Week 2, Cobb, Chapter 2

I seem to get the most out of Cobb's essays. I think his writing style flows much better than Barker or Bevans and he integrates the terminology in a way that feels organic in the readings. As I read chapter 2, I found his citation of sociologist Jane Addams to be particularly interesting. Here is a sociologist who over 100 years ago realized that young people were retreating to the theater to, "satisfy that craving for a conception of life higher than that which the actual world offers them" (Cobb, p.65). Cobb goes on to discuss hyper-reality and how we don't want life as nature but we want bigger, better, badder, more glitz and fireworks. We want Disneyland and Vegas. He draws an interesting parallel as he talks about the Amish in the city reality show. But how does this play into our relationship to culture on a theological level? It's an interesting question because if I understand Cobb correctly, doing theology is one of the last areas where we openly search for deeper truth and meaning. In his opinion, it would seem that cultural studies needs to get back to a place where we dig deeper and attempt to understand the aesthetic, theological, and moral aspirations behind culture.