This presentation analyzes the bodily self-mortification practices (i.e., flagellation or crucifixion) of some Christians in the Philippines during Holy Week by comparing and contrasting them with a range of practices centered around cosplay (especially “enacted cosplay”) performed by some members of participatory fan cultures in America. The phenomena have multiple points of overlap, including the reenactment of a fictional/mythic text via costume and/or bodily modification in the hopes of replicating/imitating the prized values/behaviors/actions embodied by a specific character within that text for the purposes of individual benefit and communal good. The presentation concludes by considering the value of such a comparison vis-à-vis the academic study of religion.
About the presenterDan W Clanton
Dr. Dan W. Clanton is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Doane University in Crete, NE. He researches and publishes on aesthetic interpretations of biblical literature and the intersection between religion and (popular) culture. Along with Terry Ray Clark, he is to co-editor of the forthcoming “Oxford Handbook of the Bible in American Popular Culture.” Since 2017, he is the Program Chair of the Society of Biblical Literature’s National Bible and Popular Culture Section.