Mimesis, Movies, and Media

An engaging, illuminating exploration of how mimetic theory is reflected in popular media ... I would recommend Mimesis, Media, and Movies as an introduction to Girard’s thought, especially with undergraduate students who may find critical, academic analysis of popular media engaging and illuminating. * Reviews in Religion and Theology *
A theater professor once said that Girard's book on Shakespeare was head-and-shoulders more insightful than anything else she had ever read on the playwright. This collection of superb essays takes the powerful insights of Girard's mimetic theory and applies them to the contemporary analogs of Shakespeare: films, television shows, and popular literature. Girard himself says very little along these lines, which leaves the field open for scholars to creatively apply his framework—confirming it, advancing it, and modifying it as appropriate to the cultural artifacts under consideration. Given that Girard's scholarly efforts arose primarily out of his study of literature, this extension of his project is not only justified, it is in fact necessary to enable the scholarly world to grasp more clearly the scope and importance of his research program. This program is not an abstract, ivory tower, exercise, but an effort to understand the world we live in. * Charles Bellinger, Charles Bellinger, Associate Professor of Theology and Ethics, Brite Divinity School / Texas Christian University, USA *
In addition to their own contributions, the editors of this volume have assembled an opulent menu of essays on every aspect of contemporary media, from TV series to the Internet, from film to 'faits divers.' Our communication culture’s romance with violence and the pathologies that fuel it are widely and wisely and deeply explored. * Andrew McKenna, Professor of French Language and Literature, Loyola University Chicago, USA *