Series of Philosophy and Pop Culture Books Great for Fans of Both
Duh. Or should I say D’oh!
Open Court publishers have been releasing books in their Popular Culture and Philosophy Series since the turn of the millennium. (Well, actually, since before the turn of the millennium since everyone who celebrated Jan. 1 2000 was really celebrating a full year ahead of schedule, but that’s another article.) In 2000, Open Court released Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book about Everything and Nothing. Since then they’ve covered the philosophic aspect of such widely diverse pop culture icons as The Matrix, baseball, The Sopranos, and the films of Woody Allen. In preparation is a book entitled The Atkins Diet and Philosophy.
I am not making that up.
The three best releases so far in this series, (or at least the three that I’ve read completely through so far) deal with philosophy and The Simpsons, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Star Wars. Each book is actually a collection of essays by academics. But don’t let that scare, these are college professors with a knack for writing, knowledge of both philosophy and pop culture, and a sense of humor. Make sure you read the about the authors section in the back of each book, they are quite humorous.
The edition about the Simpsons is, naturally, not up to date, examining the best show in television history from a philosophical viewpoint only up to season twelve. But seeing as how the publisher recently put out a sequel to its Matrix edition following up on the two movie sequels, it may not be too much to hope for a companion piece on down the road. The book is broken down into four sections: Part one focuses on each of the Simpson family, for instance an essay looking at Homer and the Aristotelian categories of virtue, how Bart is a prototype for Nietzsche’s amoral uberman, and even a fascinating chapter on the silence of baby Maggie and Western and Eastern concepts of keeping one’s mouth shut. Part two delves into Simpsonian themes such as the power of allusion, parody, irony and sexual politics. Part three is a whopper, dealing with ethics from the points of view that stretch from Mr. Burns to Ned Flanders.
Part four is the best. At least the first two chapters. As anyone who knows anything about the early days of the Simpsons knows, it was attacked by the right wing, the first President Bush especially, as being a left-wing mouthpiece bent on the destruction of the American way of life. (The right to buy things even on the day after 9/11.) Author James Wallace writes convincingly that Karl Marx would not be welcomed in Springfield, however. He makes a stunning case that The Simpsons really doesn’t satirically make a case against rampant free market enterprise, that in fact it “promotes the interests of the class that maintains economic power over the masses.” No doubt that riverboat gambler/protector of virtue William Bennett would be surprised to hear that.
The best essay in the book focuses on one of the most beloved episodes in the Simpsons canon, “The Front,” in which Grandpa Simpson puts his name to Itchy & Scratchy scripts penned by Bart and Lisa. From this simple little cartoon, the author, David L.G. Arnold fashions an amazing explanation and analysis of how Roland Barthes’ semiotic analysis of text can and should be done. Touching on everything from Ferdinand de Saussure to Ren and Stimpy, Arnold concludes that the script is an “irresponsible text”, “postmodern” and “satiric.” That it can be all those things at once will amaze you after you finish reading this masterpiece. Those who know only philosophy will learn something and those who know only The Simpsons will learn something.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy: Fear and Trembling in Sunnydale does not focus on the traditional philosophic aspects of vampire fiction. Most “serious” vampire analysis tends to focus on religious, especially Christian, ideas. Anyone who watched more than a few episodes of Buffy knows that the show eschewed most of the traditional Christian/religious baggage that comes with the genre. The opening essay pretty much puts a stake through any hope that this book will be delving into Christian mythology. The opening pages set the stage for transitioning the vampire motif away from the importance of the cross and toward a Platonic ethical concept of eudaimonism: “the basis of moral goodness is the fulfillment of human nature to its highest potential.”
From this point the essays look at Faith’s moral redemption and Buffy’s athleticism and leadership as examples of feminist fiction. There’s also a section of essays on science and Buffy, the requisite section on ethics, religion from its political viewpoint, and an interesting little ending section that focuses on Buffy as a TV show.
The overall effect of this edition seems to revolve around morality. After all, Buffy like Batman walks a thin line between savior and fascist. (A point that Faith clearly crosses.) The most fascinating essay in this edition is probably the one that questions the fascism inherent in Sunnydale. The writer, Neal King, avows that the Scooby Gang is more of a neo-Nazi unit than a gang of happy-go-lucky leftists, that the show is “merrily racist,” and that even The Initiative is not quite as fascistic as Buffy herself. You may never look at Buffy in quite the same way again after reading this essay.
If you are like many who have come across the phrase “postmodern” to describe just about everything written since 1985, then the essay that examines Buffy and postmodernism is for you. The section of this essay dealing with identity and ambiguity is particularly enlightening. Overall, the Buffy book is probably a bit more overladen on the pop culture than the philosophy compared to the Simpsons book, but even a philosophy major would do well to read it.
It may come as a surprise to find that Star Wars and Philosophy: More Powerful Than You Can Possibly Imagine is the most recent published book in this series. After all, the Star Wars movies have long been the subject of Joseph Campbell-inspired philosophy and religious studies. But then again, why publish a sequel dealing with just one movie when you could wait a little bit and cover all six? Yes, though published this year, the Star Wars edition contains numerous references to Revenge of the Sith.
Naturally, there is a section on ethics. You might be surprised, however, to find that the Jedi do not come off entirely perfect and the Sith do come across as entirely evil. After all, are Jedi mind tricks really ethical? Read and decide for yourself.
The opening section contains essays focusing on the Eastern mystical qualities of The Force, associating it with Zen (not surprisingly) and also with Greek Stoicism (perhaps surprisingly.) The essay by Walter (Ritoku) Robinson contains much fascinating material on the history of Zen, Buddhism, Taoism, samurai and the shogun. While reading it, in fact, I couldn’t help but hope that a book on philosophy and Kill Bill might be in the works. Yoda as a Zen master is hardly new material, but the essays in this section do manage to pull out some interesting new spins.
You might well imagine that Star Wars would provide fodder for essays examining the use of technology and philosophy and there are two penetrating essays that do just that. One focuses on Heidegger’s concept of “enframing” or reorganizing all the elements of nature and turning them into resources. How Anakin’s enframing leads to the birth of Darth Vader is an abject lesson in the dangers of dependence upon technology. Another chapter engages the much-touched upon question of whether droids of the sophistication of R2D2 and C-3PO qualify as persons. (If so, then C-3PO qualifies as that kind of person you never want to have to sit next to on a long plane flight!)
If not the best essay in the book, then certainly the most useful would have to be Kevin Decker’s analysis of how the Galactic Republic turned so easily into the Empire. Considering our own Sith Lords are now in power in the White House, we should all be attuned to the methods by which free men become slaves through democratic processes.
Although just about every philosopher from Socrates to Baudrillard is mentioned somewhere in these books, they are not difficult reads. (With a very, very few exceptions.) They are engaging, educational, funny. You may find one essay completely contradicting another; these books do not reflect anyone’s singleminded vision. And if you just don’t care about Buffy, Obi-Wan or Homer Simpson, then check out the ones about Harry Potter, or Lord of The Rings.
