Returning the Demon's Gaze: Analyzing the Buddhist Figure of Mara in Popular Culture
While limited studies have been carried out in Asian contexts on Mara, a personification of evil in Buddhist mythology, the figure's representation in Western popular culture has been neglected. I compare Western representations of Mara in a novel, a film, and a theme park attraction with the f...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[2017]
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| In: |
Journal of religion and popular culture
Year: 2017, Volume: 29, Issue: 1, Pages: 44-54 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Western world
/ Buddhism
/ Māra, Demon
/ Pop culture
/ Asia
/ Religious change
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| IxTheo Classification: | AG Religious life; material religion BL Buddhism |
| Further subjects: | B
Buddhism in popular culture
B Buddhist Modernism B Mara in Buddhism B Virtual Orientalism |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | While limited studies have been carried out in Asian contexts on Mara, a personification of evil in Buddhist mythology, the figure's representation in Western popular culture has been neglected. I compare Western representations of Mara in a novel, a film, and a theme park attraction with the figure's appearances in Asian Buddhist texts. I then argue that in these representations we can detect the presence of what David McMahan has termed Buddhist Modernism and what Jane Iwamura has called Virtual Orientalism. This analysis helps us understand the ongoing transformation of a Buddhist mythological figure. |
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| ISSN: | 1703-289X |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of religion and popular culture
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.3138/jrpc.29.1.3839 |