Homer Simpson Goes To Washington

"Informative and entertaining . . . convincingly argue[s] that an interest in popular culture can counterbalance the growing tide of political apathy." -Publishers Weekly While pundits may accuse popular culture of brainwashing, indoctrinating, distracting, or dumbing down the masses, the fact is that Americans have long turned to entertainment sources to make sense of politics, through television shows such as The Simpsons, The West Wing, The Daily Show, and Chappelle's Show and films such as Election, Bulworth, and Wag the Dog. In Homer Simpson Goes to Washington, Joseph J. Foy has assembled a multidisciplinary team of scholars with backgrounds in political science, philosophy, law, cultural studies, and music. Their essays tackle common assumptions about government and explain fundamental concepts such as civil rights, democracy, and ethics-through the lens of drama and comedy.

Autorentext

Joseph J. Foy is assistant professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha. He is contributing author to The Philosophy of The X-Files and The Executive Branch of State Government: People, Process, and Politics.

Zusammenfassung
“Informative and entertaining . . . convincingly argue[s] that an interest in popular culture can counterbalance the growing tide of political apathy.” —Publishers Weekly   While pundits may accuse popular culture of brainwashing, indoctrinating, distracting, or dumbing down the masses, the fact is that Americans have long turned to entertainment sources to make sense of politics, through television shows such as The Simpsons, The West Wing, The Daily Show, and Chappelle’s Show and films such as Election, Bulworth, and Wag the Dog. In Homer Simpson Goes to Washington, Joseph J. Foy has assembled a multidisciplinary team of scholars with backgrounds in political science, philosophy, law, cultural studies, and music. Their essays tackle common assumptions about government and explain fundamental concepts such as civil rights, democracy, and ethics—through the lens of drama and comedy.