Eyes Wide Open: Looking for God in Popular Culture

"Eyes Wide Open" is, in my opinion, one of the most important contemporary works on engaging culture available. Romanowski traverses the often complicated landscape of contemporary culture, challenging his reader as he goes to use discernment when approaching the visual arts, film and music. Both accessible and intellectually stimulating, Romanowski's book is a "must read" for any aspiring apologist.

William Romanowski is Professor of Communication Arts & Sciences at Calvin College. He teaches courses on film, communication and cultural studies, and is a well respected authority on the interaction of Christianity and popular culture. He has written numerous articles and a handful of books on popular culture, with an emphasis on film. The thesis of Eyes Wide Open is that "Christians should help preserve the best features, improve the weakest parts, and eliminate the worst traits of popular art" (21). Romanowski goes about defending his claim in a very engaging way. He speaks of modern day Christians who propose to shun all `evil' things such as movies, rock music and dancing, yet they are just as immersed in popular culture as the next person, only in the form of a ghettoized Christian subculture. The reality is that very few truly avoid popular culture, only prefer those elements of it which are, or appear to be sterile and safe. It is within this context that Romanowski argues for discernment. He believes strongly that this oversimplification has created Christians who have no idea how to discern good from bad, truth from error. The easiest way for evangelicals to make judgments is to simply count swear words, violent acts and sexual innuendos. Romanowski notes the Biblical mandate to cultivate: to create and tend to culture. Cultural forms, like anything else in creation, are corrupted by sin and in need of transformation, and we do a disservice to everyone when we make rigid divisions between sacred and secular. It is a sign of secularization that we would even think to label activities in God's world as secular. The popular arts aid us in cultural communication (reflecting cultural ideals), social criticism (challenging or dealing with culturally contentious issues), social unity (when we've all seen the same movie) and collective memory (the way we view history is shaped by pop culture). This is what pop culture should be doing, but Romanowski notes that the primary venue for popular film in western culture is the melodrama, a dramatic genre with oversimplified depictions of good and evil, with prepackaged endings that end in "domestic bliss or harmonious community" (111). These melodramatic categories absolutely dominate the "Christian, family-friendly" genre and Romanowski wants to challenge this. The Biblical narrative conveys no such clear cut pattern, and he argues that this emphasis on sentimentalism indicates assimilation to, rather than a break from mainstream popular culture. Christians who want to engage popular culture need to keep these things in mind. We are called to discern beyond whether something is "family-friendly" or not. The presence of violence and swearing and even sex is not always anti-Christian, but can very well be a catalyst for a story of redemption. And what we see as a story of redemption is often brazen individualism where someone pulls themselves up by the bootstraps and def

Romanowski is skillful at paring down his previous work, Pop Culture Wars, and enhancing the practical aspects of interacting with Popular Culture as an evangelical Christian. He Gives the necessary background and history to contextualize his position, while providing the reader with good tools for thinking critically about popular art.One note of critique would be that, though it is obvious that he has a commanding knowledge of film, it would be beneficial to explore other popular artforms and give current expamples. Along the same lines, the examples that he used to prove some critical comments directed to the evangelical Christian popular art (particularly the Christian Contemporary Music) community were a bit dated. But overall, this is a book that I have and will continue to use in a classroom and small group setting because it packs a punch in a small space.

Eyes Wide Open: Looking For God In Popular Culture is an easy-to-read, highly engaging guide for interpreting and evaluating popular culture from a Christian perspective and framework. William Romanowski (professor of communication arts and sciences at Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan) offers a practical, analytical, and Christian-based approach to movies, music, and television programs, enabling the reader to engage the media that so saturates modern life. Romanowski's illuminating examples range from Casablanca to Titanic, from The Simpsons to ER, from Bruce Springsteen to Amy Grant. Eyes Wide Open is informative, rewarding, insightful, and strongly recommended reading for parents, pastors, teachers, and teens.