Product Description

In what she calls a "sometimes cheeky" meditation on Desperate Housewives, Shawnthea Monroe looks for signs of good news among the manicured lawns and tawdry plots of the hit television show. Posing deep questions ("Is Zero Even a Size?") and exploring topics such as "Sex and the Suburbs—or Dance of the Seven Tank Tops" and ‘Children—the Perfect Accessory," Monroe finds that beneath the farce, the issues faced by the women of Wisteria Lane are ones many of us experience. She takes a "down-to-earth" look at those issues from a Christian perspective and, with a style and humor all her own, Monroe shows us that while we may have a little dirty laundry, we are not desperate.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1084430 in Books
• Published on: 2006-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Customer Reviews

A thought-provoking theological reflection on Desperate Housewives: A desperate review of a not-so-desperate book.
In this engaging reflection on the popular American television comedy-drama show 'Desperate Housewives', the American pastor Shawnthea Monroe offers an entertaining analysis of life in suburbia, as portrayed through the show, from a Christian perspective. Monroe's work is indeed a talented one, capturing and sustaining the attention of the lay Desperate Housewives fanatic, whilst also offering a compelling treatise on the relationship between Desperate Housewives and Christian theology for the serious academic. Hence, this book will appeal to various readers. I used the book alongside my undergraduate theology module in religion and popular culture, for which I based my essay on the religious functions of Desperate Housewives, and it has proved useful. Some chapters indeed have a more serious tone than others. One chapter, for instance, is titled, 'Is Zero Even a Size?' Of course, this is hardly compelling for the desperate academic of religion and popular culture. On the other hand, the last two chapters are indeed enlightening for the scholar in this field, and are the most insightful. Here, Monroe reflects on the portrayal of Christians within the show, and the spiritual significance of Mary Alice Young, before finally considering how the show ought to be viewed and the experiences it can provide for viewers. This is what makes the book so interesting - it is sometimes funny (for the lay reader) and sometimes academic (for the serious scholar.) Laced with relevant Bible quotes, this book will be attractive reading for any open-minded Christian. It certainly helped me with my undergraduate essay and opened up new ways of viewing the show. On the other hand, I thought the academic analysis was a little vague at times and could have been expanded. For instance, during the last chapter, Monroe raises the issue of whether watching Desperate Housewives is a cathartic or mimetic experience, but this is merely glossed over and not written about in any significant depth. Having said that, the fact that Monroe raises the issue is original and thought-provoking. On the whole, this book is well recommended.