Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Tables
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Note
- Introduction: Xers and Yers as Cohorts of the Post-1970s Generation
- Chapter 1 Religious Diversity and the Politics of Definition
- Chapter 2 Religion and Popular Culture
- Chapter 3 Religion and Modernity: Marx, Durkheim and Weber
- Chapter 4 Religion, Spirituality and the Post-Secularisation Approach
- Chapter 5 Religion and Postmodernity (Part A): Consumer Religions
- Chapter 6 Religion and Postmodernity (Part B): Hyper-reality and the Internet
- Chapter 7 Esotericism, Its McDonaldisation, and Its Re-enchantment Process
- Chapter 8 Monotheistic Fundamentalism(s) as an Outcome of Consumer Culture
- Chapter 9 Buddhism, Its Westernisation and the Easternisation of the West
- Chapter 10 Christianity: Churches and Sects in a Post-Christian World
- Chapter 11 The Multiple-Modernities of Islam?
- Chapter 12 New Religious Movements and the Death of the New Age
- Chapter 13 Witchcraft, the Internet, and Consumerism
- Conclusion: What Do Sociologists of Religion in Academia Do Apart from Teaching and Marking? Their Work as Intellectuals
- References
- Index
Chapter 13 - Witchcraft, the Internet, and Consumerism
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Tables
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Note
- Introduction: Xers and Yers as Cohorts of the Post-1970s Generation
- Chapter 1 Religious Diversity and the Politics of Definition
- Chapter 2 Religion and Popular Culture
- Chapter 3 Religion and Modernity: Marx, Durkheim and Weber
- Chapter 4 Religion, Spirituality and the Post-Secularisation Approach
- Chapter 5 Religion and Postmodernity (Part A): Consumer Religions
- Chapter 6 Religion and Postmodernity (Part B): Hyper-reality and the Internet
- Chapter 7 Esotericism, Its McDonaldisation, and Its Re-enchantment Process
- Chapter 8 Monotheistic Fundamentalism(s) as an Outcome of Consumer Culture
- Chapter 9 Buddhism, Its Westernisation and the Easternisation of the West
- Chapter 10 Christianity: Churches and Sects in a Post-Christian World
- Chapter 11 The Multiple-Modernities of Islam?
- Chapter 12 New Religious Movements and the Death of the New Age
- Chapter 13 Witchcraft, the Internet, and Consumerism
- Conclusion: What Do Sociologists of Religion in Academia Do Apart from Teaching and Marking? Their Work as Intellectuals
- References
- Index
Summary
Introduction
In light of the structure of this book, one would expect a chapter on witchcraft to start with an account of Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sabrina, or The Craft. However, what I want to do instead is compare and contrast two recent representations of paganism and neo-paganism in works of popular culture where witchcraft is not central.
I have already presented Sin City from Frank Miller in Chapter 3. For this chapter, I want to present another of his works (with Lynn Varley), called 300, also adapted for the big screen. There is a scene in which King Leonidas, the 480 BC Spartan King must convince the Ephors, priests to the old gods, to raise an army against the imminent invasion of the Persian King, Xerxes. To reach the temple, he has to travel away from the urban center of Sparta and climb a remote mountain. When he arrives at the temple, King Leonidas uses reason to convince the priests of the need to defend his country. The priests only want to trust the words of the Oracle, a young and beautiful woman who can predict the future when in a trance. In this instance, her message goes against the need to protect Sparta from the imminent invasion.
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- Sociology of Religion for Generations X and Y , pp. 182 - 195Publisher: Acumen PublishingPrint publication year: 2009