Released on = August 9, 2007, 4:56 pm

Press Release Author = J. Jeremy Wisnewski

Industry = Entertainment

Press Release Summary = NEW YORK, NY - (August 10, 2007) - Should you feel guilty
about watching "Family Guy?" What's so funny about dysfunctional families? Where's
the line between parody and nonsense? These are just a few of the many questions
asked and answered in a new book published by Wiley-Blackwell, \"Family Guy and
Philosophy: A Cure For the Petarded\", Editor, J. Jeremy Wisnewski, September 3,
2007.

Consisting of seventeen chapters by acclaimed American philosophers,
these Stewie-loving philosophers use the low-brow, potty-mouthed,
cartoon humor of a popular television program to illustrate
philosophy in a way that non-philosophers can understand - without
getting too high-brow for their (or your) own good.



Press Release Body = \"FAMILY GUY AND PHILOSOPHY: A CURE FOR THE PETARDED\" A MUST
READ FOR FAMILY GUY FANS

BRINGS TOGETHER DOWN AND DIRTY CARTOON HUMOR
AND HIGH FALUTIN PHILOSOPHICAL REFLECTION


NEW YORK, NY - (August 10, 2007) - Should you feel guilty about watching "Family
Guy?" What's so funny about dysfunctional families? Where's the line between parody
and nonsense? These are just a few of the many questions asked and answered in a
new book published by Wiley-Blackwell, \"Family Guy and Philosophy: A Cure For the
Petarded\", Editor, J. Jeremy Wisnewski, September 3, 2007.
Consisting of seventeen chapters by acclaimed American philosophers, these
Stewie-loving philosophers use the low-brow, potty-mouthed, cartoon humor of a
popular television program to illustrate philosophy in a way that non-philosophers
can understand - without getting too high-brow for their (or your) own good.
"People today take tend to take themselves and things too seriously," according to
Dr. J. Jeremy Wisnewski, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Hartwick College,
Oneonta, NY. \"This show provides an escape, a release; it\'s full of legitimate
insights that get us to laugh at things that might surprise us. It defies
expectations."
"This book is about the most misunderstood show on television,\" say Dr. Wisnewski.
\"There\'s a lot going on here, and it\'s not all on the surface. It\'s philosophically
deep and I knew it from the first time I saw it. The show makes philosophical
points but in ways that make you laugh, that are easily accepted by the average
Joe. This book will help the reader see the points more clearly and appreciate the
show even more, and of course laughing all the way." With chapters such as
"Quagmire: Virtue and Perversity"; "Lois: Portrait of a Mother (or, Nevermind
Death, Motherhood is a Bitch)"; and "Let Us Now Praise Clueless Men: Peter Griffin
and Philosophy", there's sure to be something of interest for everyone.
With its debut in January 1999, Family Guy was almost immediately compared to - and
accused of ripping off - The Simpsons. In Chapter 13, \"\'The Simpsons\' Already Did
It! This Show is a Freakin Rip-off!\", Shai Biderman and William J. Devlin, of
Boston University, start out with that very assertion. This was a real charge
leveled against the program by numerous publications and even other artists at the
time. The authors of this chapter proceed by way of discussion of rip-off, art,
parody, satire, plagiarism, and postmodernism to dispel the claim. In doing so,
they argue \"Animation is built on plagiarism! If it weren\'t for someone
plagiarizing The Honeymooners, we wouldn\'t have The Flintstones.Family Guy is a
postmodern work of art that intentionally tears down the distinctions between
appearance and reality, original and copy, and uses the world of television to push
this dissolution.\"
The show was cancelled in 2000, reinstated in 2001, and cancelled again in 2002.
Because of re-runs and extremely strong DVD sales, Fox resumed the show in 2005.
It was the first cancelled show to be raised from the dead by reason of DVD
sales. This was an example of public pressure used to reinstate an element of
popular culture. The contributing authors and editor of \"Family Guy and
Philosophy: A Cure for the Petarded\" seized upon this popularity, counted on it,
and used it as a vehicle to philosophize. In doing so, they show how this
cartoon program can teach us about ethics, ego, hypocrisy, death, life after
death, and breaking wind. They do it in a way that exemplifies a tenet of the
Wiley-Blackwell Philosophy and PopCulture series: A spoonful of sugar helps the
medicine go down, and a healthy helping of popular culture clears the cobwebs
from Kant.


Web Site = http://www.blackwellpublishing.com

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