Banshee and the Political Philosophy of Carl Schmitt By Beau Mullen Banshee is one of the most violent shows in television history. Not an episode passes without a bloody shoot-out or a bone crushing fist fight. The protagonist is an ex-con who assumes the identity of the newly arrived sheriff. He intends to use the…
Lego and Philosophy Call for Abstracts Edited by Sondra Bacharach and Roy T. Cook The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series . Abstracts and subsequent essays should be philosophically substantial but accessible, written to engage the intelligent lay reader. Works focusing on the any aspect of the multimedia Lego phenomenon (including building sets, films and…
Mass Effect, Personal Identity, and Genocide By Russ Hamer As video games and gaming gain traction in our society, we are seeing the production of more and more games that immerse the player in serious narratives full of complicated philosophical problems. Mass Effect is one of these games. For those who don’t know, the…
What is the Purpose of the Hero? Age of Ultron, Dune, Batman, and Nietzsche By Jeffery L. Nicholas Age of Ultron asks one of those ultimate meta-questions: what is the purpose of the hero? I suspect that Captain America: Civil War will center on this question, but we get the first glimpse in AoU. Tony…
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…
Iron Man Needs a Little Publicity (No, the Other Kind) Warning: Mild spoilers for Avengers: Age of Ultron By Mark D. White In Avengers: Age of Ultron, our assembled heroes tackle the artificial intelligence Ultron, created (in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) by Tony Stark in an attempt to protect the Earth from attacks from outer…
Great excerpt from How You Play the Game, over at the following link: On killing virtual dogs
Check this out: A UGA Philosopher professor decodes 5 Modest Mouse songs.
[Deadline for Abstracts extended to March 23rd 2015] Minecraft and Philosophy Edited by Ian Schnee The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series Please circulate and re-post widely Abstracts and subsequent essays should be philosophically substantial but accessible, written to engage the intelligent lay reader. Contributors of accepted essays will receive an honorarium. Submission…
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…
The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series 