ph.D., University of Turin) is an independent scholar from Italy who studies religion, spirituality, and popular culture.

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