Transforming Culture introduces Jonahre as a Biblically-based prophetic imagination genre for film. It allows the content, intent, style and format of the creative process to reflect a Biblical pattern of storytelling and brings Truth to reality through stories. An alternative to the popular consciousness is established. — ROBERT K. JOHNSTON, Professor of Theology and Culture, Fuller Theological Seminary “Transforming Culture presents readers with a bold, provocative thesis that stirs one’s imagination. Combining communication theory and cultural studies with Old Testament theology (particularly Brueggemann’s model of prophetic/poetic imagination), it argues that Christian film producers, much like the writer of Jonah, can/should create an alternate consciousness in our culture. Their goal? Hopeful subversion of our reigning hegemony.”

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— COLIN HARBINSON, Senior Associate for the Arts, The Lausanne Movement, International Director, StoneWorks Global Arts Partnership
“Filmmaker Christine Gunn-Danforth shows the power of prophetic imagination to evoke biblically informed meanings that are relevant and culturally transformative. Transforming Culture: A Model of Faith and Film in Hollywood is a prophetic voice in a postmodern world of dreammaking and competing narratives.”

— QUENTIN J. SCHULTZE, Arthur H. DeKruyter Chair in Faith and Communication, Calvin College
“Christine Gunn-Danforth offers a prophetic approach to visual storytelling that captures age-old practices while addressing contemporary cultural opportunities. Her book will generate ideas for professional communicators, biblical scholars, teachers, cultural critics, and other symbol-makers.”

— KEN WALES, Producer, Amazing Grace, Executive Producer of the CBS TV Series CHRISTY
“The importance of this book is tying good storytelling to the Author of the greatest storytelling. It means choosing the right story to tell, in the first place! It points to the art of crafting the medium of storytelling, biblically for the transforming message of Truth. This is a call to film storytellers as they seek to bring to life that which warms the heart and touches the soul.”

Christine Gunn-Danforth was born in Cape Town, South Africa. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree, Honors degree, Masters degree attaining them Cum Laude and two PhD’s from the University of Johannesburg. She combined a Communications curriculum with a full Biblical Studies curriculum. In Communications her areas of specialty are in advertising, public relations, film and television with a further major in Industrial Psychology. In 2004 she was awarded a Ph.D. in both Biblical Studies and Communication by an international committee of scholars under the leadership of Prof. Johan Coetzee, including renowned Old Testament scholar Prof. Walter Brueggemann and Communication expert Prof. Quentin Schultze.