Date: Wed, 31 Dec 2003 09:53:27 -0800 (PST)
From: Evgeni Pavlov <evpav-AT-yahoo.com>
Subject: RE: Adieu's Beckett and all


Eric,
 
> On a completely different note, I've noticed lately when I look into the
> philosophy section at a store like Borders, the books that are most
> prominently displayed are meaty tomes with titles like 'Seinfeld and
> Philosophy', 'The Simpsons and Philosophy', 'Buffy and Philosophy' and,
> of course, 'The Matrix and Philosophy'.  

as a dedicated simpsons fan i can tell you that *simpsons and philosophy* is
an interesting read, it's not very sophisticated or anything, but good, esp.
an essay on maggie's silence - although i wish the books would collect essays
not only from philosophers... i think that first reaction to such a series is
an amusement cuz philosophers, let's face it, are for the most part an 
arrogant tribe and value incomprehensibility and aura of mystery - c'mmon, all
of us probably found it quite satisfying to discuss the reason for heidegger's
epigraph to sein und zeit as if it was the latest movie, and smile at others' puzzlement
... i guess these books, although by no means a popularization, attempt to analyze 
something that is readily available to the general public and show how it can also 
give food for thought. 

i argee with you on matrix movies, although i don't really think the first one was
that good either, it was very straightforward philosophically, people wondered about
these things for centuries - my two favorite *popular* movies that make a philosoph.
point much better are *memento* and *the usual suspects* - now that takes an effort 
for students to see the point, *matrix* on the other hand is quite obvious...

evgeni

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