Homer Simpson Ponders Politics: Popular Culture as Political Theory

by Timothy M. Dale, Joseph J. Foy (Editor), Margaret Weis (Foreword by)

Overview

It is often said that the poet Homer "educated" ancient Greece. Joseph J. Foy and Timothy M. Dale have assembled a team of notable scholars who argue, quite persuasively, that Homer Simpson and his ilk are educating America and offering insights into the social order and the human condition.

Following Homer Simpson Goes to Washington (winner of the John G. Cawelti Award for Best Textbook or Primer on American and Popular Culture) and Homer Simpson Marches on Washington, this exceptional volume reveals how books like J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter, movies like Avatar and Star Wars, and television shows like The Office and Firefly define Americans' perceptions of society. The authors expand the discussion to explore the ways in which political theories play out in popular culture. Homer Simpson Ponders Politics includes a foreword by fantasy author Margaret Weis (coauthor/creator of the Dragonlance novels and game world) and is divided according to eras and themes in political thought: The first section explores civic virtue, applying the work of Plato and Aristotle to modern media. Part 2 draws on the philosophy of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Smith as a framework for understanding the role of the state. Part 3 explores the work of theorists such as Kant and Marx, and the final section investigates the ways in which movies and newer forms of electronic media either support or challenge the underlying assumptions of the democratic order. The result is an engaging read for undergraduate students as well as anyone interested in popular culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813141503
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	06/29/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	254
Sales rank:	509,718
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Joseph J. Foy, associate campus dean and associate professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin–Waukesha, is the editor of Homer Simpson Goes to Washington: American Politics through Popular Culture and coeditor of Homer Simpson Marches on Washington: Dissent through American Popular Culture. Timothy M. Dale, assistant professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, is coeditor of Homer Simpson Marches on Washington: Dissent through American Popular Culture.

Joseph J. Foy is assistant professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha. He is contributing author to The Philosophy of The X-Files and The Executive Branch of State Government: People, Process, and Politics.
Timothy M. Dale, assistant professor of political science at the University ofWisconsin–Green Bay, is coauthor of Political Thinking, Political Theory, and Civil Society. He lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Table of Contents

Foreword Margaret Weis ix

Introduction: Popular Culture as Political Theory: Plato, Aristotle, and Homer Joseph J. Foy 1

Part 1 Classical Insights and Civic Virtue

1 A Tale of Two Republics: Plato, Palpatine, and Politics Dean A. Kowalski 13

2 Aristotle's Politics and the Virtues of Springfield: Community, Education, and Friendship in The Simpsons Timothy M. Dale 29

3 "Keep Your Friends Close but Your Enemies Closer": Machiavelli and Michael Corleone Eric T. Kasper 45

Part 2 The State, the Individual, and Political Morality

4 Social Contract: Rebellion and Dissent aboard Serenity Susanne E. Foster James B. South 63

5 Dwight Schrute and Servile Ambition: Tacitus and Rousseau on the Lackey Politics of The Office Matthew D. Mendham 75

6 Who Watches the Watchmen? Kant, Mill, and Political Morality in the Shadow of Manhattan S. Evan Kreider 97

Part 3 The Limitations and Possibilities of Political Life

7 Avatar, Marx, and the Alienation of Labor Mark C. E. Peterson 115

8 Nietzschean Narratives of Hero and Herd in Walt Disney / Pixar's The Incredibles C. Heike Schotten 131

9 Muggles, Magic, and Misfits: Michel Foucault at Harry Potter's Hogwarts Jamie Warner 147

10 Feminism, Sexism, and the Small Screen: Television's Complicated Relationship with Women Denise Du Vernay 163

Part 4 The Promises and Problems of Liberal Democracy

11 From John Wayne to John McClane: The Hollywood Action Hero and the Critique of the Liberal State Carl Bergetz 183

12 J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, or, There and Back Again: Recovering a Platonic-Aristotelian Politics of Friendship in Liberal Democracy Mary M. Keys 203

13 "Just Give Them the Internet": Social Media and the Promise of Liberal Democracy Joseph J. Foy 233

Acknowledgments 251

List of Contributors 253

Index 257

Editorial Reviews

"Today, film, fiction, and television reflect our notions of civic virtue, morality, and the human condition—or at least help us to struggle with understanding and defining these. The ubiquitous nature of popular culture means that it will have an effect upon us, whether one likes that or not. The authors argue that, given this fact, even those who doubt the 'seriousness' of popular culture would do well to pay attention to it."—Margaret Ferguson, Assistant Vice President for Statewide Academic Relations at Indiana University

From the Publisher

Most essays in this collection employ their "philosophical guides" in ways that can...disabuse undergraduates of the notion that political theory can better address the sterile and obsolete concerns of forgotten eras than fundamental questions about contemporary political life.

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