Grant Wiedenfeld

Multicultural American Heroes


Reading the Obama-era biopics of Jackie Robinson and Jesse Owens through the lens of American civil religion

... It is no surprise that biopics of Jackie Robinson and Jesse Owens, 42 (2013) and Race (2016), reimagine their conformist mid-century subjects in the mould of Ali – ‘Brash, defiant, pioneering’. But Analysing these biopics through the lens of American civil religion illuminates an unresolved tension that multiculturalism has only heightened: between religious nationalism and radical secularism. The two biopics demonstrate different ways to accommodate these competing currents of American identity in a multicultural age.

Analysing these biopics through the lens of American civil religion illuminates an unresolved tension that multiculturalism has only heightened: between religious nationalism and radical secularism.
Multipurpose

Sport, Film and National Culture


Edited by Seán Crosson

Sport and film have historically been key components of national cultures and societies. This is the first collection dedicated to examining the intersection of these popular cultural forces within specific national contexts.