Explore the universe of Frank Herbert’s Dune in all its philosophical richness “He who controls the spice controls the universe.” Frank Herbert’s Dune saga is the epic story of Paul, son of Duke Leto Atreides, and heir to the massive fortune promised by the desert planet Arrakis and its vast reservoirs of a drug called “spice.” To…
What House of the Dragon and Rings of Power reveal about our society. By Edwardo Pérez Popular culture tends to proceed along two paths, and often simultaneously: one that reflects society and one that influences society. Our current cultural moment is steeped in medieval fantasy, with shows like HBO’s House of the Dragon and Amazon’s…
Joker and Philosophy Call for Abstracts Edited by Massimiliano L. Cappuccio, George A. Dunn, and Jason T. Eberl The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series Please circulate and post widely. Apologies for cross-posting. To propose ideas for future volumes in the Blackwell series please contact the Series Editor, William Irwin, at williamirwin@kings.edu Joker is arguably…
The Witcher and Philosophy Call for Abstracts Edited by Matthew Brake and Kevin S. Decker The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series Please circulate and post widely. Apologies for cross-posting. To propose ideas for future volumes in the Blackwell series please contact the Series Editor, William Irwin, at williamirwin@kings.edu The Witcher series of books by Andrzej Sapkowski…
Doctor Strange and Professor Hegel in the Multiverse of Madness By Elliot Dolan-Evans SPOILER ALERT: The following article contains plot spoilers for the blockbuster superhero production, The Science of Logic by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, so you’ve been duly warned… Cinemagoers have welcomed the long-awaited release of the 28th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe,…
Sega’s Comix Zone and Miguel de Unamuno On the Ontological Status of Fictional Characters By Alberto Oya Comix Zone (Sega Technical Institute, 1995) is a two-dimensional scrolling beat ‘em up videogame released in 1995 for the Sega Mega Drive (known as Sega Genesis in North America). The concept, design and art direction of the videogame…
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom The Story of (Fossil) Dinosaurs Who Walked into an Auction Room By Victor Monnin At the end of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), genetically-engineered dinosaurs are being sold to an evil consortium of arms dealers and military leaders during a secret auction. In their attempt to stop the sale, the three…
Metallica and the Freedom to Roam William Irwin *This essay is excerpted and adapted from The Meaning of Metallica: Ride the Lyrics. Metallica means freedom, and “Wherever I May Roam” is a declaration of individual independence, a freedom manifesto. The song starts with sitar, evoking visions of the far East, but this is an American…
Check out the 2nd edition of Introducing Philosophy Through Pop Culture: From Socrates to Star Wars and Beyond. Can Wonder Woman help us understand feminist philosophy? How Does Wakandan technology transcend anti-Blackness? What can Star Trek teach us about the true nature of reality? Introducing Philosophy Through Pop Culture makes important philosophical concepts and the work of major philosophers relevant, fun, and…
Let it Go? Elsa, Stoicism, and the “Lazy Argument” Brendan Shea Disney’s Frozen (2013) and Frozen 2 (2019) are among the highest-grossing films of all time (IMDb 2021) and are arguably among the most influential works of fantasy produced in the last decade in any medium. The films, based loosely on Hans Christensen Andersen’s…
The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series 