Philosophy in the Twilight Zone Lib/E

by Noël Carroll

Lauded by fans and critics alike, Rod Serling's groundbreaking The Twilight Zone series is one of pop culture's most enduring icons. By exploring the fantastical depths of the unknown, the 156 original episodes (1959-64) continue to hold viewers spellbound. While the stories embrace elements of the supernatural, they were also quite consciously intended to enlighten the public on a broad range of philosophical issues - often by violating conventions of classical narration (to say nothing of the laws of physics). Philosophy in The Twilight Zone delves deeply into the complex philosophical strands woven throughout the series - issues including skepticism, the ethics of war and peace, and the nature of privacy, personal dignity, knowledge, love, happiness, and justice. A collection of original essays by leading philosophical scholars focus on individual or pairs of episodes or examine broader philosophical themes raised in the series. An illuminating critical and biographical introduction to series creator and principle writer Rod Serling is also "submitted for your approval." Philosophy in The Twilight Zone is a thought-provoking journey into the philosophical landscape of a series that did indeed take us into a dimension not only of sight and sound - but of mind.

Genres: Audiobook

Audio CD

First published March 30, 2009

About the author

Noël Carroll (born 1947) is an American philosopher considered to be one of the leading figures in contemporary philosophy of art. Although Carroll is best known for his work in the philosophy of film, he has also published journalism, works on philosophy of art generally, theory of media, and also philosophy of history.

As of 2012, he is a distinguished professor of philosophy at the CUNY Graduate Center. He holds PhDs in both cinema studies and philosophy. As a journalist, earlier in his career he published a number of articles in the Chicago Reader, Artforum, In These Times, Dance Magazine, Soho Weekly News and The Village Voice. He is also the author of five documentaries.

Perhaps his most popular and influential book is The Philosophy of Horror, or Paradoxes of the Heart (1990), an examination of the aesthetics of horror fiction (in novels, stories, radio and film). As noted in the book's introduction, Carroll wrote Paradoxes of the Heart in part to convince his parents that his lifelong fascination with horror fiction was not a waste of time. Another important book by Carroll is Mystifying Movies (1988), a critique of the ideas of psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan, Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser and the semiotics of Roland Barthes, which has been credited with inspiring a shift away from what Carroll describes as the "Psycho-Semiotic Marxism" that had dominated film studies and film theory in American universities since the 1970s.

Reviews

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fun and interesting read that is MOSTLY accessible for those of us not in the philosophy field. Only one essay was difficult to fully grasp for me. It is not necessary that you have seen the episodes discussed, but it is fun to have seen them before and then read this.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

AUDIBLE EDITION ~ Narrated by Ax Roman

Great narration and surprises throughout
Complete with so many interesting and curious facts about this popular series, my curiosity was piqued as Ax Ronan perfectly narrated this book with his precise and accomplished skills. Recommended for fans of this hugely popular show. There are odd and eccentric production issues I had never even thought of. I’ve not finished this, but am taking a break and will return for more at a later date.
NOTE: And the reps at Audible say you cannot post a review unless the book is finished. I have had some long-term (four months) problems with posting my reviews on “completed from start-to-end” books.

[Suzann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that recognizes the importance of Rod Serling's work in our society!

[Chrysten Lofton]

DNF.
A little too academic/self explanatory for my taste.