DOCSLIB.ORG

Fall 2013 Course: PHIL-T121-F01 – PHILOSOPHY in the TWILIGHT ZONE Time: MWF 8:30-9:20 A.M

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Fall 2013 Course: PHIL-T121-F01 – PHILOSOPHY in the TWILIGHT ZONE Time: MWF 8:30-9:20 A.M Fall 2013 Course: PHIL-T121-F01 – PHILOSOPHY IN THE TWILIGHT ZONE Time: MWF 8:30-9:20 a.m. Location: Marquette 406 Instructor: Joshua Lott Office: Bobet Hall 439A Office Hours: MWF 11-1, TTH 1-3, and by Appointment Phone: 504-865-3956 Email: [email protected] [email protected] Course Description: What are the implications of our dependence on technology? What are the consequences of injustice, even if one can commit it without being caught, earning significant material gain in the process? If someone offered you immortality would you accept it? Or should we fear eternal life more than death? Do we have anything to lose if we are given unlimited power? Is “beauty” just “in the eye of the beholder”? Are human beings “alone” in the universe? If not, could we coexist with other intelligent beings? These are only a few of the questions raised by Rod Serling’s groundbreaking and influential television series The Twilight Zone. In this course, we will engage and critically examine the themes and messages of a variety of the episodes of this monumental series – which is just as powerful and relevant today as it was 50 years ago – with the aid of selected writings from many famous authors, including Plato, Aristotle, The Bible, Descartes, Hobbes, Rousseau, Marx, Dostoyevski, Nietzsche, Freud, Skinner, Jung, Fromm, and Sartre. The Common Curriculum and the First Year Seminar In addition to your major, you will take a broad range of courses in the liberal arts and sciences known as the Common Curriculum (CC). The CC offers an educational experience unique to Loyola. The CC: 1. Includes courses in English, History, Philosophy, Religious Studies, The Natural Sciences, The Social Sciences, and The Arts. 2. Teaches important foundational subject matter. 3. Provides a broad education beyond the major and thus prepares students for the demands of a complex world. 4. Is grounded in the core values of Loyola’s Jesuit mission and identity. 5. Develops students’ understanding of human values and social justice. 6. Develops students’ critical thinking, writing, and speaking skills. The seminal courses to CC are the First Year Seminars, interdisciplinary courses focusing on a single topic from several academic perspectives so as to introduce students to college-level thinking and learning. Each seminar explores the broader theme of “thinking critically, acting justly” as an introduction to study at Loyola. Learning Outcomes 1. Critical Thinking: Students completing this FY Seminar should be able to (a) formulate questions about the subject matter, (b) distinguish facts from assumptions and inferences, (c) take a position, and (d) show proficiency in the critical readings of texts, including discerning major arguments, salient points, and underlying assumptions and biases. 2. Written Communication: Students completing this FY Seminar should be able to (a) reflect on issues in writing, (b) formulate and defend a position in writing, (c) compare and contrast approaches to the subject, (d) apply the content of readings or class discussions to personal experience, and (e) respond to questions or prompts presented by the instructor, or other writing tasks. 3. Oral Communication: Students completing this FY Seminar should be able to (a) reflect on issues orally, (b) formulate and defend a position in class debate, (c) contribute meaningfully to class discussions, (d) make effective oral presentation, responding clearly and logically to questions posed by the instructor or classmates, and (e) lead a class discussion of peers, or other oral communication tasks. 4. Information Literacy: Students completing this FY Seminar should (a) demonstrate the ability to evaluate information and (b) appropriately incorporate information into an assignment. 5. Compassionate Engagement with the World: Students completing this FY Seminar should (a) demonstrate the ability to recognize issues of justice and injustice inherent in a topic, and (b) recognize multiple sides to an issue. All of the required readings for this course will be posted on Blackboard. But the following books are STRONGLY RECOMMENDED. They are on reserve at the Library: Brode, Douglas & Serling, Carol. Rod Serling and The Twilight Zone: The 50th Anniversary Tribute (50th Ed.). Fort Lee, NJ: Barricade Books, 2009. (ISBN: 9781569803585) *Carroll, Noel & Hunt, Lester E. (Eds.). Philosophy in The Twilight Zone. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. (ISBN: 9781405149044)* ASSESSMENT: Daily Written Responses: 10% (Meets Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 4, and 5) Class Participation: 20% (Meets Learning Outcomes 1, 3, 4, and 5) Group Project – Inspired Twilight Zone Episode: 20% (Meets Learning Outcomes 1 – 5) Term Paper (2000-2500 Words): 50% (Meets Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 4, and 5) 1-2 Page Outline – Due 9/20 Draft 1 (At least 750 Words) – Due 10/11 Draft 2 (At least 1000 Words) – Due 11/1 Draft 3 (At least 1500 Words) – Due 11/22 Final Draft (At least 2000 Words) – Due 12/13 Attendance and participation is expected of all students. Each class will consist of a 10-15 minute presentation by the instructor, followed either by critical thinking, writing, and discussion exercises related both to the readings and The Twilight Zone Episode of the day. On occasion, we will watch episodes in class, but the majority of the viewings must be done outside of class. Each student will be required to submit daily Critical Reflection Essays, 300 – 500 words in length. A sheet specifying the guidelines of these writing assignments is posted on Blackboard. Students will also be expected to comment on the work of another student each week (think of this exercise as a “peer editing”). In addition, each class, every student must submit one discussion question about the reading. The bulk of each student’s grade will be determined by two writing assignments. First, each student will be required to submit, by the end of the term, an 8-10 page essay on the topic of “The Twilight Zone’s Ideal of Human Fulfillment.” After submitting each draft, students must schedule conferences with the instructor. Failure to submit any of the drafts will result in a 10 point deduction from the student’s final essay. A rubric specifying the guidelines for the term paper is available on Blackboard. Second, each student must collaborate with 2-3 others in writing an inspired episode of The Twilight Zone. It may be loosely based on any Twilight Zone episode(s), but the final product must have a contemporary setting and must be original. Each group must schedule four conferences with the instructor during the semester, so that he can chart their progress. In addition, This semester, all students enrolled in First-Year Seminars will take the ETS Proficiency Profile test, a standardized test that measures general academic skills (reading, writing, mathematics, and critical thinking). The test will be administered via computer within the first few weeks of the semester. More information about the test (where, when, etc.) will beprovided on a separate handout. ATTENDANCE POLICY This course is classified as a “seminar,” which basically means that participation in activities and discussion are significant components of each student’s final grade. Hence, student attendance is essential. Students must sign the daily sign-in sheet in order to receive credit for attendance. In exceptional cases, absences may be excused, but only if a student provides adequate documentation accounting for the absence in question (doctor’s note documenting illness, obituary documenting the death of a suitably close relative, a written summons for jury duty, etc.). However, if a student accumulates more than 3 absences, for any reason, he or she will automatically fail the course. EMERGENCY CLOSURES AND/OR EVACUATIONS At times, ordinary university operations are interrupted as a result of tropical storms, hurricanes, or other emergencies that require evacuation or suspension of on-campus activities. To prepare for such emergencies, all students will do the following during the first week of classes: 1. Practice signing on for each course through Blackboard. 2. Provide regular and alternative e-mail address and phone contact information to each instructor. In the event of an interruption to our course due emergency requiring an evacuation or suspension of campus activities, students will: 3. Pack textbooks, assignments, syllabi and any other needed materials for each course and bring during an evacuation/suspension. 4. Keep up with course work during the evacuation/suspension as specified on course syllabi and on-line Blackboard courses. 5. Complete any reading and/or writing assignments given by professors before emergency began. Assuming a power source is available…. 6. Log on to university Web site within 48 hours of an evacuation/suspension. 7. Monitor the main university site (www.loyno.edu) for general information. 8. Log on to each course through Blackboard or e-mail within 48 hours of an evacuation/suspension to receive further information regarding contacting course instructors for assignments, etc. 9. Complete Blackboard and/or other online assignments posted by professors (students are required to turn in assignments on time during the evacuation/suspension period and once the university campus has reopened. 10. Contact professors during an evacuation/suspension (or as soon as classes resume on campus) to explain any emergency circumstances that may have prevented them from completing expected work. Further information about student responsibilities in emergencies is available on
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Leyendecker Museum Guide
    OFFICIAL GUIDE TO THE LEYENDECKER MUSEUM Published for the Leyendecker Museum by the New York Museum Press Consortium Thirtieth Edition, Fall 1926 TABLE OF CONTENTS President’s Welcome 1 The Leyendecker Museum: Past and Present 4 The Temple of Amon Ra: My Amazing Archaeological Discovery 8 The Ancient Egypt Exhibit 13 The Gods of Egypt 21 Medieval Armor: Our Most Misunderstood Apparel 27 The Leyendecker Life Masks: A Face Right Out of History 31 Old Masters Gallery: The Ignatz Leyendecker Collection 33 The Leyendecker Labs: The Fine Art of Preservation and Preparation 39 Dinosaurs: Our Big Extinct Brothers 43 Whither The Leyendecker? 49 Credits 54 Bibliography 56 <Page 1> PRESIDENT’S WELCOME When you cross the threshold of the Leyendecker Museum, you leave the hustle and bustle of New York City behind as you make a giant leap back in time. Within these walls, you will find a unique mixture of exhibits which will demonstrate the diversity of our planet’s living past. Ranging from the crude power of prehistoric life forms to the subtle intricacies of Medieval armor, and from the art of ancient Egypt to the art of the Renaissance, our exhibits represent the continuing pageant of life’s development in our small corner of the universe. As you make your journey of discovery through the halls of the Museum, consider that you are only seeing a small portion of the Museum’s considerable collection. Over time, as the Museum expands, we will be able to create more exhibits covering a wider range of subjects. But the items stored in the private sections of the Museum are not forgotten.
    [Show full text]
  • THE American Museum Journal
    T ///^7; >jVvvscu/n o/ 1869 THE LIBRARY THE American Museum Journal VOLUME VII, 1907 NEW YORK: PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 1907 Committee of Publication EDMUND OTIS HOVF.Y, Ediior. FRANK M. ( IIAPMAN ] LOUIS P. GHATACAP \ .l<lris-on/ linanl WILLIAM K. GREGOIlvJ THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. 77th Street and Central Park West, New York. OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES PRESIDEXT MORRIS K. JESUP FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT J. PIERPONT MORGAN HENRY F. OSBORN TREASURER SECRETARY CHARLES LANIER J. HAMPDEN ROBB ASSISTANT SECRETARY AND DIRECTOR ASSISTANT TREASURER HERMON C. BUMPUS GEORGE H. SHERWOOD BOARD OF TRUSTEES Class of 1907 D. O. :\IILLS ALBERT S. BICKMORE ARCHIBALD ROGERS CORNELIUS C. CUYLER ADRIAN ISELIN, Jr. Class of 1908 H. o. have:\ieyer Frederick e. hyde A. I). JUHJJAIU) GEORCiE S. BOWDOIN (TEVELANl) H. DOIXJE Class of 1909 MORRIS K. JESUP J. PIERPONT MORGAN JOSEPH H. CHOATE GEORGE G. HAVEN HENRY F. OSBORN Class of 1910 J. HAMPDEN ROBB PERCY R. PYNE ARTHUR CURTISS JAMES Class of 1911 CHARLES LANIER WILLIAISI ROCKEFELLER ANSON W. HARD GUSTAV E. KISSEL SETH LOW Scientific Staff DIRECTOR Hermon C. Bumpus, Ph.D., Sc. D. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION Prof. Albert S. Bickmore, B. S., Ph.D., LL.D., Curator Emeritus George H. Shehwood, A.B., A.M., Curator DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY AND INVERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY Prof. R. P. Whitfield, A.M., Curator Edmund Otis Hovey, A.B., Ph.D., Associate Curator DEPARTMENT OF MAMMALOGY AND ORNITHOLOGY Prof. J. A. Allen, Ph.D., Curator Frank M. Chapman, Associate Curator DEPARTMENT OF VERTEBRATE PALAEONTOLOGY Prof.
    [Show full text]
  • American Papers 2017 ~ 2018
    the American Papers 2017 ~ 2018 1 The American Papers 2 The American Papers Editor-in-Chief Clayton Finn Jasmine Mayfield Managing Editors Michael Paramo Jonathan Schreiber Jena Delgado-Sette Editorial Board Roxana Arevalo Barbara Tkach Michael Gandara Jesus Pelayo Layout Editor Bahar Tahamtani Faculty Advisor Dustin Abnet Copyright © 2018 The American Studies Student Association California State University, Fullerton. All rights reserved. ISSN 10598464 3 The American Papers 4 Professor Abnet would like to thank the editors for their hard work, camaraderie, and professionalism while preparing this edi- tion of The American Papers. Their willingness to give freely of their time—even over summer break—to add to this institution is very much appreciated. He also would like to commend the authors for their exceptional papers and good-natured responses to the editorial process. Michael Paramo, Jonathan Schreiber, and Jena Delgado-Sette deserve special recognition for their service as Managing Edi- tors as does editor Michael Gandara for his assistance securing funding from the InterClub Council. Together their efforts made the production of the 2017-2018 issue possible. Professor Abnet offers special thanks to Bahar Tahamtani for her beautiful work on the layout and design of this issue. Finally, he especially would like to thank Clayton Finn and Jasmine Mayfield for serving as this volume’s Editors in Chief. Their professionalism, hard work, kindness, and dedication to the success of The American Papers has been remarkable. 5 The American Papers Welcome to the 2017-2018 American Papers! First and foremost, the American Papers is a testament to the many faculty men- tors that have spent countless hours of their time to assist students at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) in their personal academic development and in making this journal what it is today.
    [Show full text]
  • Season 5 Article
    N.B. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE READER USE 2-PAGE VIEW (BOOK FORMAT WITH SCROLLING ENABLED) IN ACROBAT READER OR BROWSER. “EVEN’ING IT OUT – A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON THE LAST TWO YEARS OF “THE TWILIGHT ZONE” Television Series (minus ‘THE’)” A Study in Three Parts by Andrew Ramage © 2019, The Twilight Zone Museum. All rights reserved. Preface With some hesitation at CBS, Cayuga Productions continued Twilight Zone for what would be its last season, with a thirty-six episode pipeline – a larger count than had been seen since its first year. Producer Bert Granet, who began producing in the previous season, was soon replaced by William Froug as he moved on to other projects. The fifth season has always been considered the weakest and, as one reviewer stated, “undisputably the worst.” Harsh criticism. The lopsidedness of Seasons 4 and 5 – with a smattering of episodes that egregiously deviated from the TZ mold, made for a series much-changed from the one everyone had come to know. A possible reason for this was an abundance of rather disdainful or at least less-likeable characters. Most were simply too hard to warm up to, or at the very least, identify with. But it wasn’t just TZ that was changing. Television was no longer as new a medium. “It was a period of great ferment,” said George Clayton Johnson. By 1963, the idyllic world of the 1950s was disappearing by the day. More grittily realistic and reality-based TV shows were imminent, as per the viewing audience’s demand and it was only a matter of time before the curtain came down on the kinds of shows everyone grew to love in the 50s.
    [Show full text]
  • RAMSEY CAMPBELL INTERVIEWED RAMSEY CAMPBELL INTERVIEW ^By Brendan Ryder Page 13
    ISSUE NO. 76 August 1992 ________ ISSN 0791-3966 RAMSEY CAMPBELL INTERVIEWED RAMSEY CAMPBELL INTERVIEW ^by Brendan Ryder page 13 THE TWILIGHT ZONE How to find your way around by Michael Cullen page 5 OUR SEMI-ANNUAL "MEGA" QUIZ It’s not just a quiz, it's the contents of page 11 MORPHING So how did Arnie turn into Michael Jackson? See on page 12 REGULAR FEATURES News 3 ISFA News 4 Letters 7 Meeting report 8 Movies 9 Videos 10 Book Reviews 15 Comics 18 Drabbles 19 PUBLISHED BY Wc welcome unsolicited manuscripts on the basis that the THE IRISH SCIENCE FICTION ISFA is poor, and if wc don’t actually pay contributors it ASSOCIATION doesn’t mean wc don’t appreciate them. So send us your news. Send us your opinions. Send us your doodles. Send 30, BEVERLY DOWNS us your shorts. But wash ’em first. KNOCKLYON ROAD Take that old dusty Royal out of the wardrobe and type it, TEMPLEOGUE, DUBLIN 16 if you can. If you can’t, well, it’s not the end of the world. FURTHER INFORMATION NOTE: OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE NOT THOSE OF FROM THIS ADDRESS OR THE ISFA, EXCEPT WHERE STATED AS SUCH PHONE 934712 2 ISFA Newsletter August 1992 NEWS Crypt Creator Dies Wiliam M Gaines, publisher of Mad maga­ zine and the EC comics line which included Rings, No Strings Weird Science, Tales from the Crypt, and As part of the Galway Arts Festival which ran The Vault of Horror, died in Manhattan in from 15-26 July, the Canadian Theatre Sans June, at the age of 70.
    [Show full text]
  • Twilight Zone Series 4: Science and Superstition Checklist
    Twilight Zone Series 4: Science and Superstition Checklist Base Cards # Card Title [ ] 217 The Last Night of a Jockey [ ] 218 The Last Night of a Jockey [ ] 219 The Last Night of a Jockey [ ] 220 The Last Night of a Jockey [ ] 221 The Last Night of a Jockey [ ] 222 The Last Night of a Jockey [ ] 223 Mr. Bevis [ ] 224 Mr. Bevis [ ] 225 Mr. Bevis [ ] 226 Mr. Bevis [ ] 227 Mr. Bevis [ ] 228 Mr. Bevis [ ] 229 The Bard [ ] 230 The Bard [ ] 231 The Bard [ ] 232 The Bard [ ] 233 The Bard [ ] 234 The Bard [ ] 235 The Passersby [ ] 236 The Passersby [ ] 237 The Passersby [ ] 238 The Passersby [ ] 239 The Passersby [ ] 240 The Passersby [ ] 241 Dead Man's Shoes [ ] 242 Dead Man's Shoes [ ] 243 Dead Man's Shoes [ ] 244 Dead Man's Shoes [ ] 245 Dead Man's Shoes [ ] 246 Dead Man's Shoes [ ] 247 Back There [ ] 248 Back There [ ] 249 Back There [ ] 250 Back There [ ] 251 Back There [ ] 252 Back There [ ] 253 The Purple Testament [ ] 254 The Purple Testament [ ] 255 The Purple Testament [ ] 256 The Purple Testament [ ] 257 The Purple Testament [ ] 258 The Purple Testament [ ] 259 A Piano in the House [ ] 260 A Piano in the House [ ] 261 A Piano in the House [ ] 262 A Piano in the House [ ] 263 A Piano in the House [ ] 264 A Piano in the House [ ] 265 Night Call [ ] 266 Night Call [ ] 267 Night Call [ ] 268 Night Call [ ] 269 Night Call [ ] 270 Night Call [ ] 271 A Hundred Yards Over the Rim [ ] 272 A Hundred Yards Over the Rim [ ] 273 A Hundred Yards Over the Rim [ ] 274 A Hundred Yards Over the Rim [ ] 275 A Hundred Yards Over the Rim [ ] 276 A Hundred
    [Show full text]
  • The Twilight Zone: Landmark Television Derek Kompare
    The Twilight Zone: Landmark Television Derek Kompare From the original edition of How to Watch Television published in 2013 by New York University Press Edited by Ethan Thompson and Jason Mittell Accessed at nyupress.org/9781479898817 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND). 32 The Twilight Zone Landmark Television Derek Kompare Abstract: Few programs in television history are as iconic as Te Twilight Zone, which lingers in cultural memory as one of the medium’s most distinctive aesthetic and cultural peaks. Derek Kompare examines the show’s signature style and voice of its emblematic creator Rod Serling, exploring how the program’s legacy lives on today across genres and eras. As with any other art form, television history is in large part an assemblage of exemplary works. Industrial practices, cultural infuences, and social contexts are certainly primary points of media histories, but these factors are most ofen recognized and analyzed in the form of individual texts: moments when par- ticular forces temporarily converge in unique combinations, which subsequently function as historical milestones. Regardless of a perceived historical trajectory towards or away from “progress,” certain programs have come to represent the confuence of key variables at particular moments: I Love Lucy (CBS, 1951–1957) revolutionized sitcom production; Monday Night Football (ABC, 1970–2005; ESPN, 2005–present) supercharged the symbiotic relationship of sports and tele- vision; Hill Street Blues (NBC, 1981–1987) introduced the “quality” serial drama to primetime. Te Twilight Zone (CBS, 1959–1964) is an anomalous case, simultaneously one of the most important and least representative of such milestones.
    [Show full text]
  • Kachemak Bay, Alaska: an Exploration of People and Place
    Kachemak Bay, Alaska: An Exploration of People and Place Exhibit Evaluation I had not realized the commitment and value of each individual to the community. -Visitor Prepared for the Pratt Museum by Visitor Studies Services 2004 Kachemak Bay, Alaska: An Exploration of People and Place Exhibit Evaluation by Wendy Meluch of Visitor Studies Services, 2004 Abstract Extensive research of the exhibit, Kachemak Bay, Alaska: An Exploration of People and Place shows it to be popular and effective with visitors on every communication and affective goal set forth in the Exhibit Master Plan. Research also finds that Community Collaborators who helped to create exhibit elements found the experience deeply meaningful and satisfying, meeting every desired cognitive, affective and behavioral outcome established for the collaboration programs. Pre- and post-test surveys of the exhibit as a whole, and specific elements in it, and two observational studies in the exhibit involved nearly 600 visitors to the Pratt Museum. In most studies, Travelers and Area Residents used distinct survey instruments and are considered separately for analysis. Over 30 Community Collaborators responded to lengthy questionnaire forms, sharing deeply personal experiences and revelations about their participation. ii Acknowledgements Just as the Kachemak Bay Exhibit could only be birthed by extensive collaboration among many talented and smart individuals, so this research was born of the cooperative efforts of many capable people. Betsy Webb, Curator of Collections at the Pratt Museum and wearer of many other hats as well, was instrumental to every phase of this research. The hundreds of visitor surveys could not have been conducted without Gale Parsons and Shannon Riley, and their careful guidance of the Museum’s summer interns.
    [Show full text]
  • The Incurious Seeker: Waiting, and the Search for the Stranger in the Fiction of Samuel Beckett and J.M
    MediaTropes eJournal Vol IV, No 2 (2014): 6–30 ISSN 1913-6005 THE INCURIOUS SEEKER: WAITING, AND THE SEARCH FOR THE STRANGER IN THE FICTION OF SAMUEL BECKETT AND J.M. COETZEE MIKE MARAIS In J.M. Coetzee and the Novel: Writing and Politics after Beckett, Patrick Hayes argues that Coetzee, while influenced by Beckett’s prose style, assimilates it in such a way that his writing not only departs from the latter’s solipsism but also provides “an anti-foundational imagining of moral community” (71). While there is much merit to this argument, Hayes’s distinction between Beckett’s solipsism and Coetzee’s concern with community downplays the extent to which the human subject’s conception of herself depends on the differential process through which community establishes itself. In the first section of this paper I show that, already in Murphy, we find evidence in support of Ileana Marculescu’s argument that Beckett inscribes solipsism in his writing only to subvert it. Murphy’s attempts at solipsistic knowledge fail precisely because he has been estranged from himself by language and community. What appears to be solipsism is, in fact, a search for the self from which he has been divided by community. In Beckett’s writing, the self’s concern with its ability to know itself is always a concern with community. By the same token, Coetzee’s concern with community is always a concern with self. So, although I agree with Hayes that Coetzee’s writing is more engaged with community than Beckett’s, I contend that this engagement proceeds from an extension of the Beckettian search for the stranger, and is therefore grounded in a profound suspicion of community.
    [Show full text]
  • Philosophy in the Twilight Zone
    9781405149044_1_pre.qxd 10/2/09 10:49 AM Page iii Philosophy in The Twilight Zone edited by Noël Carroll and Lester H. Hunt A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication 9781405149044_1_pre.qxd 10/2/09 10:49 AM Page iv 9781405149044_1_pre.qxd 10/2/09 10:48 AM Page i Philosophy in The Twilight Zone 9781405149044_1_pre.qxd 10/2/09 10:48 AM Page ii 9781405149044_1_pre.qxd 10/2/09 10:48 AM Page iii Philosophy in The Twilight Zone edited by Noël Carroll and Lester H. Hunt A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication 9781405149044_1_pre.qxd 10/2/09 10:48 AM Page iv This edition first published 2009 © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd Blackwell Publishing was acquired by John Wiley & Sons in February 2007. Blackwell’s publishing program has been merged with Wiley’s global Scientific, Technical, and Medical business to form Wiley-Blackwell. Registered Office John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, United Kingdom Editorial Offices 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services, and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell. The right of Noël Carroll and Lester Hunt to be identified as the authors of the editorial material in this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved.
    [Show full text]
  • The Obsolete Man (And Woman, and Child, and Baby, and Race)” 1 Peter 2:17 18 January 2015
    “The Obsolete Man (and Woman, and Child, and Baby, and Race)” 1 Peter 2:17 18 January 2015 What would you do if your government said that you had no value, no worth, no dignity and therefore you were obsolete? What would you do if your government said that it was going to dispose of you? Rod Serling tackled this in an episode of The Twilight Zone called “The Obsolete Man.” In this episode, Burgess Meredith, as expected, puts in a stellar performance as Romney Wordsworth, a man deemed obsolete by his country. Here’s a synopsis from Wikipedia- In a future totalitarian America, Romney Wordsworth is a man put on trial for the crime of being obsolete. His occupation as a librarian is a crime punishable by death as the State has eliminated books and literature. He believes in God, a crime also punishable by death, as the State claims to have proven that there is no God. He is prosecuted by the Chancellor, who announces in front of the assembled court that Wordsworth, in not being an asset to the State, shall be liquidated. After being convicted, Wordsworth is allowed to choose his method of execution. He cryptically requests that he be granted a personal assassin to whom he may privately disclose his preferred method of execution. He also requests that his execution be televised nationwide. Thinking that the spectacle will help show the public what happens when citizens become of no use to the State, the court grants both requests. A television camera is installed in Wordsworth's study to broadcast his final hours and execution live to the nation.
    [Show full text]
  • TWILIGHT ZONE Di Fabio Giovannini
    ROD SERLING’S THE TWILIGHT ZONE di Fabio Giovannini “C’è una quinta dimensione, oltre a quelle conosciute dall’uomo: è una dimensione grande come lo spazio e smisurata come l’infinito, è a mezza strada fra la luce e l’ombra, fra la scienza e la superstizione, fra la sommità delle cognizioni dell’Uomo ed il fondo dei suoi smarrimenti. È la dimensione della fantasia, è una zona che noi chiamiamo: ‘Il confine della realtà’. Dal 1959 milioni di schermi televisivi hanno trasmesso queste parole introduttive per una serie di telefilm che prometteva di condurre lo spettatore nella “quinta dimensione”. Le pronunciava, almeno nella versione originale americana, un serio personaggio dal naso schiacciato, Rod Serling. Nel 1959, quando iniziò The Twilight zone, era un personaggio del tutto sconosciuto, ma dopo un solo anno gli americani riconoscevano immediatamente la voce e i tratti di questo ospite che accompagnava nel territorio tra la luce e le tenebre, tra la scienza e la superstizione. Rod Serling in Italia non ha avuto alcuna fama, ma le sue parole “introduttive” sono egualmente entrate nelle tranquille case del bel- paese, per qualche anno. Le persone normali di Ai confini della realtà sempre precipitate in situazioni straordinarie, erano cesellate sul modello del cittadino medio statunitense, ma anche l’uomo comune italiano poteva identificarsi nelle fobie umane portate agli eccessi dall’abile Rod Serling. Twilight Zone (letteralmente la zona del crepuscolo) il serial televisivo che in Italia è stato trasmesso dalla RAI all’inizio degli anni Sessanta con il titolo Ai confini della realtà è stata la più lunga serie Tv di argomento fantastico prodotta negli Stati Uniti, se si eccettua la soap-opera Dark Shadows (le avventure del vampiro buono Barnabas Collins).
    [Show full text]