Randall E. Auxier is a professor of philosophy and communication studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He is a musician, an environmental activist, a union advocate, and a 2018 candidate for the United States House of Representatives in the 12th Congressional District of Illinois. He is a co-founder and co-director of the American Institute for Philosophical and Cultural Thought. 

Note to the Reader iv

From the Alamo Draft House to the Livingroom

Couch (Or There and Back Again) xiii

Part I Rated G: General Audiences 1

1. I Know Something You Don’t Know-THE PRINCESS BRIDE 3

2. Lions and Tigers and Bears-SCARY STUFF IN THE WIZARD OF OZ 17

3. The Monster and the Mensch-A CHILD’S EYE VIEW OF SUPER 8 37

4. Chef, Socrates, and the Sage of Love-FINDING LOVE IN SOUTH PARK 59

5. Killing Kenny-DEATH THERAPY IN SOUTH PARK 77

Part II Rated PG: Parental Guidance Suggested 89

6. The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful-SERGIO LEONE’S ANIMALS, ACTORS, AND AESTHETICS 91

7. Democracy Adrift-HITCHCOCK’S LIFEBOAT 109

8. Cuts Like a Knife-CUTTING TO THE CORE OF HIS DARK MATERIALS 125

9. Mrs. Coulter—Overwoman?-HER DARK MATERIALS 153

Part III Rated R: Restricted Audiences Only 179

10. A Very Naughty Boy-GETTING RIGHT WITH BRIAN AND MONTY PYTHON 181

11. Have You No Decency?-CLAIRE, FRANK, AND THEIR HOUSE OF CARDS 199

12. Vinnie’s Very Bad Day-TWISTING THE TALE OF TIME IN PULP FICTION 221

13. Once upon a Time-INCEPTION 241

14. Dream Time-INCEPTION 263

Part IV Director’s Cut 289

15. To Serve Man-A Visit to The Twilight Zone 291

Bibliography 315

Suggestions for Reading 319

Index 327

A lot of thought goes into making Hollywood films and television series. The best artists of the twentieth century chose this medium over the arts they would have practiced in previous centuries --the painters, sculptors, writers, musicians, actors, and most of all the director, the master auteur, packed up their gear and went west. As time has gone on, television and movie-making converged into one huge canvas for all that creative thinking. Let's think about some of the best things that got thunk in the last hundred years, see if we can uncover the deeper layers of that thinking and sling a little philosophy at the screen.