Shows about nothing : nihilism in popular culture / Thomas S. Hibbs.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hibbs, Thomas S.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nihilism (Philosophy) in motion pictures.

Nihilism (Philosophy) on television.

Good and evil in motion pictures.

Culture in motion pictures.

Physical Description:

xvii, 257 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Waco, Tex. : Baylor University Press, [2012]

Summary:

Thomas Hibbs probes deep into the canon of all things screen to uncover die disturbing truths about die contemporary media landscape. Beneath the shallow facade of evil lies the Nietzschean framework of nihilism-a nothingness that simultaneously undermines notions of right and wrong and destroys any sense of meaning or purpose. And, as Hibbs reveals, die story lines that inhabit today's popular culture bring us dangerously close to Nietzsche's ideal, ruling out-as diey often do-any possibility for their characters to make a "right decision." Surveying the blockbuster movie franchises Harry Potter, Avatar, and The Dark Knight, as well as the hit primetime television shows Seinfeld, Mad Men, and even Oprah, Shows about Nothing suggests how popular culture can move beyond nihilism. Book jacket.

Contents:

Nihilism, American style

The quest for evil

The negative zone : suburban familial malaise in American beauty, Revolutionary road, and Mad men

Normal nihilism as comic : Seinfeld, Trainspotting, and Pulp fiction

Romanticism and nihilism

Defense against the dark arts : from Se7en to the Dark knight and Harry Potter

God got involved : sacred quests and overcoming nihilism

Feels like the movies.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

9781602583788

1602583781

OCLC:

729574194