Description

Book Synopsis
A fascinating exploration of the philosophy behind NBC's hit TV series, 30 Rock

With edgy writing and a great cast, 30 Rock is one of the funniest television shows on the airand where hilarity ensues, philosophical questions abound: Are Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy ethical heroes? Kenneth redefines goody two shoes, but what does it really mean to be good? Dr. Leo Spaceman routinely demonstrates that medicine is not a science, so what is the role of the incompetent professional in America today?

In 30 Rock and Philosophy, Tina Fey and her fellow cast members are thrust onto the philosophical stage with Plato, Aristotle, Kantand other great thinkers to examine these key questions and many others that involve the characters and plotlines of 30 Rock and its fictional TGS with Tracy Jordan comedy show.

  • Takes an entertaining, up-close look at the philosophical issues behind 30 Rock''s characters and storylines, fro

    Table of Contents

    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Thanks for Helping Us

    Go to There ix

    Introduction: Platonic Fantasies and Tina Fey-losophy 1

    PART ONE WHAT WOULD OPRAH DO?: ETHICS AND THE GOOD LIFE AT 30 ROCK

    1 Being Kenneth: Some Moral Lessons 7
    P. Sue Dohnimm

    2 Sour Lemon: Liz’s Workaholism and the Meaning of Life 16
    Jeffrey A. Hinzmann

    3 Friendship on 30 Rock: What a Greek Philosopher Can Teach Us about Companionship 28
    Dan Yim

    4 A Confucian-Aristotelian Critique of 30 Rock’s “Semi-Virtuous Path” 43
    Adam Barkman

    PART TWO THE GIRLIE SHOW: GENDER, RACE, AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION AT 30 ROCK

    5 Race at the Rock: Race Cards, White Myths, and Postracial America 57
    J. Jeremy Wisnewski

    6 Getting Gay: How 30 Rock Helps Us Understand Sexuality 75
    J. Jeremy Wisnewski

    7 And the Followship Award Goes to . . . Third-Wave Feminism? 89
    Ashley Barkman

    PART THREE DEALBREAKER!: CORPORATIONS, PROFESSIONS, AND POLITICS

    8 Medicine’s Not a Science: Dr. Leo Spaceman and the Role of the Incompetent Professional in Today’s America 101
    Kevin S. Decker

    9 Is There a Difference between East Coast Television and Microwave Ovens?: Moral Questions about Corporate Management 114
    Andrew Terjesen

    10 The Emancipation Corporation: Loving and Loathing the Shinehardt Wigs of the World 130
    Nicolas Michaud

    11 Liz and Jack Can’t Be Friends!: Communitarianism, Libertarianism, and Politics at 30 Rock 138
    Nicolas Michaud

    PART FOUR MIND GRAPES (TO NOURISH YOUR THINKING)

    12 “The Bubble,” the Cave, and Samsara: Being Deluded at 30 Rock 149
    Adam Barkman

    13 Of Cookie Jars and CEOs: Time and Self on 30 Rock 161
    Tyler Shores

    14 One City’s Cheese-Curl Addict Is Another City’s Model: A Question of Taste 174
    Michael Da Silva and Melina Found

    15 “I’m Straight-Up Mentally Ill”: Tracy Jordan and True, Justified Belief 186
    Robert Arp

    16 Performing at 30 Rock (and Everywhere Else) 195
    Marc E. Shaw

    APPENDIX 1 : Frank’s Hat Store 209

    APPENDIX 2 : The Wisdom of the Page: Meet Kenneth Ellen Parcell 211

    CONTRIBUTORS: Cast Members of 30 Rock and Philosophy 217

    INDEX: Shinehardt Wig Company Filing System 221

30 Rock and Philosophy

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    A Paperback / softback by William Irwin

      Trusted by thousands of customers. See 2,385+ Customer Reviews

      View other formats and editions of 30 Rock and Philosophy by William Irwin

      Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc
      Publication Date: 06/08/2010
      ISBN13: 9780470575581, 978-0470575581
      ISBN10: 0470575581
      Also in:
      Television Philosophy

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      A fascinating exploration of the philosophy behind NBC's hit TV series, 30 Rock

      With edgy writing and a great cast, 30 Rock is one of the funniest television shows on the airand where hilarity ensues, philosophical questions abound: Are Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy ethical heroes? Kenneth redefines goody two shoes, but what does it really mean to be good? Dr. Leo Spaceman routinely demonstrates that medicine is not a science, so what is the role of the incompetent professional in America today?

      In 30 Rock and Philosophy, Tina Fey and her fellow cast members are thrust onto the philosophical stage with Plato, Aristotle, Kantand other great thinkers to examine these key questions and many others that involve the characters and plotlines of 30 Rock and its fictional TGS with Tracy Jordan comedy show.

      • Takes an entertaining, up-close look at the philosophical issues behind 30 Rock''s characters and storylines, fro

        Table of Contents

        ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Thanks for Helping Us

        Go to There ix

        Introduction: Platonic Fantasies and Tina Fey-losophy 1

        PART ONE WHAT WOULD OPRAH DO?: ETHICS AND THE GOOD LIFE AT 30 ROCK

        1 Being Kenneth: Some Moral Lessons 7
        P. Sue Dohnimm

        2 Sour Lemon: Liz’s Workaholism and the Meaning of Life 16
        Jeffrey A. Hinzmann

        3 Friendship on 30 Rock: What a Greek Philosopher Can Teach Us about Companionship 28
        Dan Yim

        4 A Confucian-Aristotelian Critique of 30 Rock’s “Semi-Virtuous Path” 43
        Adam Barkman

        PART TWO THE GIRLIE SHOW: GENDER, RACE, AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION AT 30 ROCK

        5 Race at the Rock: Race Cards, White Myths, and Postracial America 57
        J. Jeremy Wisnewski

        6 Getting Gay: How 30 Rock Helps Us Understand Sexuality 75
        J. Jeremy Wisnewski

        7 And the Followship Award Goes to . . . Third-Wave Feminism? 89
        Ashley Barkman

        PART THREE DEALBREAKER!: CORPORATIONS, PROFESSIONS, AND POLITICS

        8 Medicine’s Not a Science: Dr. Leo Spaceman and the Role of the Incompetent Professional in Today’s America 101
        Kevin S. Decker

        9 Is There a Difference between East Coast Television and Microwave Ovens?: Moral Questions about Corporate Management 114
        Andrew Terjesen

        10 The Emancipation Corporation: Loving and Loathing the Shinehardt Wigs of the World 130
        Nicolas Michaud

        11 Liz and Jack Can’t Be Friends!: Communitarianism, Libertarianism, and Politics at 30 Rock 138
        Nicolas Michaud

        PART FOUR MIND GRAPES (TO NOURISH YOUR THINKING)

        12 “The Bubble,” the Cave, and Samsara: Being Deluded at 30 Rock 149
        Adam Barkman

        13 Of Cookie Jars and CEOs: Time and Self on 30 Rock 161
        Tyler Shores

        14 One City’s Cheese-Curl Addict Is Another City’s Model: A Question of Taste 174
        Michael Da Silva and Melina Found

        15 “I’m Straight-Up Mentally Ill”: Tracy Jordan and True, Justified Belief 186
        Robert Arp

        16 Performing at 30 Rock (and Everywhere Else) 195
        Marc E. Shaw

        APPENDIX 1 : Frank’s Hat Store 209

        APPENDIX 2 : The Wisdom of the Page: Meet Kenneth Ellen Parcell 211

        CONTRIBUTORS: Cast Members of 30 Rock and Philosophy 217

        INDEX: Shinehardt Wig Company Filing System 221

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