From Publishers Weekly
"Apocalypse"-as a genre and as a mind-set-is commonly misunderstood, as something hidden in the back of the Bible and characterized by a gnostic or nihilistic disdain for anything earthly or human. So says Dark, a teacher of English at Christ Presbyterian Academy in Nashville, arguing persuasively that genuine apocalypse, informed by Scripture and the rest of biblical tradition, isn't hidden. It can be seen in books and music and on screens large and small. As the first chapter argues, apocalypse isn't primarily about destruction or fortune telling, but about the future pushing into the present, "cracking the pavement of the status quo... announcing a new world of unrealized possibility." The remaining chapters report on what Dark sees as he looks at pop culture through the wide-angle lens of God's ultimate purposes for all of creation. Dark is a close reader not only of pages (Shakespeare and Flannery O'Connor), but tunes (Radiohead and Beck), and film (Truman Show and The Matrix). He is a wide, wise, and good reader, and this book shows him also to be a fine writer - illuminating, engaging, often funny, sometimes disturbing. Familiarity with the cultural phenomena to which he points is helpful, but not necessary. Throughout he helpfully gestures toward others with apocalyptic eyeglasses: poets, theologians, critics, celebrities. If readers allow the book to do its work, they, too, will acquire what he calls "apocalyptic acumen" or "imaginative magnanimity."
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From the Back Cover
"God gave David Dark a gift-the ability to inhale copious amounts of movies, literature, and articulate rock music, sieve it through the lungs of his spiritually discerning mind and soul, and then exhale it full of the sweetest Biblical wisdom and understanding as to where faith and culture caress and collide. He has been doing this in my living room for years. And now another gift from God-David Darks gift is available to everybody." -Steve Stockman, author of Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2
"David Dark presents us with an alternative way of seeing-with apocalyptic expectations-that is fresh, inviting, and laced with biblical insight. Everyday Apocalypse charts a course through a range of popular artworks, revealing unexpected surprises along the way while opening new avenues for understanding film, fiction, television programs, and popular music." -William D. Romanowski, author of Eyes Wide Open: Looking for God in Popular Culture
"David Dark's key insight in this book is that the apocalyptic vision doesn't heed our usual distinctions between "high" and "pop" culture; he therefore follows the trail of apocalypse wherever it leads-through movies, TV, music, and fiction-and he does so with flair, aplomb, and a determination to consider the whole of human culture in light of the enigmatic and overwhelming Jesus of John's own Apocalypse. Everyday Apocalypse is a fine ride." -Alan Jacobs, author of A Visit to Vanity Fair
"Apocalyptic is not religious fantasy about the future, but a window on the present in the light of the future. David Dark has turned it into a powerful tool for cultural criticism. Literary history and contemporary media are used to throw light on one another. Not many authors can successfully put Beck and John Donne together in the same sentence. Above all, significant examples of contemporary literature, television, music, and film are reviewed, not to show how morally bad they are, but to allow them to show us our reality, if we are willing to be shown it. Highly recommended." -Rt. Reverend Graham Cray
David Dark has published articles and reviews in Prism magazine and Books & Culture. He teaches English at Christ Presbyterian Academy in Nashville
