I'm scheduled to teach a lower-level special-topics course next fall entitled "Pop-culture and philosophy." I'm really excited about it. I'm hopeful that it will be a ton of fun as well as pedagogically worthwhile, as I believe the ability to think philosophically about everyday culture (e.g. art, film, music, television, short stories, public essays, etc.) is a worthwhile thing for a liberal arts education to cultivate. Anyway, my tentative plan is to assign some accessible texts (e.g. something from Blackwell's Philosophy and Pop Culture series), some more traditional philosophical material, and some television episodes, films, public essays, and short stories--but here's where I could really use your help!
Do you have any suggestions for supplementary pop-culture material for a course like this? That is, are there any particular films, television episodes, short-stories, public philosophy essays, songs, etc., that you think raise good philosophical issues? If so, which ones and why? If you have any suggestions, please feel free to list them in the comments section along with a very brief description of the philosophical issues you think they raise (though please do try to avoid any "spoilers" for people who might not have seen the thing suggested yet). I would be very appreciative, and look forward to your suggestions!
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