Is anything more emblematic of the problems with academic publishing than The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series? Lost and Philosophy and 24 and Philosophy! Open Court has a similar series, dealing with The Sopranos, The Simpsons, and The Matrix (and, ahem, Buffy).
Are the artifacts of pop culture really worth the sort of analysis that is written in these books? Now, some sort of art criticism and explanation may be helpful for those seeking deeper layers of meaning, but to attach the name "philosophy" to these efforts... does that not debase the name even further? It's bad enough that some equate philosophy with BSing or a never-ending inquiry that yields no definite answers.
Lost - Home - ABC.com
Lost TV Show Fansite Lost-Media.com
LOST-TV // the unofficial fansite for the abc series 'lost' [http ...
FOX Broadcasting Company: 24
FOX Broadcasting Company: The Simpsons
Simpsons Movie
HBO: The Sopranos
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
BBC - Cult Television - Buffy the Vampire Slayer Homepage
BuffyWorld -- A complete guide to all of the "Buffy the Vampire ...
