Nine Inch Nails and Boethius Aren’t the Actual Events By Ashley Whitaker In The Consolation of Philosophy, Boethius laments his unjust imprisonment, but Lady Philosophy attempts to comfort him with a stern reminder that she has remained carefully beside him. No matter what else he is deprived of, Boethius cannot be stopped from philosophizing. Like…
Zootopia, Black Lives Matter, and Class Struggle Matthew William Brake 2016 is an important anniversary date. It marks 500 years since the 1516 release of Thomas More’s Utopia (or as its known by its full title, On the Best State of a Commonwealth and on the New Island of Utopia: A Truly Golden Handbook, No…
Call for Abstracts Westworld and Philosophy Edited by Susanne E. Foster and James B. South 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 If you have comments or criticisms for…
Coming Home from War and Metallica’s “Confusion” By William Irwin (originally published at Psychologytoday.com) Life is war. It’s a common metaphor. In fact, I thought it was the theme of Metallica’s new song “Confusion” when I first heard it. The lyric that comes through most clearly is “My life, the war that never ends.” Listening…
Would Kierkegaard Like Katniss Everdeen? Matthew William Brake Initially, I wasn’t a fan of the Hunger Games. The first time I heard about the series was from a friend (Hi Emma!) who read the books based on a recommendation from someone else. When the first movie came out, I didn’t go see it. I just…
Call for Abstracts Doctor Strange and Philosophy Edited by Mark D. White The Blackwell Philosophy and Popular 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 If you have comments or criticisms for the series,…
Avenged Sevenfold Explores the Polarized Mind on “The Stage” By Ashley Whitaker The music video for Avenged Sevenfold’s song “The Stage” opens with a small audience entering a puppet show, uncertain of what to expect. Soon it becomes clear that the audience has paid to witness graphic depictions of historical atrocities. Laughing at portrayals of…
“I Ain’t Gonna Be Part of Your System!” Lonely Island, Bernie Sanders, and Faux-Revolutionaries By Matthew William Brake This has been a wild election season. The Republican Party has allowed the worst caricature of its own populist impulses to become its nominee. And for its part, the Democratic Party has chosen Hillary Clinton—an establishment, left-leaning, and…
The Strange World of Planet Earth: Prophetic Criticism and Ecological Crisis By Jack Holloway “Since the world began, ever-inventive man has constantly pushed forward into the unknown. One by one, the frontiers of science have fallen before him. . . . Now he stands on the threshold of a new age—a terrifying age.” So begins…
Compassion in a Virtual State of Nature Catfish The TV Show and Philosophy By Randee Melançon and Jérôme Melançon To “catfish” is for a person to engage in an online relationship on the basis of lies about parts or all of who they are. With no government law or authority to appeal to, victims of…
The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series 