All American Messiah
The Death of Captain America and the Symbolism of American Messianic Aspiration
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/post.v3i2/3.3.131Keywords:
Captain America, messianism, political theologyAbstract
Approaches the recent death of Captain America sideline of Marvel Comics from the perspective of political theology and philosophical messianism as these ideas appear in the works of Giorgio Agamben, Rene Girard, Walter Benjamin, and Carl Schmitt.
References
Agamben, Giorgio. 2005a. State of Exception, trans. K. Attell. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
———. 2005b. The Time that Remains: A Commentary on the Letter to the Romans, trans. P. Dailey. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Benjamin, Walter. 1969. “Theses on the Philosophy of History.” In Illuminations, ed. H. Arendt, trans. H. Zohn, 253–64. New York: Schocken.
———. 1978a. “Critique of Violence.” In Re_ections: Essays, Aphorisms, Autobiographical Writings, ed. and Introduction by P. Demetz, trans. E. Jephcott, 277–300. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
———. 1978b. “Theologico-Political Fragment.” In Re_ections: Essays, Aphorisms, Autobiographical Writings, ed. and Introduction by P. Demetz, trans. E. Jephcott, 312–13. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Butler, Judith. 2006. “Critique, Coercion, and Sacred Life in Benjamin’s ‘Critique of Violence’.” In de Vries and Sullivan 2006, 201–19.
de Wilde, Marc. 2006. Violence in the State of Exception: Re_ections on Theologico-Political Motifs in Benjamin and Schmitt. In de Vries and Sullivan 2006, 188–200.
Girard, Rene. 1977. Violence and the Sacred, trans. P. Gregory. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
———. 1986. The Scapegoat, trans. Y. Freccero. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Jewett, Robert. 1973. The Captain America Complex: The Dilemma of Zealous Nationalism. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press.
Jewett, Robert, and John Shelton Lawrence. 2003. Captain America and the Crusade Against Evil: The Dilemma of Zealous Nationalism. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Lawrence, John Shelton, and Robert Jewett. 2002. The Myth of the American Superhero. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Schmitt, Carl. 1976. The Concept of the Political, ed. and trans. Schwab George. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
———. 1985. Political Theology: Four Chapters on the Concept of Sovereignty, trans. G. Schwab, Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Turner, Victor. 1969. The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-structure, Symbol, Myth, and Ritual Series. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Tuveson, Ernest L. 1968. Redeemer Nation: The Idea of America’s Mellennial Role. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Vries, H. de, and L. E. Sullivan, eds. 2006. Political Theologies: Public Religions in a Post-Secular World. New York: Fordham University Press.
———. 2005b. The Time that Remains: A Commentary on the Letter to the Romans, trans. P. Dailey. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Benjamin, Walter. 1969. “Theses on the Philosophy of History.” In Illuminations, ed. H. Arendt, trans. H. Zohn, 253–64. New York: Schocken.
———. 1978a. “Critique of Violence.” In Re_ections: Essays, Aphorisms, Autobiographical Writings, ed. and Introduction by P. Demetz, trans. E. Jephcott, 277–300. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
———. 1978b. “Theologico-Political Fragment.” In Re_ections: Essays, Aphorisms, Autobiographical Writings, ed. and Introduction by P. Demetz, trans. E. Jephcott, 312–13. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Butler, Judith. 2006. “Critique, Coercion, and Sacred Life in Benjamin’s ‘Critique of Violence’.” In de Vries and Sullivan 2006, 201–19.
de Wilde, Marc. 2006. Violence in the State of Exception: Re_ections on Theologico-Political Motifs in Benjamin and Schmitt. In de Vries and Sullivan 2006, 188–200.
Girard, Rene. 1977. Violence and the Sacred, trans. P. Gregory. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
———. 1986. The Scapegoat, trans. Y. Freccero. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Jewett, Robert. 1973. The Captain America Complex: The Dilemma of Zealous Nationalism. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press.
Jewett, Robert, and John Shelton Lawrence. 2003. Captain America and the Crusade Against Evil: The Dilemma of Zealous Nationalism. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Lawrence, John Shelton, and Robert Jewett. 2002. The Myth of the American Superhero. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Schmitt, Carl. 1976. The Concept of the Political, ed. and trans. Schwab George. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
———. 1985. Political Theology: Four Chapters on the Concept of Sovereignty, trans. G. Schwab, Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Turner, Victor. 1969. The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-structure, Symbol, Myth, and Ritual Series. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Tuveson, Ernest L. 1968. Redeemer Nation: The Idea of America’s Mellennial Role. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Vries, H. de, and L. E. Sullivan, eds. 2006. Political Theologies: Public Religions in a Post-Secular World. New York: Fordham University Press.
Published
2010-02-26
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Hall, W. D., & Howard, E. (2010). All American Messiah: The Death of Captain America and the Symbolism of American Messianic Aspiration. Postscripts: The Journal of Sacred Texts, Cultural Histories, and Contemporary Contexts, 3(2-3), 131-148. https://doi.org/10.1558/post.v3i2/3.3.131
