Seinfeld and Philosophy

Author: William Irwin
Publisher: ReadHowYouWant.com
ISBN: 1459601165
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 362

Book Description
How is Jerry like Socrates? Is it rational for George to ''do the opposite? '' Would Simone de Beauvoir say that Elaine is a feminist? Is Kramer stuck in Kierkegaard's aesthetic stage? Seinfeld and Philosophy is both an enlightening look at the most popular sitcom of the decade and an entertaining introduction to philosophy via Seinfeld's plots and characters. These fourteen essays, which explore the ideas of Plato, Aristotle, Lao-Tzu, Heidegger, Kant, Marx, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Sartre, and Wittgenstein, will show readers how to be masters of their philosophical domain.

The Simpsons and Philosophy

Author: William Irwin
Publisher: Open Court
ISBN: 0812696948
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 227

Book Description
This unconventional and lighthearted introduction to the ideas of the major Western philosophers examines The Simpsons — TV’s favorite animated family. The authors look beyond the jokes, the crudeness, the attacks on society — and see a clever display of irony, social criticism, and philosophical thought. The writers begin with an examination of the characters. Does Homer actually display Aristotle’s virtues of character? In what way does Bart exemplify American pragmatism? The book also examines the ethics and themes of the show, and concludes with discussions of how the series reflects the work of Aristotle, Marx, Camus, Sartre, and other thinkers.

Pretty, Pretty, Pretty Good

Author: Josh Levine
Publisher: ECW Press
ISBN: 1554906970
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 230

Book Description
Larry David, the man behind two of the most successful and critically acclaimed sitcoms in television history, is the focus of this biography. This unofficial guide follows the career that has accorded him status as a comic genius and garnered a fanatical following—from his early exploits as a stand-up comic to his role as producer and cocreator of Seinfeld and HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. It explores the back-story of the conception and development of Curb Your Enthusiasm, a mostly improvised sitcom in which the actor stars as a fictionalized version of himself. The comic’s on- and off-screen relationships with colleagues and friends such as Richard Lewis, Ted Danson, Wanda Sykes, Mary Steenburgen, and the cast members of Seinfeld are discussed, and a detailed episode guide to every season of Curb Your Enthusiasm completes this informative and entertaining glimpse into the life and creative process of a great comic talent.

Seinfeld and Economics

Author: Linda S. Ghent
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000178811
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 115

Book Description
As the most successful sitcom of all time, the television series Seinfeld provides a rich environment for learning basic economic principles. Chronicling the lives of four close friends—Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer—the show highlights human behavior at its best and its worst. The major characters paint themselves as some of the most self-interested individuals in all of popular culture, and are faced with dilemmas that force them to make decisions. Those decisions are at the heart of economics. Each chapter in this book explores one or more key economic concepts and relates them to key scenes from the show. These principles are then applied to other real-world situations, arming readers with the tools needed to make better economic decisions. Written in a light-hearted and conversational style, this book is a must-read for fans of Seinfeld and anyone who wants to learn something from "the show about nothing." It is an ideal supplement for all economics classes.

Seinfeld, Master of Its Domain

Author: David Lavery
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1441100903
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 289

Book Description
After a slow and inauspicious beginning, Seinfeld broke through to become one of the most commercially successful sitcoms in the history of television. This fascinating book includes classic articles on the show by Geoffrey O'Brien and Bill Wyman (first published in the New York Review of Books and Salon.com respectively), and a selection of new and revised essays by some of the top television scholars in the US - looking at issues as wide-ranging as Seinfeld's Jewishness, alleged nihilism, food obsession, and long-running syndication. The book also includes a comprehensive episode guide, and Betty Lee's lexicon of Seinfeld language.

Bob Dylan and Philosophy

Author: Carl J. Porter
Publisher: Open Court
ISBN: 081269760X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 225

Book Description
The legions of Bob Dylan fans know that Dylan is not just a great composer, writer, and performer, but a great thinker as well. In Bob Dylan and Philosophy, eighteen philosophers analyze Dylan’s ethical positions, political commitments, views on gender and sexuality, and his complicated and controversial attitudes toward religion. All phases of Dylan’s output are covered, from his early acoustic folk ballads and anthem-like protest songs to his controversial switch to electric guitar to his sometimes puzzling, often profound music of the 1970s and beyond. The book examines different aspects of Dylan’s creative thought through a philosophical lens, including personal identity, negative and positive freedom, enlightenment and postmodernism in his social criticism, and the morality of bootlegging. An engaging introduction to deep philosophical truths, the book provides Dylan fans with an opportunity to learn about philosophy while impressing fans of philosophy with the deeper implications of his intellectual achievements.

Superheroes and Philosophy

Author: Tom Morris
Publisher: ReadHowYouWant.com
ISBN: 1459601130
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 470

Book Description
Great Caesars Ghost!! A team of Brainiacs! Superheroes and Philosophy is Kryptonite for those super villains who diss the heroes as lightweights! Riddle me this, Batman: How are Gotham City and Metropolis like ancient Athens and modern Paris? Read this sensational book and find out!

Shows about Nothing

Author: Thomas S. Hibbs
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781602583795
Category : Culture in motion pictures
Languages : en
Pages : 257

Book Description

Woody Allen and Philosophy

Author: Mark T. Conard
Publisher: Open Court
ISBN: 0812697464
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 284

Book Description
Fifteen philosophers representuing different schools of thought answer the question what is Woody Allen trying to say in his films? And why should anyone care? Focusing on different works and varied aspects of Allen's multifaceted output, these essays explore the philosophical undertones of Anne Hall, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Manhattan, A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy and reminds us that just because the universe is meaningless and life is pointless is no reason to commit suicide.

Stephen Colbert and Philosophy

Author: Aaron Allen Schiller
Publisher: Open Court Publishing
ISBN: 0812696611
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 313

Book Description
Stephen Colbert is a pop culture phenomenon. More than one million people backed his fake candidacy in the 2008 U.S. presidential election on Facebook, a testament to the set of issues and emotions Colbert brings to mind. Each chapter is written by a philosopher and all focused on Colbert's reality, from his word creations (truthiness, wikiality, freem, and others) to his position as a faux-pundit who openly mocks Fox News and CNN. Although most of the discussion is centered on The Colbert Report, this collection does not neglect either his best-selling book, I Am America (And So Can You!), or his public performances, including his 2006 White House Press Correspondents Dinner speech. From publisher description.