A friend of mine recently brought a book to my attention. It is American Popular Culture in the Era of Terror: Falling Skies, Dark Knights Rising, and Collapsing Cultures by Jesse Kavadlo (Praeger, 2015). Here’s the description:

Bringing together the most popular genres of the 21st century, this book argues that Americans have entered a new era of narrative dominated by the fear―and wish fulfillment―of the breakdown of authority and terror itself.

Bringing together disparate and popular genres of the 21st century, American Popular Culture in the Era of Terror: Falling Skies, Dark Knights Rising, and Collapsing Cultures argues that popular culture has been preoccupied by fantasies and narratives dominated by the anxiety ―and, strangely, the wish fulfillment―that comes from the breakdowns of morality, family, law and order, and storytelling itself. From aging superheroes to young adult dystopias, heroic killers to lustrous vampires, the figures of our fiction, film, and television again and again reveal and revel in the imagery of terror. Kavadlo’s single-author, thesis-driven book makes the case that many of the novels and films about September 11, 2001, have been about much more than terrorism alone, while popular stories that may not seem related to September 11 are deeply connected to it.

The book examines New York novels written in response to September 11 along with the anti-heroes of television and the resurgence of zombies and vampires in film and fiction to draw a correlation between Kavadlo’s “Era of Terror” and the events of September 11, 2001. Geared toward college students, graduate students, and academics interested in popular culture, the book connects multiple topics to appeal to a wide audience.

Given my research interest on 9/11 as it relates to religion and popular culture, and after reading the preview material at Amazon, I ‘m now waiting for my copy to come in the mail. The trauma resulting from the attacks of 9/11 continue to have a dramatic impact on Americans, and it is expressed in a variety of ways. My research on its impact on religion noted how it has shaped American evangelicalism. In this area it has contributed to a stronger embrace of the narrative of Christian nationalism, and anti-immigrant stances, particularly the strong anti-Islamic immigrant feelings. On this see the fascinating research by Richard Cimino (abstract and full article), who looked at evangelical stances by evangelicals toward Islam and Muslims pre- and post-9/11. Pre-9/11 Muslims were viewed through a missiological and evangelistic lens, but post-9/11 this changed dramatically so that the lens was one of “us vs. them,” where Islam was construed as demonic, evil, and in terms of spiritual warfare.

I’ve also loooked at how the trauma of 9/11 has shaped science fiction and horror narratives. For those interested in seeing those posts, click on the “Archive for the 9/11 Category” of TheoFantastique. Kavadlo’s book includes consideration of genre in the analysis, but also expands beyond it. I’m looking forward to reading this book in order to deepen my understanding of the significance of the events of 9/11 on the national psyche as expressed in popular culture.