David Bowie and philosophy : rebel, rebel / edited by Theodore G. Ammon.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Ammon, Theodore G., editor.

Series:

Popular culture and philosophy ; Volume 103.

Popular Culture and Philosophy ; Volume 103

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bowie, David.

Rock musicians.

Rock musicians--England--Biography.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (152 pages).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Chicago, [Illinois] : Open Court, 2016.

Summary:

Among the topics explored in David Bowie and Philosophy are the nature of Bowie as an institution; Bowie's work in many platforms, including movies and TV; Bowie's spanning of low and high art, and his relation to Warhol; the influence of Buddhism and Kabuki theater; the recurring theme of Bowie as a space alien, including “Space Oddity" and The Man Who Fell to Earth; the dystopian element in Bowie's thinking, displayed in “1984" and the album Outside; the role of fashion in Bowie's creativity; personal identity as preserved over various divergent personae; the aesthetics of theatrical rock and glam rock; Bowie's public identification with bisexuality and his influence within the LGBTQ community. Pervasive themes in Bowie's output include change, time, apocalypse, dancing, mind-body dualism, and spirituality. In the dualistic universe that undergirds his lyrics, body consistently wins over mind, but body is nevertheless on the hook of moral responsibility. There is thus an inherent tension: the overwhelming desires of bodily drives versus the repressive institutions such as church and the omnipresent “They" who would have us do otherwise than our body want. The emergent paradox in Bowie is that for all his alleged sexual indulgences, in the end mind trumps body.

Contents:

A farewell to David Bowie

What David Bowie was up to. The actor tells the truth / George A. Reisch

You don't have to be stupid to be cool / Thorsten Botz-Bornstein

The flux of it all / Theodore G. Ammon

Warm impermanence / Randall E. Auxier

Soundings of Bowie. Squawking like a pink monkey bird

What? / Greg Littmann

Bowie the Buddhist / Martin Muchall

David Bowie, political philosopher? / R. Kevin Hill

The babe with the power / Nicolas Michaud

The Bowie identity. When Jumpin' Jack Flash met Ziggy Stardust / Randall E. Auxier

David Bowie and death / Michael Potter and Cam Cobb

Meeting the monstrous self / Jerry Piven

David Bowie's sincerity / Anneliese Cooper

Out of Bowie's mind. The madness of the musician / Mathew Lampert

David Bowie's sadness / Chris Ketcham

Aladdin sane or cracked actor? / Simon Riches and Andrew Watson.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-8126-9925-4