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Eyes Wide Open:
Looking
for God in Popular Culture
2002 ECPA Gold Medallion Award
Winner,
Christianity and Society
(Brazos Press, 2001, 176pages,
paper, ISBN 1-58743-009-6) "In
the tradition of C. S. Lewis and Francis Schaeffer, William Romanowski has atriculated
a deep theological perspective on culture and the popular arts." Scott
Derrickson, Screenwriter/Director
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William
D. Romanowski is Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences at Calvin
College and author of several books. Eyes Wide Open: Looking for God in Popular
Culture (Brazos Press, 2001) received the 2002 ECPA Gold Medallion Award (Christianity
and Society). |
Synopsis:
Grounded
in Christian principles, this accessible and engaging book offers an informed
and fascinating approach to popular culture. William Romanowski provides affectionate
yet astute analysis of familiar, well-loved movies and television characters from
Pretty Woman to Homer Simpson. He speaks with expertise on films from Titanic
to Casablanca and music from Mozart to Springsteen, bringing sources as diverse
as Shakespeare and Allan Bloom into the discussion. Romanowski's confessional
approach affirms a role for popular culture in faithful living. Practical, analytical
approaches to content, meaning, and artistic style offer the tools to participate
responsibly and imaginatively in popular cultural activities. A quick and enjoyable
read, Eyes Wide Open is ideal for ordinary Christians ready to more faithfully
engage pop culture--one of the most influential forces in contemporary society.
Endorsements:
Eyes Wide
Open is a "must" book for every thinking Christian who is concerned
with popular culture, but who is also concerned with the way Christians can "demonize"
that culture.
Steve Brown, President of KeyLife Network and professor
at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando
Eyes Wide Open inspires us to be wholly human and wholly Christian—using
our faith, our emotion and our brain to fully experience movies, music, television,
art. Romanowski encourages us to worry less about "What would Jesus think
of me watching this" and more to think like Jesus while watching. As a Christian
in Hollywood, this book revitalized and legitimized my "calling" in
the entertainment industry. We can produce entertainment that is aesthetically
excellent and promotes a worldview based on God’s influence in our lives.
Brenda Bos, Television Production Manager, Suddenly Susan, Nikki
This is a lively and much needed Christian perspective on the popular arts—helping
the reader to move beyond a mindless acquiescence to popular culture on the one
hand, and blanket condemnation on the other. The style is direct and accessible,
giving it a natural appeal to a wide audience.
Dr Jeremy Begbie,
Ridley Hall, Cambridge and University of St. Andrews
William Romanowski confronts the culture with his eyes wide open to the negative
effects it can have upon us. He also informs us of ways we can increase our understanding
of the world in which we live and thus be aided in the task of addressing our
culture in a relevant way. His commentary on contemporary music and films will
get the Christian reader to discern things that otherwise would go unnoticed in
the world round about us.
Tony Campolo, Professor of Sociology, Eastern
College
Among those working at the intersection of faith and popular culture, Bill Romanowski
uniquely blends the mind of the academic, the heart of a disciple of Jesus, and
the ear of a dual listener who hears a conversation between faith and culture
and helps interpret both. His matrix for analyzing popular artworks is especially
useful. Eyes Wide Open is an essential resource for the emerging cadre of Christians
who desire to engage culture effectively.
Dick Staub, President,
Center for Faith and Culture, CRS Productions
Eyes Wide Open is a wonderfully caring book. It seeks to meet a pressing, legitimate
need of the church by answering the questions: How should a student/follower of
Jesus think about culture? And, having thought, what does action look like? Romanowski
is one of the kings of cultural analysis and critique. Every disciple of Jesus
ought to avail themselves of his royal expertise.
Charlie Peacock-Ashworth,
Record Producer and Author of At The Crossroads: An Insider's Look at Contemporary
Christian Music
I love the broader perspective of Eyes Wide Open, especially as a Christian working
in the business. Particularly his observation regarding our naïve assumptions
over or under spiritualizing the movie and television business. Bill keeps bringing
us back and challenging us (me) as to how we can develop a grid to sift entertainment
against our Christian worldview.
Ralph Winter, Producer X-MEN, Star
Trek VI. Executive Producer Planet of the Apes
As a screenwriter working in Hollywood, I appreciate Bill Romanowski's thoughtful
challenge to people of faith to move beyond mere moralizing and melodrama. He
dares us to think critically, to create truthfully, and to respond authentically
to our complex twenty-first-century culture."
Craig Detweiler,
Co-Director, Reel Spirituality, Fuller Theological Seminary
This is a work of a passionate imagination and incisive intellect. Romanowski
proposes a crisp approach to criticism that salutes popular culture and commends
religious faith. His cheerleading for varied expressions of popular culture are
sobered by advancing a Christian criticism that is not mired in mobilized moralisms
but is spiced with theological themes. The cineplex and the sanctuary will both
be blessed by paying critical attention to this important book. I thank William
Romanowski for assisting us in seeing the connections between Stanley Kubrick
and the Christian worldview.
Rev. Scott D. Young, Founder & Chair,
City of Angels Film Festival
Romanowski has done it again. Thought provoking and true—a must read!
Barry Landis, Vice President/General Manager, Atlantic Records
In the tradition of C. S. Lewis and Francis Schaeffer, William Romanowski has
articulated a deep theological perspective on culture and the popular arts. He
urges Christians to love music and the movies as God would have us love them--not
as passive consumers, but as thoughtful critics who are wide awake and enthusiastically
enjoying the whole of God's creation.
Scott Derrickson, Screenwriter/Director
Reviews
Eyes Wide Open is a fascinating, easy-to-read guide for interpreting
and evaluating popular culture as a Christian. Romanowski's practical, analytical
approaches to movies, music and television programs provide tools for imaginatively
and faithfully engaging the media that now saturates our lives.
Christian
Retailing
This book will raise as many questions as it seeks
to answer, and as many hackles as it seeks to soothe....But if you have a passion
for the arts and a strong intellectual bent, this book is a must read.
Moody
[Romanowski] uses a challenging classroom style, making some bold
and often profound statements that invite us to rethink our relationship to mainstream
pop art and the sometimes benign benefits we bestow on Christian alternatives.
CCM Magazine
[Eyes Wide Open] provides a terrific overview
of culture...This book is a fine introduction to popular culture.
Youthworker
...a
thought-provoking examination of the Hollywood mythology that still permeates
our culture and the cummulative effect of unrealistic approaches to complex problesm
of life.
Library Journal
Recommend this book to Christians who want to develop a deeper appreciation and
discernment of popular media's influences.
CBA Marketplace
...this book will be an encouragement to evangelicals looking for an alternative
to moralistic criticism of popular culture.
Publishers Weekly
[Eyes Wide Open] builds a case for engaging popular culture and evaluating
it from a Christian perspective....Romanowski's main argument...holds true: Christians
should think about what they ingest, expose entertainment's destructive messges,
and hold up the positive aspects. Anyone seeking a cogent discussion on pop culture
will love this book....
Group Magazine
...an easy-to-read, highly engaging guide for interpreting and evaluting popular
culture from a Christian perspective and framework....Eyes Wide Open is informative,
rewarding, insightful, and strongly recommnded reading for parents, pastors, teachers
and teens.
Midwest Book Review
Romanowski offers easy-to-read analyses of pop culture, with the goal of encouraging
Christians to understand our culture and help make it better.
The
Mennonite
For any Christian consumer of pop culture, this is
fascinating book. After reading it, you may see your favorite film through new,
more discerning eyes.
Crosspoint
If you're a Christian artist, patron, critic, Eyes Wide Open is for you.
Prism
Romanowski's Eyes Wide Open is the one book that offers Christian readers a critical
and constructive perspective on the popular arts and culture.
Christian
Week
For those Chrsitians who value popular culture as a resource for theological reflection,
Eyes Wide Open: Looking for God in Popular Culture is an important piece in the
puzzle.
Circuit Rider Reviews
A fabulous book that picks up where Francis Schaeffer left off, taking the dialogue
about Christians and culture into the 21st century. This is Roaring Lambs on steroids...
A must read!
The Discerning Reader
Romanowski is obviously a fan of popular culture. Unfortunately, there is little
to recommend this book besides the author's enthusiasm.
Tim Van Meter,
Bethany Theological Seminary
(Note: You can't please everyone.)
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