Magic, Monsters, and Make-Believe Heroes - by Douglas E Cowan (Paperback)

About the Book

"Through an exploration of fantasy culture, this book asks why we are so eager to invest in storyworlds that, on the surface, can't possibly be true. And, more than that, why we continue to tell the same fantastic stories over and over again. To say, "Well, Hollywood has run out of good ideas, so they just recycle old ones," doesn't begin to address the issue. It doesn't explain why fantasy culture so closely resembles the stories much of humankind holds sacred. That is, it doesn't explain the mythic imagination, the principal means by which we continually reconstruct and reinforce our place in the universe. This book looks at fantasy film, television, gaming, and participative culture as evidence of the ongoing need for a mythic vision, for stories larger than ourselves, into which we write ourselves, and some of which we elevate over time to the status of "religion." Fairy tales, for example, teach us more than simply the concept of "stranger danger" and that we shouldn't go into the forest at night. More than that, by comparing different versions and tellings of familiar stories, we gain insight into the multiverse of human storyworld creation. Largely bracketing the question of "truth," this book uses fantasy storyworlds (whether cinematic or televisual, literary or participatory) to explore the nature of the mythic imagination itself. Put simply, facts don't tell us who we are. Stories do"--Publisher's website.

Book Synopsis

Magic, Monsters, and Make-Believe Heroes looks at fantasy film, television, and participative culture as evidence of our ongoing need for a mythic vision--for stories larger than ourselves into which we write ourselves and through which we can become the heroes of our own story. Why do we tell and retell the same stories over and over when we know they can't possibly be true? Contrary to popular belief, it's not because pop culture has run out of good ideas. Rather, it is precisely because these stories are so fantastic, some resonating so deeply that we elevate them to the status of religion. Illuminating everything from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Dungeons and Dragons, and from Drunken Master to Mad Max, Douglas E. Cowan offers a modern manifesto for why and how mythology remains a vital force today.

From the Back Cover

"The scope of Douglas E. Cowan's examples is astonishing--no stone went unturned in this collection of tales. The perennial love of fairy tales and the ubiquitous grasp that Disney has on the imagination of students is balanced nicely with the more hard-core gaming and role playing. There is something here for everyone."--Cathy Gutierrez, author of Plato's Ghost: Spiritualism in the American Renaissance

"Cowan manages to take stories that are at the extreme end of familiarity--fairy tales that we all know from childhood, and which have been made into movies countless times--and make them come alive in ways that are genuinely fresh and insightful, showing clearly their relevance for our time and proving that they deserve serious study of precisely the sort he offers in this book."--James F. McGrath, author of Theology and Science Fiction

Review Quotes

"A treat for the popular culture aficionados. It is a highly recommended read for scholars of religion and popular culture."-- "Religious Studies Review"

"The book's accessible writing style would make it ideal for an undergraduate course looking at religion and popular culture. But Magic, Monsters, and Make-Believe Heroes would also be well-suited for a course on creative writing, or even game design."-- "Nova Religio"

"The broad scope of Cowan's analysis can be a delight to readers who enjoy a panoramic view of culture."-- "Fafnir: Nordic Journal of Science Fiction and Fantasy Research"

"Magic, Monsters, and Make-Believe Heroes aims to discover the contours of fantasy culture and explain why these works hold such power over us. It is very successful in doing so."-- "Reading Religion"

"Magic, Monsters and Make-Believe Heroes is a joy to read because it gloriously and lovingly destabilises texts by reminding us that the reader/viewer/gamer is not a blank slate. In roaming across platforms, it also breaks down some of the artificial divides within the study of the fantastic."-- "Times Higher Education"

"I would recommend this book for anyone interested in fantasy culture. It is entertaining, informative, and accessible. Using it in an undergraduate course setting would be ideal. It would also work well as a birthday gift for that D&D fanatic or Buffy fan in your own family tree."-- "Journal of the American Academy of Religion"

About the Author

Douglas E. Cowan is Professor of Religious Studies and Social Development Studies at Renison University College. He is the author of Sacred Terror: Religion and Horror on the Silver Screen, Sacred Space: The Quest for Transcendence in Science Fiction Film and Television, and, most recently, America's Dark Theologian: The Religious Imagination of Stephen King.