Seinfeld episodes master of my domain2/16/2024 His motivation is not principled but practical: the glare from the store's neon sign is disturbing him as he tries to sleep. In "Kramer and Kierkegaard: Stages on Life's Way," Irwin writes: "Think, for example, of Kramer's boycott of Kenny Rogers Roasters. ![]() The text draws parallels between the four main characters and their philosophical counterparts: When George decides that all the decisions he's made in his life have been wrong, so he should do the opposite of his instincts, one writer likens it to the Aristotelian paradigm "of the many." George embodies all the deficiencies of many people rolled into one, the author says, and thus provides an example of the forks in the road one should not take.Īt times the analogies get downright futile and an author shoots himself in the foot. The contributors are addicts who tape and chronologically arrange the 169 episodes and converse in "Seinfeld" lexicon like " No soup for you!" or "I'm the master of my domain!" The book is funny, unpredictable and well, creepy. It's composed of essays such as "Wittengenstein and Seinfeld on the commonplace" and "Elaine Benes: Feminist icon or just one of the boys?" It reads like a grown man driving a Miata with the top down, chugging a Mountain Dew and singing along with Alanis Morissette in a shrieking falsetto. The book was spawned after Irwin noticed that he and his philosophy cronies were all referencing the show in their classrooms. "Seinfeld" studies is a nascent fad, not a burgeoning discipline. Television gives students something they can identify with, it's a reference point to access subjects like Kant, Sartre and Heidegger."īut this doesn't mean "An Introduction to Seinfeld" will enter philosophy class descriptions next fall. "For so many years the traditional methods of teaching the humanities have been losing ground. ![]() Syracuse University professor Robert Thompson founded the Center of the Study of Popular Television after musing, "Why do smart people watch dumb television shows?" "Liberal arts' last great hope is to use TV," says Thompson, who is also president of the Popular Culture Association. For example, the "Good Samaritan" finale (when the group is charged with failing to help a carjacking victim) shows humanity at its darkest. Irwin believes that as Socrates sought to stir the masses, "Seinfeld" can elucidate people because it strips characters to their narcissistic selves. This collection of essays from philosophy professors kills two postmodern problems with one stone: It bridges that irksome gap between sitcoms and existentialist Søren Kierkegaard and masticates 2,000 years of bearded philosophers into contemporary dudes who spout digestible sound bites for today's student. William Irwin, 29, is a Cuban cigar aficionado, puffy-shirt owner and assistant professor of philosophy at King's College in Pennsylvania who edited "Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book About Everything and Nothing," published in October 1999. Now they are infusing philosophy lectures with lessons from "Seinfeld " the irony is that "Seinfeld" writers were guided by two principles: no hugging and no learning. They are hip, budding professors, not stodgies in wingtips and monocles, as depicted in Merchant Ivory movies. So is it elitist to say that Freud merits academic attention and "Happy Days" does not? Yes, according to a handful of adjunct philosophy professors weaned on TV, now all grown up and infiltrating the hallowed halls of academia. For thirtysomethings whose parents did not "kill their television sets," "Happy Days" did more than Freud to shape their understanding of family. ![]() The average American grows up watching four hours of television a day.
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