Under the Influence: California's Intoxicating Spiritual and Cultural Impact on America - eBook

Monica Ganas (PhD, University of Kentucky), a native Californian, is professor of theater, film, television, and communication studies at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, California. She created the Azusa Renaissance Project, which brings theater to local children and local children to the theater. Ganas is also a twenty-five-year veteran of the entertainment industry as an actor, writer, director, and producer.

As a California native, Monica Ganas skillfully charts the paradoxical terrain of the bellwether state: its mediated myths and trendsetting realities. Under the Influence reads like a ride on Disneyland's Soarin' Over California, a sweeping collage of the cultural landscape with personal anecdotes and textual analysis probing the meanings of American popular culture."--William D. Romanowski, author, Eyes Wide Open: Looking for God in Popular Culture "Monica Ganas skillfully weaves biography and cultural analysis into a brilliant book. She demonstrates how California's values have overtaken our notions of marriage, funerals, and meals. We're all California dreamin'. Under the Influence is a smart and sobering wake-up call." --Craig Detweiler Director, Center for Entertainment, Media, and Culture, Pepperdine University "Displaying her keen intellect, Ganas weaves history, popular culture, and personal story into the tapestry of belief systems and thought patterns that make up the California experience and influence. In prose that's both hard hitting and redemptive, Ganas explores the intoxicating effect of what she calls 'California-ism.' Be warned: this book will touch you."
--Thomas F. Andrews
Former Executive Director, Historical Society of Southern California Reviews

"[Ganas] has the unique perspective of an insider who is also spiritually grounded. The author knows the California culture, both popular and societal, and she provides the intellectual means for digging beneath its superficial glamour and finding something of spiritual substance. When appropriate, the author integrates movie, television, and literature references, but she also leans heavily on scripture scholar Walter Brueggeman and author Evelyn Waugh. Ganas utilizes all these sources to raise important queries regarding community, criticizing California culture for promoting disconnection among people. She also turns her sights on the California approach to weddings and funerals and its almost religious worship of the automobile, using those subjects as stepping stones for fascinating inquiries into religious and spiritual truths connected to these practices. Helpful insights, indeed, especially for those who believe that as goes California, so goes the U.S."
--Publishers Weekly

"A lifelong and proud resident of California, Dr. Monica Ganas proclaims and analyzes the loss of 'grace' in our society, selecting California and 'the Cal-type' as a symbol of moral deterioration. . . . Although she encourages Christians to locate spirituality beyond the overbearing physical world, she is, in general, expressing hope for the reintroduction of humanity; therefore, anyone interested in sociology, theology, or history may be intrigued by Ganas' insight." --Lydia Belanger
ForeWord Reviews

Since California is often equated with Hollywood, the state’s culture can often seem more fantasy than reality. Author Ganas, a professor at California’s Azusa Pacific University, is a former actor, director, and producer, so she has the unique perspective of an insider who is also spiritually grounded. The author knows the California culture, both popular and societal, and she provides the intellectual means for digging beneath its superficial glamour and finding something of spiritual substance. When appropriate, the author integrates movie, television, and literature references, but she also leans heavily on scripture scholar Walter Brueggeman and author Evelyn Waugh. Ganas utilizes all these sources to raise important queries regarding community, criticizing California culture for promoting disconnection among people. She also turns her sights on the California approach to weddings and funerals and its almost religious worship of the automobile, using those subjects as stepping stones for fascinating inquiries into religious and spiritual truths connected to these practices. Helpful insights, indeed, especially for those who believe that as goes California, so goes the U.S. (June) Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.