Lost Horizon: “No, this is not a disentanglement from, but a progressive knotting into.” James B. South At this point, Mad Men has become so complicated and self-referential that it’s amazing Matthew Weiner can still craft a good episode that advances the story. Luckily, though, so many of the show’s references are also to things…
Is Fake All That’s Real? Mad Men Winds Down By James B. South When Rod Carveth and I edited Mad Men and Philosophy: Nothing Is as it Seems, we could not have foreseen that the show’s historical time period would extend to 1970. As the final half of its last season begins, though, it’s…
Memo to Frank Underwood Your plan to cut entitlements by $500 billion and use the money to ‘create’ jobs won’t work. Why not use it to cut payroll taxes across the board instead? By Peter Lewin The consensus verdict on season 3 of Netflix’s House of Cards will arrive in due course. I will…
Humans of New York and Philosophy How to See a Face By Roberto Sirvent and Duncan Reyburn Even in our image-saturated world, the face remains the primary signal of identity. From infancy, the face initiates that all-important moment of genuine recognition. We find ourselves mirrored in the lives of others as they welcome us into…
Supernatural and Philosophy 10 Years, 200 episodes, and Millions of Fans Supernatural and the Social Contract By Jillian L. Canode The 2014 fall television season marked the beginning of the 10th year of Supernatural. Despite the show’s longevity and fans who are über devoted to it, many people still say, “I’ve never heard of…
Sons of Anarchy and Philosophy Female Violence, Feminist Care By Leigh Kolb Sons of Anarchy revolves around the chaotic yet highly methodical world of a motorcycle club and the forces around them—from law enforcement and crooked cops to gangs and organized crime rings. The entire series focuses on politics, power, violence, and authority in incredibly…
Her and Philosophy By Gina Zavota The 2013 Spike Jonze film Her tells the story of Theodore Twombly, a lonely introvert going through a difficult divorce in a near-future Los Angeles. He works as a letter-writer for people who are unable to express their feelings and lives a somewhat solitary life, until he purchases…
Interstellar and Philosophy The Ethics of Space Colonization By Lance Belluomini The highly anticipated Sci-Fi movie Interstellar opened worldwide on November 7th. I couldn’t wait to experience the movie for myself on opening day. And I did, on the largest film format there is—70mm IMAX. I wasn’t disappointed. If nothing else, Interstellar contains the…
Philosophically Animating Christmas by David Kyle Johnson Christmas time is upon us again and so it’s once again the time for the animated Christmas special. Things have changed considerably in the 50 years since the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer animated special originally aired. Indeed, many animated Christmas specials today are irreverent and profane; but they…
Sons of Anarchy and Philosophy Holy, Moses! The Pleasures and Perils of Revenge (Part II) George A. Dunn “Anyone who maims another shall suffer the same injury in return: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; the injury inflicted is the injury to be suffered.” ~ Leviticus 24:19-20 Do you think Jax Teller…
The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series 