Book: Competing Spectacles
Author: Tony Reinke
Page Count: 160
Link: https://www.crossway.org/books/competing-spectacles-tpb/

In this short little book, Tony Reinke seeks to answer one question: "In this 'age of the spectacle' (as it has been called) - in this ecosystem of digital pictures and fabricated sights and viral moments competing for our attention - how do we spiritually thrive?" (16).

To make his point, Reinke points to the reality of the specactle throughout human history. From the gladiatorial games of Rome, to the Greecian Olympic games, to the theatre of London, humanity has always been captivated by "the spectacle". There has always been something competing for our attention, calling for our focus, and striving to give shape to our desires. The endless supply of things competing for our attention has only grown during the digital age. We are bombarded with an endless stream of entertainment, politics, catastrophes, and more presented in 20 second sound bites that begin one after another on whatever media platform we want.

However, Reinke argues that there is more to it than simply an endless supply of entertainment. He writes: "Behind it all, spectacles want something from us. 'Consuming' is part of it, but we don't merely ingest spectacles; we respond to them. Visual images awaken the motives in our hearts. Images tug the strings of our actions. Images want our celebration, our awe, our affection, our time, and our outrage. Images invoke our consensus, our approval, our buy-in, our respreading power, and our wallets".

The problem that Reinke identifies is that our infatuation with the many spectacles of the age is that we often find ourselves more captivated, and influeced, by them than the spectacle for the ages: the cross of Christ. This act of God's love for His people and judgement of sin should grab our attention and never let it go. This should be driving our responses, shaping our emotions, and be at the center of our affections.

What this creates are two competing spectacles: The Spectacles of the Age and the glory of Christ. The question is: which one will hold our attention and shape our affections?

It is a short read but long on impact. In it, Reinke will challenge you and cause you to pause to ask "what is shaping me"? We live in a media-saturated day where we have endless ways to be entertained. From social media to Netflix to 24-hour news channels, there is something for everyone calling out for our eyes and our affections. What has pride of place in our life as that which supremely influences us? This book forces the reader to ask those questions and is well worth the read.

This is a book that is timely, not just for the age in which we live, but particularly in a season where everything is fixated on the Coronavirus. All day long, coverage of this virus screams for our attention, threatening to dominate our thoughts and drive our emotions. During our season of quarantine, this would be a great read to help think through not just how we will fill all of our excess time but what will shape our thoughts and feelings.