Rindge is both sensitive and insightful in his film analysis, and the discussion of these movies as parables takes the analysis to a whole new level of sophistication. This book will be a very useful addition to both American Studies and ‘religion and film’ classes, as well as classes in New Testament parables.
~Robert K. Johnston, Professor of Theology and Culture, Fuller Theological Seminary
Fantastic! This is a perfect study that brings together both Rindge’s own deep expertise in New Testament studies and his agile, interdisciplinary approach to popular culture. The films Rindge has selected are perfect vehicles for his fine-tuned analysis, both in terms of the aesthetics and meaning of film, but even more compellingly, his own perspectives on American culture generally and the mythic realities of the American dream.
~Gary Laderman, Goodrich C. WhitGare GProfessor of American Religious History and Cultures, Emory University
My gratitude to Matthew Rindge for recognizing and brilliantly dissecting the quest for salvation that supports the surface sound and fury of my novel and David Fincher's film.
~Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club
A wonderful piece of work
~Choice
Rindge writes with both academic rigor and an approachable tone, which makes the text accessible for audiences in both academic circles and broader spheres, such as those interested in American civil religion, the particular filmmakers Rindge cites, or the biblical genre of parables.
~Joel Mayward, Journal of Religion and Film
Rindge’s Profane Parables is an excellent work. It will appeal greatly to scholars of American Studies, film, religion, and popular culture.
~Margaret Weber, The Journal of Popular Culture
As a whole, Profane Parables is a refined work that offers both a thought provoking and an easy read and I would recommend it to anyone thinking of exploring film from the perspective of biblical studies or interested in film, myths and morals.
~Sofia Sjö, Journal of Religion, Media, and Digital Cuture
In Matthew S. Rindge’s Profane Parables: Film and the American Dream, Rindge takes three recent films from American cinema—Fight Club, American Beauty, and About Schmidt—to create a triptych with critiques and deconstructs the American Dream. In each case, Rindge argues, the film visually parallels socially critical texts within Scripture, offering contemporary audiences new and fresh subversions of conventional wisdom in ways akin to Scripture.
~Myles Werntz, Journal of the NABPR
Profane Parables is a meaningful addition to the field of Bible and film and is highly recommended to those who want to explore the cultural and spiritual interconnections between Hollywood cinema and the Bible.
~Laura Copier, The Bible and Critical Theory
