2014

Dr. Craig Detweiler | Filmmaker, Author, Educator

Dr. Craig Detweiler, Ph.D., is a filmmaker, author and cultural commentator. Craig is director of the Center for Entertainment, Media, and Culture at Pepperdine University in Malibu. He’s a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Davidson College and earned an M.F.A. from the University of Southern California’s acclaimed film school. His comedic documentary, Purple State of Mind, won Best Spiritual Film at the 2008 Breckenridge Festival of Film and the Audience Award at the 2009 Tallahassee Film Festival. Detweiler’s first book, co-written with Barry Taylor, was “A Matrix of Meanings: Finding God in Pop Culture,” dealing with relationships between advertising, movies, music, TV and the divine. Other Detweiler books include: “Into the Dark: Seeing the Sacred in the Top Films of the 21st Century” (2008), discussing contemporary film from a social, cultural and theological perspective; “A Purple State of Mind: Finding Middle Ground in a Divided Culture,” a companion piece to his documentary film Purple State of Mind; “iGods: How Technology Shapes our Spiritual and Social Lives” (2013), a theology of technology, internet and social media. Craig has also edited a new book, “Halos and Avatars,” which connects the dots between video games and God. His cultural commentary has appeared on ABC’s Nightline, CNN, Fox News, NPR and in The New York Times. He blogs as ‘Doc Hollywood’ at patheos.com.