Cowboy Apocalypse

Rachel Wagner is Professor of Religious Studies and Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Ithaca College. She is the author of Godwired: Religion, Ritual and Virtual Reality.

"Ambitious and wide-ranging, this is a thought-provoking dissection of one of America's founding stories and its lingering effects." (Publishers Weekly) "A compelling exploration and analysis of guns and apocalyptic thinking in media." (Library Journal) "Wagner fluently combines analyses of media, material culture, and political and social history to demonstrate how the myth of the righteous gunman has developed into a basis for a violent, white supremacist ideology. She also maps out an alternative vision based on inclusivity and nonviolence, to show that there are better stories that we can choose to live by. Her arguments are persuasive and powerful, and we need to hear them." - John Lyden, author of Film as Religion: Myths, Morals, and Rituals. "Rachel Wagner's Cowboy Apocalypse packs a wallop. It is a rowdy and illuminating look at a profoundly vibrant mythology in America centered around guns, cowboys, and the end of the world. Part of its achievement is the way it ties this mythology to popular cultures, religious sensibilities, and political realities. Wagner expertly delivers an insightful, highly readable study of what is truly a frightening fixture in the American imagination." - Gary Laderman, author of Don't Think About Death: A Memoir on Mortality "Sorting through history, theology, literature, video games, and the movies, Cowboy Apocalypse unveils the cultural mythologies behind the gun-soaked environment of the United States. From Buffalo Bill to John Wayne to The Walking Dead, Wagner points toward a quasi-religious understanding of cowboys and guns." - SB Rodriguez-Plate, author of Religion and Film: Cinema and the Re-Creation of the World