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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Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/1/59 |
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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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AT rachelwagner asenseofpresencemediatinganamericanapocalypse AT rachelwagner senseofpresencemediatinganamericanapocalypse |
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