Craig Detweiler (born 1964) is a

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

, and

cultural commentator A cultural critic is a critic of a given culture, usually as a whole. Cultural criticism has significant overlap with social and cultural theory. While such criticism is simply part of the self-consciousness of the culture, the social positions of ...

. He is dean of the College of Arts and Media at

Grand Canyon University Grand Canyon University (GCU) is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit Christian university in Phoenix, Arizona. The university offers degrees in over 200 areas of study and is administrativel ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

Early life and career

Detweiler grew up in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. He is a

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

graduate from

Davidson College Davidson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina, United States. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after American Revolutiona ...

with a B.A. in English. He went on to receive a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

from the University of Southern California's School of Cinema/TV. Later he received a Masters of Divinity and PhD in theology and culture at

Fuller Theological Seminary Fuller Theological Seminary is an Evangelical seminary in Pasadena, California, with regional campuses in the western United States. It is egalitarian in nature. Fuller has a student body of approximately 2,300 students from 90 countries and ...

. While at Fuller, he co-founded the Windrider Forum, a "vehicle to promote the presentation and exploration of the human story through film and visual media". He served as associate professor and chair of the Mass Communication Department at

Biola University Biola University () is a private, nondenominational, evangelical Christian university in La Mirada, California. It was founded in 1908 as the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. It has over 150 programs of study in nine schools offering bachelor' ...

La Mirada, California La Mirada is a city in southeast Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California United States, and is one of the Gateway Cities, on the border with Orange County, California, Orange County. The population was 48,008 at the 2020 ...

. Detweiler also served as professor of communication at

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private university, private Christianity, Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pepperdine's main campus consists ...

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; ; ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching along the Pacific Ocean coa ...

. In 2016, Variety recognized Detweiler as the Mentor of the Year.

Screenplays

As a

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

, he has written over ten feature-length screenplays, including '' The Duke'' (1999) for Buena Vista and the

road trip A road trip, sometimes spelled roadtrip, is a long-distance Travel, journey traveled by a car or a motorcycle. History First road trips by automobile The world's first recorded long-distance road trip by the automobile took place in German Em ...

comedy ''

Extreme Days ''Extreme Days'' is a 2001 comedy-romance film about four boys on a roadtrip that they have been planning their whole lives. Their dreams are to participate in many extreme sports, but they are stopped short due to many circumstances. Plot Four c ...

'' (2001). In 1996, he directed a documentary, ''Williams Syndrome: A Highly Musical Species'', which premiered at the Boston Film Festival.

Books

Detweiler's first book, co-written with Barry Taylor, was ''A Matrix of Meanings: Finding God in Pop Culture'', dealing with relationships between

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

, 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 A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

film ''Purple State of Mind''; ''iGods: How Technology Shapes our Spiritual and Social Lives'' (2013), a theology of technology, internet and social media. ''Selfies: Searching for the Image of God in a Digital Age'' (2018) received an Award of Merit for the best books in Culture and the Arts from ''Christianity Today''. He has also edited two collections of essays, ''Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games with God'' and ''Don't Stop Believin': Pop Culture and Religion from Ben-Hur to Zombies''.

Films

In 2008, Detweiler produced and directed a documentary, ''Purple State of Mind'' which explores the

blue state Starting with the 2000 United States presidential election, the terms "red state" and "blue state" have referred to US states whose voters vote predominantly for one party—the Republican Party in red states and the Democratic Party in bl ...

/ red state tension in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In 2013, Detweiler produced and directed a documentary, ''unCommon Sounds'' which brought musicians to Lebanon and Indonesia to build sustainable peace through music. It premiered on ABC's "Visions and Values" series.

Selected works

*Honest Creativity: The Foundations of Boundless, Good, and Inspired Innovation, Morehouse Publishing, 2024 *Deep Focus: Film and Theology in Dialogue, with Robert K. Johnston and Kutter Callaway, Baker Academic, 2019 *Selfies: Searching for the Image of God in a Digital Age, Brazos Press, 2018 *iGods: How Technology Shapes Our Spiritual and Social Lives, Brazos Press, 2013 *Don't Stop Believin': Pop Culture and Religion from Ben-Hur to Zombies—Co-editor, Westminster John Knox, 2012 *Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games with God—Editor, Westminster John Knox, 2010 *Into the Dark: Seeing the Sacred in the Top Films of the 21st Century—Baker Academic, 2008 *A Purple State of Mind: Finding Middle Ground in a Divided Culture—Conversant Life, 2008 *A Matrix of Meanings: Finding God in Pop Culture, co-written with Barry Taylor—Baker Academic, 2003 *"The Wire: Playing the Game" in Small Screen, Big Picture: Television and Lived Religion -- Diane Winston, editor, Baylor University Press, 2009 *"Christianity and Film" in Routledge Companion to Religion and Film—John Lyden, editor, 2009

Affiliations and awards

*American Academy of Religion, "Religion, Film and Visual Group," steering committee, 2007–2012 *Audience Award, "Purple State of Mind," Tallahassee Film Festival, 2009 *Best Spiritual Film, "Purple State of Mind," Breckenridge Festival of Film, 2008 *Finalist, Book of the Year, Into the Dark, Collide Magazine, 2008 *Finalist, Gold Medallion in Theology, A Matrix of Meanings, 2004 *Cine Golden Eagle, "Williams Syndrome", 1996 *Silver Award, Feature Documentary, "Williams Syndrome," WorldFest Charleston, 1996 *Crystal Heart Award, "Williams Syndrome," Heartland Film Festival, 1996

References

Biola University faculty profile

External links

Craig Detweiler at WorldCat Identities
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Purple State of Mind blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Detweiler, Craig 1964 births Living people Writers from Charlotte, North Carolina American male screenwriters Davidson College alumni USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni Fuller Theological Seminary alumni Pepperdine University faculty Biola University faculty Screenwriters from California Screenwriters from North Carolina