What do you think?
Rate this book
Veronica Mars and Philosophy: Investigating the Mysteries of Life
Veronica Mars is a kick-ass private investigator, smart and street-wise. But what can her character tell us about larger life issues, such as knowledge and skepticism, trust and friendship, revenge, race, gender, and feminism? What makes her tick? And why is Logan such a sarcastic bad boy, anyway?
"Veronica Mars and Philosophy" features a thought-provoking collection of essays centered on philosophical issues brought forth in "Veronica Mars," the critically acclaimed neo-noir detective series set in the fictional town of Neptune, California. Fans and newcomers alike will gain unique insights into the philosophical make-up of a hit show that tackled both crime and some of the larger mysteries of life.Introduces significant philosophical concepts that arise in the cult TV show, "Veronica Mars"Tackles topics relevant to contemporary youth culture, including trust and friendship, revenge, knowledge and skepticism, race, class, gender, and feminismOffers insights into darker themes explored in the series, which is noted for the complexity and intricate plotting of its storylinesDelves deeply into the psychology of Veronica Mars during her transition from high school to collegeWritten for fans of the television show, philosophy students or readers interested in popular cultureTimed for release with the highly anticipated "Veronica Mars" feature film
"Veronica Mars and Philosophy" features a thought-provoking collection of essays centered on philosophical issues brought forth in "Veronica Mars," the critically acclaimed neo-noir detective series set in the fictional town of Neptune, California. Fans and newcomers alike will gain unique insights into the philosophical make-up of a hit show that tackled both crime and some of the larger mysteries of life.Introduces significant philosophical concepts that arise in the cult TV show, "Veronica Mars"Tackles topics relevant to contemporary youth culture, including trust and friendship, revenge, knowledge and skepticism, race, class, gender, and feminismOffers insights into darker themes explored in the series, which is noted for the complexity and intricate plotting of its storylinesDelves deeply into the psychology of Veronica Mars during her transition from high school to collegeWritten for fans of the television show, philosophy students or readers interested in popular cultureTimed for release with the highly anticipated "Veronica Mars" feature film
211 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 24, 2014
12 people are currently reading
222 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 21, 2014
The famous Veronica Mars line "the people you love let you down" applies aptly to this collection of unremarkable essays. In evoking it, however, I fall into the trap which afflicts the majority of the pieces. Though I consider the Pop Culture and Philosophy series to be wildly inconsistent in terms of quality, this volume falls decidedly on the lower quality spectrum. With the exception of the fantastic Rejena Saulsberry, Daniel A. Wilkenfeld, and James B. South pieces, the essays seem to be a desperate display by PhD candidates to flex their level of Veronica Mars fandom. Incongruous quotes are plentiful and penetrating insights are few and far between. This series of critical inquiries into pop culture is at its best when it is posing questions few viewers thought to ask. For the most part, this series safely reiterates commonly articulated observations about the show with a vague glaze of philosophical language. It is worth noting that this volume could be considered an unofficial sequel to the Rob Thomas edited Neptune Noir which — atrocious first essay aside — is a far more thought provoking collection of essays on Veronica Mars complete with Thomas's own insights.
When the volume gets it right, however, it does truly sing. Saulsberry's analysis of race in Veronica Mars is extremely productive, especially when locating seemingly deracialized characters in television for predominantly white audiences. The ease with which Saulsberry's analysis of Veronica Mars can be applied to other disparate series makes it a profoundly rewarding read. Wilkenfeld ventures into the contours of formal logic that Veronica uses in her investigations in a way which pushes the envelop in regards to the consideration of formal logic. South's piece is by and large the most comprehensive and productive close reading of Veronica's character trajectory and identity. The essays by Catlyn Origitano, Jon Robson, and Jordan Pascoe (Pascoe's seeming half-hearted and incomplete indictment of slut-shaming aside) In opposition to the few successes these essays secure for the collection, some of the omissions are Lamb-style bumbles. The essay on Veronica as a feminist icon co-authored by Kasey Butcher and Megan Peters really falls short of interrogating the series's gender politics. Though Butcher and Peters provide a treasure trove of information on feminist scholarship and map those ideas onto Veronica in an extremely compelling fashion, their poor analysis of Lilith House leaves a great deal to be desire. They address the elephant in the room of Lilith House only in the most tangential sense, and ultimately fail to reconcile their reading of Veronica Mars as a feminist icon with Rob Thomas's utterly cowardly strawman criticisms of feminism which are manifest in Lilith House. The series gender politics in general are significantly more suspect as a consequence of Lilith House's presence in the series.
Though the anthology is really disappointing, for die hard Veronica Mars fans it is worth a read. For anyone else, steer clear.
When the volume gets it right, however, it does truly sing. Saulsberry's analysis of race in Veronica Mars is extremely productive, especially when locating seemingly deracialized characters in television for predominantly white audiences. The ease with which Saulsberry's analysis of Veronica Mars can be applied to other disparate series makes it a profoundly rewarding read. Wilkenfeld ventures into the contours of formal logic that Veronica uses in her investigations in a way which pushes the envelop in regards to the consideration of formal logic. South's piece is by and large the most comprehensive and productive close reading of Veronica's character trajectory and identity. The essays by Catlyn Origitano, Jon Robson, and Jordan Pascoe (Pascoe's seeming half-hearted and incomplete indictment of slut-shaming aside) In opposition to the few successes these essays secure for the collection, some of the omissions are Lamb-style bumbles. The essay on Veronica as a feminist icon co-authored by Kasey Butcher and Megan Peters really falls short of interrogating the series's gender politics. Though Butcher and Peters provide a treasure trove of information on feminist scholarship and map those ideas onto Veronica in an extremely compelling fashion, their poor analysis of Lilith House leaves a great deal to be desire. They address the elephant in the room of Lilith House only in the most tangential sense, and ultimately fail to reconcile their reading of Veronica Mars as a feminist icon with Rob Thomas's utterly cowardly strawman criticisms of feminism which are manifest in Lilith House. The series gender politics in general are significantly more suspect as a consequence of Lilith House's presence in the series.
Though the anthology is really disappointing, for die hard Veronica Mars fans it is worth a read. For anyone else, steer clear.
July 6, 2023
i never posted this review because it exceeded the character limit and it never occurred to me to continue the review in the comments. rip me. at least i’ve had it saved for five years for some reason so now that i’ve had this big brained moment, i can share it.
my 2017 review, with some 2022 edits/additions:
the easiest way for me to review this is to just jot down any thoughts i have, essay by essay. buckle the fuck up, y’all, because this is about to get long and ranty.
1. getting past the velvet ropes: status anxiety in neptune by william irwin
while i understand this points out the different things that give someone a high status in neptune, i don’t like the focus on looks, veronica’s in particular. irwin makes it a point to say mac doesn’t have veronica’s good looks and leticia navarro isn’t “particularly beautiful”. irwin argues being pretty gives you status in neptune, but that isn’t true. veronica, according to irwin, is very good looking, yet she lost her status. being pretty in neptune doesn’t grant nor keep status. and irwin seems to believe only young, thin, abled, white girls are beautiful. which is gross.
when discussing wallace, irwin says he isn’t cool because he doesn’t have “serious street cred” and isn’t “straight out of compton cool”, but then somehow takes issue with wallace being a talented black basketball player because it’s a stereotype rob thomas should’ve done better than. one stereotype is bad, but another is good? irwin also says wallace isn’t cool because he’s “truly just friends” with a “pretty blonde”, adding “how sad”. such a gross cis man thing to say. friendship with women isn’t settling or worthless. and if you want to talk about racism and doing better, why don’t you talk about the reason why veronica and wallace (and weevil, too, for that matter) were “truly just friends”? tptb didn’t want veronica to date a guy who wasn’t white.
then comes weevil. irwin starts by disparaging weevil’s janitor job at hearst, saying he mops the floors veronica and logan walk on. not only is there nothing lesser about janitorial work, but the implication that veronica is like logan and turns her nose up while walking on the floors weevil cleans bugs me, because it’s so inconsistent with what we know of veronica. veronica got weevil that job. she saw an opportunity with the dean, after weevil got fired from the previous job she got him working with keith, after he got fired from his job at a car wash.
the writing for weevil is indeed shitty, and by shitty, i mean racist. (and it isn’t much better in the movie or 4th season, either.) i wish rob had let weevil stay working with keith, because not only was weevil extremely excited about it because he was good at it, but because it would have made for a much better storyline. yeah, with weevil at hearst, veronica had easy access to him when she needed favors or someone to blame, but weevil being a pi working with keith was such a missed opportunity. irwin also mentions that weevil “makes his way in the world, winning the affection of the lovely lilly kane for a time.” yeah, nothing says making your way in the world for a poor, hispanic boy like “winning” the momentary affection of a bored rich, white girl.
2. “that’s really criminal of you”: why it may be okay for veronica mars to break the law by paul hammond
this whole essay debates whether or not what veronica does is morally okay, and i feel like that completely undermines who veronica mars is as a character. she isn’t a black and white character. there isn’t good or bad with veronica. she’s in the middle, she’s an anti-hero, she’s grey. hammond often says “well veronica might argue x” to justify her actions being morally okay, and like, no. she wouldn’t. that’s not who she is. while she does want to help the underdog and she cares about people and getting justice, she doesn’t always break the law or violate someone’s privacy “for the greater good”. there are so many examples of her doing “bad” things for selfish and mean reasons. i’m not knocking her for this, i love that she’s a morally grey character. i’m just saying veronica wouldn’t be arguing that her actions are justified because she’s helping people, because she knows the things she does are illegal and wrong, and she knows that often times they’re entirely selfish.
“rather than just a saucy and snarky disregard for authority, veronica’s law breaking can be seen as a protest or civil disobedience, a refusal to accept the rules imposed on her by an unjust society. sometimes when veronica flouts the law, it may be more than just ‘really criminal’ of her. it may also, on occasion, be really just.”
again, i don’t think veronica thinks so highly of herself, or fools herself into believing that she does what she does out of a purely good or heroic need to get justice, and that she is okay with breaking the law because of that. she wants to see the bad guys get what’s coming to them, and she wants people who have been wronged to get justice, but she is also a selfish and vindictive person who doesn’t care about rules or boundaries. if getting someone justice means sticking it to someone she hates or helping herself or someone she cares about, then that will probably motivate her more than the justice itself will. if she wants answers and getting them means violating the privacy of someone she cares about or abusing their trust in or feelings for her, that won’t stop her. she isn’t some clean cut, holier than thou superhero or “chosen one”. she does whatever the fuck she wants, even if it’s illegal, even if it hurts someone, even if it breaks someone’s trust in her, and not out of some protest against an unjust society, but because at her core, that’s the kind of person she is, that’s who she is.
hammond also refers to what happened to carmen as having an “embarrassing tape released”. but like? she was drugged, filmed doing sexual things without consent, and then had that video used to blackmail her into being in a relationship with her asshole ex-boyfriend who filmed her, and then had the video released anyways, again, without consent. that’s hardly just her ex breaking his promise to not show anyone an “embarrassing” video of her and sending it to everyone. i felt like that really downplays carmen being drugged and violated.
3. “got any enemies you know about?” ... “well, there’s the klan”: race, rancor, and riches in neptune, california by rejena saulsberry
i really like this one, so much that i don’t really have any comments, it pretty much covers everything perfectly. there’s a lot of analysis on weevil which i love. my only comment is that i think it’s funny this essay points out the stereotype of being black means being cool, while the first essay plays into that stereotype.
4. breaking bad in neptune: how “cool guys” become psychopaths by george a. dunn
not much to say about this one, other than it’s really interesting. i hadn’t made the connections between horshack/rafe and moe/mercer. (please stop with the “psychopath” stuff. it’s ableist.)
5. noir neptune: genre and gender bending in veronica mars by daniel wack
i don’t really care much for this one, mostly because of the emphasis on veronica’s romance with logan. but i do very much enjoy the closing paragraph:
“that’s why logan’s hope for an epic love with veronica that will redeem their suffering and transform the nature of their world can’t come to pass. for logan, part of the appeal of this epic scenario undoubtedly stems from the fact that, in his imagined epic, he would assume the role of protector and rescuer of the damsel in distress. but that would require veronica to trade in her active way of being for a more passive role in logan’s epic, submitting herself to his protection and depending on him to rescue her. in short, she would have to sacrifice her hard-won understanding of herself as someone who generates knowledge of the truth and brings order to her world. given all that she has suffered and overcome, veronica could never give up being a detective: it has become how she makes sense of her world and herself.”
6. “don’t forget about me, veronica”: time, memory, and mystery in veronica mars by paul hammond
this one is, not going to lie, a little boring. i don’t really have any thoughts or comments on it.
7. “i’m old school, an eye for an eye”: veronica and vengeance by george a. dunn
“veronica mars is many things - courageous, resourceful, tenacious, witty, and smarter than don lamb - but forgiving isn’t one of them. she may no longer believe in a santa claus, an easter bunny, or angels watching over us, but she sure as hell believes in payback.”
yes. i like this look into veronica and her revenge, as well as other revenge on the show. dunn touches on how carmen passed on getting revenge on tad, and how we’re supposed to feel proud of carmen for proving that she’s better than him, but instead it comes off as if she’s better than veronica. carmen pointed out that revenge just isn’t her thing, and we know that it is veronica’s, so if we’re supposed to be proud of carmen for passing on revenge, then that puts her above veronica, who almost always indulges in some good old revenge. the same thing happened with meg, when she passed on “getting even” and told veronica that she should rethink that.
there’s an essay in neptune noir, another essay book on veronica mars, that discusses this too, and actually points out what i said above:
“in those scenarios (keith helping alicia and veronica helping meg), both keith and veronica assumed the traditional male roles of savior to a distressed, helpless woman, and both were forced outside the socially accepted boundaries of law and order in the process. and, while their assistance was eventually accepted with gratitude, only veronica was condemned for her transgression. [...] carmen’s reasons for deleting the e-mail are similar to meg’s in that they privileged the traditionally feminine traits of forgiveness and understanding over the masculine dominance associated with vengeance. carmen’s tone was masked with an air of superiority as she informed veronica that ‘tearing tad down is not going to make me feel any better.’ she cut off any further protests with a curt, ‘i’m sorry, veronica, i guess revenge just isn’t my thing.’ the audience was clearly left with the impression that carmen’s character was taking the high road. [...] it’s a theme that’s not unproblematic, considering that veronica mars is founded on the premise that the title character is a tough-talking, empowered role model for teenage girls.”
my biggest critique of this essay on revenge in veronica mars, is that dunn doesn’t mention what was probably the most epic instance of revenge, and sacrifice for the sake of it, throughout the entire series. dunn mentions the few times logan beat people up over their treatment of veronica but doesn’t mention weevil setting thumper up to be killed by the fitzpatricks, because he killed felix. weevil sacrificed a whole hell of a lot to get revenge for felix. his friends turned on him and he was kicked out by the pchers, he became a laughingstock, he was arrested for murder during graduation and therefore didn’t keep his promise of graduating to his grandmother, he managed to “plea-bargain the charge from murder down to assault” but when working at a carwash and with keith didn’t work out, he ended up becoming a janitor at hearst, thanks to veronica. he sacrificed his entire future, in a way logan never could despite his multiple arrests because of who he is in neptune, to make sure the person who killed his best friend got what they deserved. there isn’t a better instance of revenge in veronica mars worth analyzing than that. especially considering the parallels between weevil uncovering felix’s murder and veronica uncovering lilly’s.
another revenge situation that is better than anything logan has done is duncan hiring clarence weidman to kill aaron echolls, who killed his sister, and getting the phone call that it was done while he was on the beach playing with his daughter, who he kidnapped to get her away from her abusive grandparents after meg died because of the unlikeliness of him getting custody. i mean, come on.
8. “we used to be friends”: an aristotelian analysis of veronica’s friendships by catlyn origitano
i was excited for this one. i expected an analysis of veronica’s many, varied friendships. but instead, it’s focused on her friendships with wallace and logan, which is a letdown. (logan isn’t even her friend. i said it.) it’s the obvious choice, but certainly not the most interesting. i personally think the relationships of veronica’s that are the worthiest of analysis are keith and weevil. but that’s just me.
9. does veronica trust anyone? by jon robson
it makes me chuckle that in the opening paragraph, madison sinclair is included in a list of neptune’s social ills. i like that weevil is included in the list of people veronica trusts, at least some of the time, and that robson considers veronica more trusting of him than logan. this essay also acknowledges what others fail to, that what tad did to carmen wasn’t just releasing an “embarrassing video” of her. but most importantly, robson mentions the most important person in veronica’s life is her father. so many people focus so much on logan and think the veronica/logan relationship is the most important, but let’s be real here, the heart of the show is keith and veronica. as mentioned in neptune noir, “veronica mars is the love story of a father and a daughter, and any teen romance pales in comparison.”
the bond between veronica and keith is just so exceptional and unique, whether or not they trust each other 100% of the time, and i really wish more fans of the show acknowledged that. veronica chose keith over status, friends, and basically everything she’s ever known. and keith sacrificed his career and literally walked through fire for veronica. there is no better duo, father/daughter or otherwise, than keith and veronica. the show wouldn’t be the same if their relationship hadn’t been what it was. i mean, even rob thomas has said, “it’s been written that the veronica/keith relationship is the heart of the show, and it certainly is for me.”
10. veronica’s trip to the dentist: don’t blame the victim by james rocha and mona rocha
i know this is supposed to be a ~philosophical look at all the possible arguments for placing blame, and it is prefaced with “don’t victim blame”, but it still feels a lot like blaming veronica for her rape. even if veronica did take an unknown drink from someone at a party where nearly no one cared about her wellbeing, as proven by no one stepping in to help her throughout the entirety of the horror that happened to her at the party (not even morally superior meg helped her), that doesn’t mean anyone can blame her for what happened. even entertaining the idea that anyone should blame a victim of rape/assault even just a little bit because they took a drink from a stranger or left their drink unattended is completely absolving the rapist/assaulter of their choice to violate someone, as if leaving a drink unattended or drinking an unknown drink magically leads to sexual violation without someone else making the active choice to sexually violate that person. that is victim blaming, no matter how many philosophers you quote.
“you chose to take a drink from a stranger, go to that party, drink/take drugs, wear a short skirt, flirt with someone, go upstairs alone with someone” is victim blaming. the belief that women have to watch themselves, have to dress certain ways, have to behave certain ways, otherwise they’re at fault if someone makes the choice to violate them is victim blaming. we shouldn’t have to teach women what to do to not get raped, because that puts the responsibility and blame on women, instead of the person making the choice to sexually assault someone.
veronica is not to blame for what happened to her, whatsoever. cassidy raped her, logan supplied the date rape drug, dick tried to drug madison so he could rape her, madison gave her drugged drink to veronica, and literally everyone (including logan, since people like to ignore the part he played in the other violations of veronica that night) either took advantage of veronica (kissing/groping her and using her body as a salt lick while she could barely stand) or stood by and watched other people take advantage of her. of all the people to blame, or discuss whether or not they could be blamed, because they made active choices to violate veronica or help others violate her or stood by and watched her be violated, why veronica? i don’t know what would make someone even entertain the idea of blaming veronica for what happened to her that night. it isn’t philosophical to debate the validity of blaming a survivor for their rape/assault. it’s disgusting.
11. “grow a sense of humor, you crazy bitch”: veronica mars as a feminist icon by kasey butcher and megan m. peters
it’s safe to say i really like this one. veronica mars and feminism? what’s not to like? the authors touch on race, gender roles, sex positivity, history of feminism, intersectionality, and the portrayal of feminism. i very much appreciate this: “with lilith house, we’re treated to one of the most stereotypical and damaging portraits of feminists in recent years. all of the women are presented as unjustifiably angry, humorless, and militant, and with the exception claire nordhouse, all are women of color who don’t conform to traditional norms of femininity.” with all the praise of veronica mars being a feminist show, it’s often ignored how awful the portrayal of feminists in season three is. not to mention, the feminists of lilith house are fighting and protesting the campus rapes, but one (or some or all, i don’t remember) sexually violates chip with an easter egg. another essay in this book acknowledges that that is indeed rape, but not many people do.
(continued in comments)
my 2017 review, with some 2022 edits/additions:
the easiest way for me to review this is to just jot down any thoughts i have, essay by essay. buckle the fuck up, y’all, because this is about to get long and ranty.
1. getting past the velvet ropes: status anxiety in neptune by william irwin
while i understand this points out the different things that give someone a high status in neptune, i don’t like the focus on looks, veronica’s in particular. irwin makes it a point to say mac doesn’t have veronica’s good looks and leticia navarro isn’t “particularly beautiful”. irwin argues being pretty gives you status in neptune, but that isn’t true. veronica, according to irwin, is very good looking, yet she lost her status. being pretty in neptune doesn’t grant nor keep status. and irwin seems to believe only young, thin, abled, white girls are beautiful. which is gross.
when discussing wallace, irwin says he isn’t cool because he doesn’t have “serious street cred” and isn’t “straight out of compton cool”, but then somehow takes issue with wallace being a talented black basketball player because it’s a stereotype rob thomas should’ve done better than. one stereotype is bad, but another is good? irwin also says wallace isn’t cool because he’s “truly just friends” with a “pretty blonde”, adding “how sad”. such a gross cis man thing to say. friendship with women isn’t settling or worthless. and if you want to talk about racism and doing better, why don’t you talk about the reason why veronica and wallace (and weevil, too, for that matter) were “truly just friends”? tptb didn’t want veronica to date a guy who wasn’t white.
then comes weevil. irwin starts by disparaging weevil’s janitor job at hearst, saying he mops the floors veronica and logan walk on. not only is there nothing lesser about janitorial work, but the implication that veronica is like logan and turns her nose up while walking on the floors weevil cleans bugs me, because it’s so inconsistent with what we know of veronica. veronica got weevil that job. she saw an opportunity with the dean, after weevil got fired from the previous job she got him working with keith, after he got fired from his job at a car wash.
the writing for weevil is indeed shitty, and by shitty, i mean racist. (and it isn’t much better in the movie or 4th season, either.) i wish rob had let weevil stay working with keith, because not only was weevil extremely excited about it because he was good at it, but because it would have made for a much better storyline. yeah, with weevil at hearst, veronica had easy access to him when she needed favors or someone to blame, but weevil being a pi working with keith was such a missed opportunity. irwin also mentions that weevil “makes his way in the world, winning the affection of the lovely lilly kane for a time.” yeah, nothing says making your way in the world for a poor, hispanic boy like “winning” the momentary affection of a bored rich, white girl.
2. “that’s really criminal of you”: why it may be okay for veronica mars to break the law by paul hammond
this whole essay debates whether or not what veronica does is morally okay, and i feel like that completely undermines who veronica mars is as a character. she isn’t a black and white character. there isn’t good or bad with veronica. she’s in the middle, she’s an anti-hero, she’s grey. hammond often says “well veronica might argue x” to justify her actions being morally okay, and like, no. she wouldn’t. that’s not who she is. while she does want to help the underdog and she cares about people and getting justice, she doesn’t always break the law or violate someone’s privacy “for the greater good”. there are so many examples of her doing “bad” things for selfish and mean reasons. i’m not knocking her for this, i love that she’s a morally grey character. i’m just saying veronica wouldn’t be arguing that her actions are justified because she’s helping people, because she knows the things she does are illegal and wrong, and she knows that often times they’re entirely selfish.
“rather than just a saucy and snarky disregard for authority, veronica’s law breaking can be seen as a protest or civil disobedience, a refusal to accept the rules imposed on her by an unjust society. sometimes when veronica flouts the law, it may be more than just ‘really criminal’ of her. it may also, on occasion, be really just.”
again, i don’t think veronica thinks so highly of herself, or fools herself into believing that she does what she does out of a purely good or heroic need to get justice, and that she is okay with breaking the law because of that. she wants to see the bad guys get what’s coming to them, and she wants people who have been wronged to get justice, but she is also a selfish and vindictive person who doesn’t care about rules or boundaries. if getting someone justice means sticking it to someone she hates or helping herself or someone she cares about, then that will probably motivate her more than the justice itself will. if she wants answers and getting them means violating the privacy of someone she cares about or abusing their trust in or feelings for her, that won’t stop her. she isn’t some clean cut, holier than thou superhero or “chosen one”. she does whatever the fuck she wants, even if it’s illegal, even if it hurts someone, even if it breaks someone’s trust in her, and not out of some protest against an unjust society, but because at her core, that’s the kind of person she is, that’s who she is.
hammond also refers to what happened to carmen as having an “embarrassing tape released”. but like? she was drugged, filmed doing sexual things without consent, and then had that video used to blackmail her into being in a relationship with her asshole ex-boyfriend who filmed her, and then had the video released anyways, again, without consent. that’s hardly just her ex breaking his promise to not show anyone an “embarrassing” video of her and sending it to everyone. i felt like that really downplays carmen being drugged and violated.
3. “got any enemies you know about?” ... “well, there’s the klan”: race, rancor, and riches in neptune, california by rejena saulsberry
i really like this one, so much that i don’t really have any comments, it pretty much covers everything perfectly. there’s a lot of analysis on weevil which i love. my only comment is that i think it’s funny this essay points out the stereotype of being black means being cool, while the first essay plays into that stereotype.
4. breaking bad in neptune: how “cool guys” become psychopaths by george a. dunn
not much to say about this one, other than it’s really interesting. i hadn’t made the connections between horshack/rafe and moe/mercer. (please stop with the “psychopath” stuff. it’s ableist.)
5. noir neptune: genre and gender bending in veronica mars by daniel wack
i don’t really care much for this one, mostly because of the emphasis on veronica’s romance with logan. but i do very much enjoy the closing paragraph:
“that’s why logan’s hope for an epic love with veronica that will redeem their suffering and transform the nature of their world can’t come to pass. for logan, part of the appeal of this epic scenario undoubtedly stems from the fact that, in his imagined epic, he would assume the role of protector and rescuer of the damsel in distress. but that would require veronica to trade in her active way of being for a more passive role in logan’s epic, submitting herself to his protection and depending on him to rescue her. in short, she would have to sacrifice her hard-won understanding of herself as someone who generates knowledge of the truth and brings order to her world. given all that she has suffered and overcome, veronica could never give up being a detective: it has become how she makes sense of her world and herself.”
6. “don’t forget about me, veronica”: time, memory, and mystery in veronica mars by paul hammond
this one is, not going to lie, a little boring. i don’t really have any thoughts or comments on it.
7. “i’m old school, an eye for an eye”: veronica and vengeance by george a. dunn
“veronica mars is many things - courageous, resourceful, tenacious, witty, and smarter than don lamb - but forgiving isn’t one of them. she may no longer believe in a santa claus, an easter bunny, or angels watching over us, but she sure as hell believes in payback.”
yes. i like this look into veronica and her revenge, as well as other revenge on the show. dunn touches on how carmen passed on getting revenge on tad, and how we’re supposed to feel proud of carmen for proving that she’s better than him, but instead it comes off as if she’s better than veronica. carmen pointed out that revenge just isn’t her thing, and we know that it is veronica’s, so if we’re supposed to be proud of carmen for passing on revenge, then that puts her above veronica, who almost always indulges in some good old revenge. the same thing happened with meg, when she passed on “getting even” and told veronica that she should rethink that.
there’s an essay in neptune noir, another essay book on veronica mars, that discusses this too, and actually points out what i said above:
“in those scenarios (keith helping alicia and veronica helping meg), both keith and veronica assumed the traditional male roles of savior to a distressed, helpless woman, and both were forced outside the socially accepted boundaries of law and order in the process. and, while their assistance was eventually accepted with gratitude, only veronica was condemned for her transgression. [...] carmen’s reasons for deleting the e-mail are similar to meg’s in that they privileged the traditionally feminine traits of forgiveness and understanding over the masculine dominance associated with vengeance. carmen’s tone was masked with an air of superiority as she informed veronica that ‘tearing tad down is not going to make me feel any better.’ she cut off any further protests with a curt, ‘i’m sorry, veronica, i guess revenge just isn’t my thing.’ the audience was clearly left with the impression that carmen’s character was taking the high road. [...] it’s a theme that’s not unproblematic, considering that veronica mars is founded on the premise that the title character is a tough-talking, empowered role model for teenage girls.”
my biggest critique of this essay on revenge in veronica mars, is that dunn doesn’t mention what was probably the most epic instance of revenge, and sacrifice for the sake of it, throughout the entire series. dunn mentions the few times logan beat people up over their treatment of veronica but doesn’t mention weevil setting thumper up to be killed by the fitzpatricks, because he killed felix. weevil sacrificed a whole hell of a lot to get revenge for felix. his friends turned on him and he was kicked out by the pchers, he became a laughingstock, he was arrested for murder during graduation and therefore didn’t keep his promise of graduating to his grandmother, he managed to “plea-bargain the charge from murder down to assault” but when working at a carwash and with keith didn’t work out, he ended up becoming a janitor at hearst, thanks to veronica. he sacrificed his entire future, in a way logan never could despite his multiple arrests because of who he is in neptune, to make sure the person who killed his best friend got what they deserved. there isn’t a better instance of revenge in veronica mars worth analyzing than that. especially considering the parallels between weevil uncovering felix’s murder and veronica uncovering lilly’s.
another revenge situation that is better than anything logan has done is duncan hiring clarence weidman to kill aaron echolls, who killed his sister, and getting the phone call that it was done while he was on the beach playing with his daughter, who he kidnapped to get her away from her abusive grandparents after meg died because of the unlikeliness of him getting custody. i mean, come on.
8. “we used to be friends”: an aristotelian analysis of veronica’s friendships by catlyn origitano
i was excited for this one. i expected an analysis of veronica’s many, varied friendships. but instead, it’s focused on her friendships with wallace and logan, which is a letdown. (logan isn’t even her friend. i said it.) it’s the obvious choice, but certainly not the most interesting. i personally think the relationships of veronica’s that are the worthiest of analysis are keith and weevil. but that’s just me.
9. does veronica trust anyone? by jon robson
it makes me chuckle that in the opening paragraph, madison sinclair is included in a list of neptune’s social ills. i like that weevil is included in the list of people veronica trusts, at least some of the time, and that robson considers veronica more trusting of him than logan. this essay also acknowledges what others fail to, that what tad did to carmen wasn’t just releasing an “embarrassing video” of her. but most importantly, robson mentions the most important person in veronica’s life is her father. so many people focus so much on logan and think the veronica/logan relationship is the most important, but let’s be real here, the heart of the show is keith and veronica. as mentioned in neptune noir, “veronica mars is the love story of a father and a daughter, and any teen romance pales in comparison.”
the bond between veronica and keith is just so exceptional and unique, whether or not they trust each other 100% of the time, and i really wish more fans of the show acknowledged that. veronica chose keith over status, friends, and basically everything she’s ever known. and keith sacrificed his career and literally walked through fire for veronica. there is no better duo, father/daughter or otherwise, than keith and veronica. the show wouldn’t be the same if their relationship hadn’t been what it was. i mean, even rob thomas has said, “it’s been written that the veronica/keith relationship is the heart of the show, and it certainly is for me.”
10. veronica’s trip to the dentist: don’t blame the victim by james rocha and mona rocha
i know this is supposed to be a ~philosophical look at all the possible arguments for placing blame, and it is prefaced with “don’t victim blame”, but it still feels a lot like blaming veronica for her rape. even if veronica did take an unknown drink from someone at a party where nearly no one cared about her wellbeing, as proven by no one stepping in to help her throughout the entirety of the horror that happened to her at the party (not even morally superior meg helped her), that doesn’t mean anyone can blame her for what happened. even entertaining the idea that anyone should blame a victim of rape/assault even just a little bit because they took a drink from a stranger or left their drink unattended is completely absolving the rapist/assaulter of their choice to violate someone, as if leaving a drink unattended or drinking an unknown drink magically leads to sexual violation without someone else making the active choice to sexually violate that person. that is victim blaming, no matter how many philosophers you quote.
“you chose to take a drink from a stranger, go to that party, drink/take drugs, wear a short skirt, flirt with someone, go upstairs alone with someone” is victim blaming. the belief that women have to watch themselves, have to dress certain ways, have to behave certain ways, otherwise they’re at fault if someone makes the choice to violate them is victim blaming. we shouldn’t have to teach women what to do to not get raped, because that puts the responsibility and blame on women, instead of the person making the choice to sexually assault someone.
veronica is not to blame for what happened to her, whatsoever. cassidy raped her, logan supplied the date rape drug, dick tried to drug madison so he could rape her, madison gave her drugged drink to veronica, and literally everyone (including logan, since people like to ignore the part he played in the other violations of veronica that night) either took advantage of veronica (kissing/groping her and using her body as a salt lick while she could barely stand) or stood by and watched other people take advantage of her. of all the people to blame, or discuss whether or not they could be blamed, because they made active choices to violate veronica or help others violate her or stood by and watched her be violated, why veronica? i don’t know what would make someone even entertain the idea of blaming veronica for what happened to her that night. it isn’t philosophical to debate the validity of blaming a survivor for their rape/assault. it’s disgusting.
11. “grow a sense of humor, you crazy bitch”: veronica mars as a feminist icon by kasey butcher and megan m. peters
it’s safe to say i really like this one. veronica mars and feminism? what’s not to like? the authors touch on race, gender roles, sex positivity, history of feminism, intersectionality, and the portrayal of feminism. i very much appreciate this: “with lilith house, we’re treated to one of the most stereotypical and damaging portraits of feminists in recent years. all of the women are presented as unjustifiably angry, humorless, and militant, and with the exception claire nordhouse, all are women of color who don’t conform to traditional norms of femininity.” with all the praise of veronica mars being a feminist show, it’s often ignored how awful the portrayal of feminists in season three is. not to mention, the feminists of lilith house are fighting and protesting the campus rapes, but one (or some or all, i don’t remember) sexually violates chip with an easter egg. another essay in this book acknowledges that that is indeed rape, but not many people do.
(continued in comments)
July 13, 2023
The essays focused on status anxiety, Occam's razor and the final one worth reading. They are the reason I gave 2 stars instead of 1.
The rest is rushed, has nothing to do with philosophy and ideologically streched to the point of cringe.
The rest is rushed, has nothing to do with philosophy and ideologically streched to the point of cringe.
June 29, 2025
Deeply excited to purchase this at the bookstore, but it did not execute for me. I understand that this pop culture + philosophy series is meant to introduce the readers to basic philosophical thoughts and ideas, and that the pop culture entity they do it through is just an attention-grabbing tactic to entice readers, but so many of these essays were just not fulfilling and I kept wishing the authors would really go deeper and engage with the media more, especially Chapter 3, "Got Any Enemies You Know About?" ... "Well, There's the Klan": Race, Rancor, and Riches in Neptune, California and Chapter 13, "I Used to Think that Solving the Case Was the Key to Our Happiness": The Value of Truth in Veronica Mars, both of which I felt presented compelling ideas, but didn't fully realize. I think this book would work best for the casual fan of Veronica Mars, which unfortunately, I am not. And some of these reeeeaaalllyy had to be stretched out when the idea was pretty thin, and honestly didn't merit discussion/philosophical justification (see chapter 6, "Don't Forget about Me, Veronica": Time, Memory, and Mystery in Veronica Mars).
Also -- if you're writing book about a show, or authoring an essay about a show, it's generally good form to be accurate in your writing and to know the show which you are discussing. George A. Dunn edited the book (which is comprised of 16 essays authored by a variety of individuals) in its entirety, but several incorrect statements about the show are made, ranging from not-so-egregious to pretty, blatantly egregious. One example of a not-so-egregious, is that in one of the 16 chapters --I do not recall which -- the author makes an incorrect statement regarding the pre-series timeline, stating that Duncan broke up with Veronica /after/ Lilly was killed, when in actuality Duncan dumped her prior to Lilly's death (this timeline is later stated correctly in a different chapter, by a different author); this error is not super important as this statement had no real bearing on the purpose of the essay, but it is something that should've have been fixed in editing, especially since it was correctly stated in a different chapter.
And that brings us to the blatantly egregious incorrect statement, and the essay in this book that frustrated me the most to read: Chapter 10, Veronica's Trip to the Dentist: Don't Blame the Victim. This essay focuses on Season 1, episode 21 "A Trip to the Dentist" during which Veronica uncovers the partial truth (due to later retconning by the show's writers) of what happened to her at Shelley's party, which she has no memory of, and woke up in a room by herself without her underwear on. It's one of the core mysteries that Veronica has been trying to solve the entire season, and yet the authors, James and Mona Rocha couldn't be bothered to rewatch the episode to refresh their memories before writing their chapter??? In their chapter they are correctly stating that rape culture and the actions/in-actions of multiple partygoers (literally every single person in attendance at the party, but they don't say that) contribute to Veronica's eventual rape and sexual assault, including, but not limited to: Logan Echolls, Dick Casablancas, and Sean Friedrick (I might be spelling his last name wrong but I don't care enough about Sean to check). They're absolutely correct that all three of these men participated in the rape culture that evening, and that they all bear culpability for Veronica being raped, but it's still important to be accurate!! Multiple times throughout their chapter they falsely state that /Logan/ gave Dick the GHB which he attempted to use to drug Madison, only for her to unknowingly pass the drugged drink off to Veronica instead. In actuality, Dick receives his GHB from a different 09er party guest, Luke, and Logan, while in possession of GHB and while supplying it to others AND while lacing Duncan's drink with GHB, has absolutely nothing to do with GHB eventually making it's way to Veronica. It was evident while reading the chapter that the authors were not in any way shape or form Logan fans (confirmed by one of the authors bio in the back of the book), but it is so un-interesting to lie, repeatedly, rather than investigate the many ways in which Logan was genuinely culpable for what happened to Veronica that night. The salt lick, for example, is a real, genuine action that Logan orchestrates and encourages that night and the authors make no mention of it. Additionally, the authors only mention Veronica's rape by Cassidy, and make no comment of the fact that Veronica could not consent to having sex with Duncan either, due to the fact that she was blacked out and unconscious (Chapter 14, "Have You Ever Heard of Occam's Razor?" Veronica's Use of Inductive Reasoning, does, however touch upon this very briefly). I do want to make note that the authors do correctly state in this chapter that Veronica is wrong to assign higher blame for her rape to Madison Sinclair than she does to Dick, given that Madison was the intended rape victim, something that the show never bothered to point out. (And an observation that was sorely lacking from Chapter 11, "Grow a Sense of Humor, You Crazy Bitch": Veronica Mars as a Feminist Icon, which is a chapter I will not be discussing at length, for fear I will never be able to stop writing this review........)
ANYWAY! Chapter 5, Noir Neptune: Genre and Gender Bending in Veronica Mars by Daniel Wack was my favorite chapter. And Aristotle's idea of the "perfect friendship" was just plain annoying.
Also -- if you're writing book about a show, or authoring an essay about a show, it's generally good form to be accurate in your writing and to know the show which you are discussing. George A. Dunn edited the book (which is comprised of 16 essays authored by a variety of individuals) in its entirety, but several incorrect statements about the show are made, ranging from not-so-egregious to pretty, blatantly egregious. One example of a not-so-egregious, is that in one of the 16 chapters --I do not recall which -- the author makes an incorrect statement regarding the pre-series timeline, stating that Duncan broke up with Veronica /after/ Lilly was killed, when in actuality Duncan dumped her prior to Lilly's death (this timeline is later stated correctly in a different chapter, by a different author); this error is not super important as this statement had no real bearing on the purpose of the essay, but it is something that should've have been fixed in editing, especially since it was correctly stated in a different chapter.
And that brings us to the blatantly egregious incorrect statement, and the essay in this book that frustrated me the most to read: Chapter 10, Veronica's Trip to the Dentist: Don't Blame the Victim. This essay focuses on Season 1, episode 21 "A Trip to the Dentist" during which Veronica uncovers the partial truth (due to later retconning by the show's writers) of what happened to her at Shelley's party, which she has no memory of, and woke up in a room by herself without her underwear on. It's one of the core mysteries that Veronica has been trying to solve the entire season, and yet the authors, James and Mona Rocha couldn't be bothered to rewatch the episode to refresh their memories before writing their chapter??? In their chapter they are correctly stating that rape culture and the actions/in-actions of multiple partygoers (literally every single person in attendance at the party, but they don't say that) contribute to Veronica's eventual rape and sexual assault, including, but not limited to: Logan Echolls, Dick Casablancas, and Sean Friedrick (I might be spelling his last name wrong but I don't care enough about Sean to check). They're absolutely correct that all three of these men participated in the rape culture that evening, and that they all bear culpability for Veronica being raped, but it's still important to be accurate!! Multiple times throughout their chapter they falsely state that /Logan/ gave Dick the GHB which he attempted to use to drug Madison, only for her to unknowingly pass the drugged drink off to Veronica instead. In actuality, Dick receives his GHB from a different 09er party guest, Luke, and Logan, while in possession of GHB and while supplying it to others AND while lacing Duncan's drink with GHB, has absolutely nothing to do with GHB eventually making it's way to Veronica. It was evident while reading the chapter that the authors were not in any way shape or form Logan fans (confirmed by one of the authors bio in the back of the book), but it is so un-interesting to lie, repeatedly, rather than investigate the many ways in which Logan was genuinely culpable for what happened to Veronica that night. The salt lick, for example, is a real, genuine action that Logan orchestrates and encourages that night and the authors make no mention of it. Additionally, the authors only mention Veronica's rape by Cassidy, and make no comment of the fact that Veronica could not consent to having sex with Duncan either, due to the fact that she was blacked out and unconscious (Chapter 14, "Have You Ever Heard of Occam's Razor?" Veronica's Use of Inductive Reasoning, does, however touch upon this very briefly). I do want to make note that the authors do correctly state in this chapter that Veronica is wrong to assign higher blame for her rape to Madison Sinclair than she does to Dick, given that Madison was the intended rape victim, something that the show never bothered to point out. (And an observation that was sorely lacking from Chapter 11, "Grow a Sense of Humor, You Crazy Bitch": Veronica Mars as a Feminist Icon, which is a chapter I will not be discussing at length, for fear I will never be able to stop writing this review........)
ANYWAY! Chapter 5, Noir Neptune: Genre and Gender Bending in Veronica Mars by Daniel Wack was my favorite chapter. And Aristotle's idea of the "perfect friendship" was just plain annoying.
July 5, 2015
So many great essays here! Some better than others, but overall the book was a fascinating reading of philosophy as it relates to Veronica Mars. Part IV "Veronica Mars Is No Longer That Girl: Investigating Women in Society" was my favorite section.
May 25, 2015
I loved some of these essays, but overall found them fairly average. This is probably a book aimed at non-philosophers, as an introduction to philosophical ideas through the medium of popular TV shows, so I might just be the wrong audience. Still entertaining, but nothing mind-blowing.
November 26, 2015
Surprisingly a great read. Very insightful and oddly entertaining. However, I'll never be able to watch the show the same way again, which could be a good thing or a bad thing. Some things just shouldn't be overanalyzed.
May 14, 2022
This is a very biased rating because I live and breathe this show. Reading this book made me look at it from anew light as well as expended my thoughts on it. Amazing work from talented writers.
February 27, 2020
The premise of this book seemed to be to apply various theories and kinds of philosophy to Veronica Mars, but many chapters applied Veronica Mars to philosophy. Some chapters were better than others, with theories thoughtfully applied and explored through the show's characters and plots. Many other chapters discussed elements and pieces of the show often seemingly haphazard and/or at random and lacked some coherency in that sense. I will note that the book was highly accessible though.
November 5, 2018
I would have only recommend this book to the absolute fanatics of Veronica Mars, but even for them, it is outdated, because it was written before the movie came out.
June 7, 2015
This was quite a mixed reading experience.
There were chapters that were really, really good and I felt were much too short - like the ones about Veronica Mars as teen noir and her as a female character. Then there were other chapters that were too philosophical and felt too long for me.
Overall though, I would still recommend it to Veronica fans because it sheds some light on the series in new ways that you wouldn't necesarily think of on your own.
Some of the best chapters are worth a re-read. :)
There were chapters that were really, really good and I felt were much too short - like the ones about Veronica Mars as teen noir and her as a female character. Then there were other chapters that were too philosophical and felt too long for me.
Overall though, I would still recommend it to Veronica fans because it sheds some light on the series in new ways that you wouldn't necesarily think of on your own.
Some of the best chapters are worth a re-read. :)
October 30, 2016
This book had interesting observations about the characters of Neptune and Veronica Mars. However, the chapters tend to get repetitive after repeating analysis on the same episodes. It turned out to be quite a dry read in the end.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews