A Sense of Presence: Mediating an American Apocalypse

Here I build upon Robert Orsi’s work by arguing that we can see presence—and the longing for it—at work beyond the obvious spaces of religious practice. Presence, I propose, is alive and well in mediated apocalypticism, in the intense imagination of the future that preoccupies those who consume its...

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Main Author: Rachel Wagner
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-01-01
Series:Religions
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/1/59
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spelling doaj-cb5dd760c7234f79bb92c535b2811af32021-01-16T00:02:09ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442021-01-0112595910.3390/rel12010059A Sense of Presence: Mediating an American ApocalypseRachel Wagner0Department of Philosophy and Religion, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY 14850, USAHere I build upon Robert Orsi’s work by arguing that we can see presence—and the longing for it—at work beyond the obvious spaces of religious practice. Presence, I propose, is alive and well in mediated apocalypticism, in the intense imagination of the future that preoccupies those who consume its narratives in film, games, and role plays. Presence is a way of bringing worlds beyond into tangible form, of touching them and letting them touch you. It is, in this sense, that Michael Hoelzl and Graham Ward observe the “re-emergence” of religion with a “new visibility” that is much more than “simple re-emergence of something that has been in decline in the past but is now manifesting itself once more.” I propose that the “new awareness of religion” they posit includes the mediated worlds that enchant and empower us via deeply immersive fandoms. Whereas religious institutions today may be suspicious of presence, it lives on in the thick of media fandoms and their material manifestations, especially those forms that make ultimate promises about the world to come.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/1/59apocalypticismOrsienchantmentfandomvideo gamespervasive games
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Rachel Wagner
spellingShingle Rachel Wagner
A Sense of Presence: Mediating an American Apocalypse
Religions
apocalypticism
Orsi
enchantment
fandom
video games
pervasive games
author_facet Rachel Wagner
author_sort Rachel Wagner
title A Sense of Presence: Mediating an American Apocalypse
title_short A Sense of Presence: Mediating an American Apocalypse
title_full A Sense of Presence: Mediating an American Apocalypse
title_fullStr A Sense of Presence: Mediating an American Apocalypse
title_full_unstemmed A Sense of Presence: Mediating an American Apocalypse
title_sort sense of presence: mediating an american apocalypse
publisher MDPI AG
series Religions
issn 2077-1444
publishDate 2021-01-01
description Here I build upon Robert Orsi’s work by arguing that we can see presence—and the longing for it—at work beyond the obvious spaces of religious practice. Presence, I propose, is alive and well in mediated apocalypticism, in the intense imagination of the future that preoccupies those who consume its narratives in film, games, and role plays. Presence is a way of bringing worlds beyond into tangible form, of touching them and letting them touch you. It is, in this sense, that Michael Hoelzl and Graham Ward observe the “re-emergence” of religion with a “new visibility” that is much more than “simple re-emergence of something that has been in decline in the past but is now manifesting itself once more.” I propose that the “new awareness of religion” they posit includes the mediated worlds that enchant and empower us via deeply immersive fandoms. Whereas religious institutions today may be suspicious of presence, it lives on in the thick of media fandoms and their material manifestations, especially those forms that make ultimate promises about the world to come.
topic apocalypticism
Orsi
enchantment
fandom
video games
pervasive games
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/1/59
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