Page - 135 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 03/01

Bulletproof Love: Luke Cage (2016) and Religion | 135www.jrfm.eu 2017, 3/1, 123–155 make it harder for the police to find and capture Luke (E12).26 As he becomes us, in other words, we become him: ordinary/special, criminal/hero, human/di- vine: Dishwasher Lazarus. “WhO’s GONNA tAKe the WeiGht?” the use of hip hop culture throughout Luke Cage (2016) is pervasive. from the soundtrack to the location of Luke’s community, hip hop culture is prevalent and provides a foundational grounding for the series and for the character of Luke. His connection to the community, the father figure in Pop, the oversized picture of Biggie Smalls in Cornell’s office, and the underground aura give Luke Cage (2016) a strong connection to a culture much larger than just its music. As scholars have asserted, Hip Hop is much more than just music videos, lyr- ics, and “bling”. 27 it is a culture by which those who have been disinherited can find identity, space, place, and being.28 Moreover, hip hop is a contextual manu- facturing of those oppressed and cast aside into DJing, rhythms, MCing, dance, language, street entrepreneurialism, street fashion, knowledge and spirituali- ty.29 thus, Luke Cage (2016) and the themes within the first Black comic book hero present a reassertion of Black narrative and theology. Luke Cage (2016) is a secular articulation of the spiritual reimagined within a hip hop context and ethos. to that end, Luke takes on three of hip hop’s theological concepts: (1) a theology of social action, (2) God of the profane, (3) a theology of community.30 Jon Michael spencer’s theomusicology provides a framework that allows us to better comprehend Luke’s connection to hip hop, its culture, and its the- ology.31 Theomusicology is defined as “a musicological method for theologiz- ing about the sacred, the secular, and the profane, principally incorporating thought and method borrowed from anthropology, sociology, psychology, and philosophy”.32 it is, as Cheryl Kirk-Duggan and Marlon hall state, “Music as spir- itual practice … hear[ing] the challenges and evils in the church and the world 26 A television news report on this community action highlights the iconic/religious significance of Luke’s hoodie by referring to him as “the ‘hole-y’ hero” (e12). 27 Dyson 2001; Hodge 2009, 2010; Johnson 2013; Miller/Pinn 2015; Miller/Pinn/Freeman 2015. 28 forman 2002, 173–211. 29 hodge 2010, 42–43. 30 hodge 2010, 73–187. 31 While the central premise of this framework focuses on music, i have expanded its use to also explore cultural phenomena within Black and city contexts along with adding symbolic imagery and cultural mores – all of which are a part of Luke Cage (2016). 32 spencer 1991, 3.