Popular Culture Review 30.2
undermining these oppressive structures . ( Better to deconstruct , naturally .) The end result : outside of conferences like the Far West Popular Culture Association , the disciplines of Communications and English speak from disparate vantages and in unique terms . Fortunately , Joseph Valenzano and Erika Engstrom offer a riveting book of analyses that should intrigue readers across the humanities and social sciences . Indeed , Religion Across Television Genres is as binge-inducing as the programs discussed . Moreover , Valenzano and Engstrom unite Communications and English under a glorious cultural-studies banner with a rigorous , if qualitative , textual analysis that never ceases to enthrall .
Four programs are covered , long-running series of which , unless you ’ re living under the proverbial rock , you ’ ve likely seen at least one episode in a hotel , gym , or waiting room . The shows span genres and networks , starting with ensemble comedy ( NBC ’ s Community ), moving on to prison drama ( Netflix ’ s Orange Is the New Black ), strolling over to zombie epic ( AMC ’ s The Walking Dead ), with a final , fun-loving chapter focused on a dark fantasy-romance ( CW ’ s Supernatural ). The authors do a bang-up job in their introduction with a review of scholarship devoted to religious themes in popular media entertainment , laying the groundwork for an incisive exploration of exactly how these TV series continue to push religious elements in twenty-first-century Western narratives .
The chapter titled “ The Unseen Order of the Study Group : NBC ’ s Community and Religious Humor ” teases out the many religious moments�subtle and flagrant and frivolous�through all six seasons of the series , moments the average viewer might gloss , given how quickly the jokes land . Citing Kenneth Burke ’ s representative anecdote ( the theo-
258