Philosophy In The Twilight Zone

Utilizing a series of essays examining the broad philosophical concepts embedded in Rod Serling's series, The Twilight Zone, Philosophy in The Twilight Zone provides a platform for further philosophical discussion. Features essays by eminent contemporary philosophers concerning the over-arching themes in The Twilight Zone, as well as in-depth discussions of particular episodes Fuses popular cult entertainment with classical philosophical perspectives Acts as a guide to unearthing larger questions - from human nature to the nature of reality and beyond - posed in the series Includes substantial critical and biographical information on series creator Rob Serling

In The Twilight Zone and Philosophy, philosophers probe into the meaning of the classic TV series, The Twilight Zone. Some of the chapters look at single episodes of the show, while others analyze several or many episodes. Though acknowledging the spinoffs and reboots, the volume concentrates heavily on the classic 1959–1964 series. Among the questions raised and answered are: ● What’s the meaning of personal identity in The Twilight Zone? (“Number 12 Looks Just Like You,” “Person or Persons Unknown”). ● As the distinction between person and machine becomes less clear, how do we handle our intimacy with machines? (A question posed in the very first episode of The Twilight Zone, “The Lonely”). ● Why do our beliefs always become uncertain in The Twilight Zone? (“Where Is Everybody?”) ● Just where is the Twilight Zone? (Sometimes it’s a supernatural realm but sometimes it’s the everyday world of reality.) ● What does the background music of The Twilight Zone teach us about dreams and imagination? ● Is it better to lose the war than to be damned? (“Still Valley”) ● How far should we trust those benevolent aliens? (“To Serve Man”) ● Where’s the harm in media addiction? (“Time Enough at Last”) ● Is there something objective about beauty? (“The Eye of the Beholder”) ● Have we already been conquered? (“The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street”) ● Are there hidden costs to knowing more about other people? (“A Penny for Your Thoughts”)

An introduction to philosophy through thought experiments in the 1959-1964 television series, The Twilight Zone

Can you live your life by what The Twilight Zone has to teach you? Yes, and maybe you should. The proof is in this lighthearted collection of life lessons, ground rules, inspirational thoughts, and stirring reminders found in Rod Serling’s timeless fantasy series. Written by veteran TV critic, Mark Dawidziak, this unauthorized tribute is a celebration of the classic anthology show, but also, on another level, a kind of fifth-dimension self-help book, with each lesson supported by the morality tales told by Serling and his writers. The notion that “it’s never too late to reinvent yourself” soars through “The Last Flight,’’ in which a World War I flier who goes forward in time and gets the chance to trade cowardice for heroism. A visit from an angel blares out the wisdom of “follow your passion” in “A Passage for Trumpet.” The meaning of “divided we fall” is driven home with dramatic results when neighbors suspect neighbors of being invading aliens in “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.” The old maxim about never judging a book by its cover is given a tasty twist when an alien tome is translated in “To Serve Man.”

Since its 1959 debut, The Twilight Zone has been an indelible part of the American cultural fabric and remains one of TV's most influential series. Assembled with the full cooperation of the Rod Serling estate, this fact-filled collectible includes biographies of every principal actor involved in the series, and detailed descriptions of the characters they played. The hundreds who toiled behind the scenes—producer, writers, and directors—enjoy a place of equal prominence. The Twilight Zone Encyclopedia is two books in one: an episode-by-episode guide and a compendium of credits, plot synopses, anecdotes, production details, never-before-seen images, and interviews with nearly everyone still alive who was associated with the show.

More than sixty years after the The Twilight Zone debuted on television, the show remains a cultural phenomenon, including a feature film, three television reboots, a comic book series, a magazine and a theatrical production. This collection of new essays offers a roadmap through a dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind. Scholars, writers, artists and contributors to the 1980s series investigate the many incarnations of Rod Serling's influential vision through close readings of episodes, explorations of major themes and first-person accounts of working on the show.

Neither day nor night, twilight has long exerted a fascination for Western artists, thinkers, and writers, while haunting the Romantics and intriguing philosophers and scientists. In The Last of the Light, Peter Davidson takes readers through our culture’s long engagement with the concept of twilight—from the melancholy of smoky English autumn evenings to the midnight sun of northern European summers and beyond. Taking in poets and painters, Victorians and Romans, city and countryside, and deftly combining memoir, literature, philosophy, and art history, Davidson shows how the atmospheric shadows and the in-between nature of twilight has fired the imagination and generated works of incredible beauty, mystery, and romance. Ambitious and brilliantly executed, this is the perfect book for the bedside table, richly rewarding and endlessly thought-provoking.

Much philosophical work on pop culture apologises for its use; using popular culture is a necessary evil, something merely useful for reaching the masses with important philosophical arguments. But works of pop culture are important in their own right--they shape worldviews, inspire ideas, change minds. We wouldn't baulk at a book dedicated to examining the philosophy of The Great Gatsby or 1984--why aren't Star Trek and Superman fair game as well? After all, when produced, the former were considered pop culture just as much as the latter. This will be the first major reference work to right that wrong, gathering together entries on film, television, games, graphic novels and comedy, and officially recognizing the importance of the field. It will be the go-to resource for students and researchers in philosophy, culture, media and communications, English and history and will act as a springboard to introduce the reader to the other key literature in the field.