30 Rock and Philosophy: We Want to Go to There

Should you let Oprah be your guide? Is immoral behavior no laughing matter? Can Devon Banks choose his sexual orientation? Is that a dealbreaker? Hello, dummy. Wait! Don′t stop reading. This is really important. I′m dying. Okay, that was a lie. It′s about this TV show I love. I recently discovered that I′m a 30 Rock addict. From Jack Donaghy′s management advice to the things Liz Lemon has to do just to get a show on the air every week, 30 Rock raises all kinds of ethical dilemmas and philosophical issues. Okay, it′s not like reading Wittgenstein, but it makes you wise. Like a genetically manipulated shark. Every essay in 30 Rock and Philosophy takes some of my favorite scenes from the show and uses them to explain important philosophical issues. Even the most esoteric ideas become understandable when Kenneth is involved. So if you watch the show for Tracy′s antics, Dr. Spaceman′s medical advice, or just to look at Tina Fey, read this book and you′ll walk away knowing about the Frankfurt School, Aristotle, and Jack Donaghy′s sordid love life. Now that we have that out of the way, I have an idea for a business that could make us both millionaires. One word: floppy disks. To learn more about the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series, visit www.andphilosophy.com

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Thanks for Helping Us Go to There ix Introduction: Platonic Fantasies and Tina Fey–losophy 1 PART ONE WHAT WOULD OPRAH DO?: ETHICS AND THE GOOD LIFE AT 30 ROCK 1 Being Kenneth: Some Moral Lessons 7 P. Sue Dohnimm 2 Sour Lemon: Liz’s Workaholism and the Meaning of Life 16 Jeffrey A. Hinzmann 3 Friendship on 30 Rock: What a Greek Philosopher Can Teach Us about Companionship 28 Dan Yim 4 A Confucian–Aristotelian Critique of 30 Rock’s “Semi–Virtuous Path” 43 Adam Barkman PART TWO THE GIRLIE SHOW: GENDER, RACE, AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION AT 30 ROCK 5 Race at the Rock: Race Cards, White Myths, and Postracial America 57 J. Jeremy Wisnewski 6 Getting Gay: How 30 Rock Helps Us Understand Sexuality 75 J. Jeremy Wisnewski 7 And the Followship Award Goes to . . . Third–Wave Feminism? 89 Ashley Barkman PART THREE DEALBREAKER!: CORPORATIONS, PROFESSIONS, AND POLITICS 8 Medicine’s Not a Science: Dr. Leo Spaceman and the Role of the Incompetent Professional in Today’s America 101 Kevin S. Decker 9 Is There a Difference between East Coast Television and Microwave Ovens?: Moral Questions about Corporate Management 114 Andrew Terjesen 10 The Emancipation Corporation: Loving and Loathing the Shinehardt Wigs of the World 130 Nicolas Michaud 11 Liz and Jack Can’t Be Friends!: Communitarianism, Libertarianism, and Politics at 30 Rock 138 Nicolas Michaud PART FOUR MIND GRAPES (TO NOURISH YOUR THINKING) 12 “The Bubble,” the Cave, and Samsara: Being Deluded at 30 Rock 149 Adam Barkman 13 Of Cookie Jars and CEOs: Time and Self on 30 Rock 161 Tyler Shores 14 One City’s Cheese–Curl Addict Is Another City’s Model: A Question of Taste 174 Michael Da Silva and Melina Found 15 “I’m Straight–Up Mentally Ill”: Tracy Jordan and True, Justified Belief 186 Robert Arp 16 Performing at 30 Rock (and Everywhere Else) 195 Marc E. Shaw APPENDIX 1 : Frank’s Hat Store 209 APPENDIX 2 : The Wisdom of the Page: Meet Kenneth Ellen Parcell 211 CONTRIBUTORS: Cast Members of 30 Rock and Philosophy 217 INDEX: Shinehardt Wig Company Filing System 221

J. JEREMY WISNEWSKI is an associate professor of philosophy at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York. He coedited X–Men and Philosophy and Twilight and Philosophy and edited Family Guy and Philosophy and The Office and Philosophy. WILLIAM IRWIN is a professor of philosophy at King′s College in Wilkes–Barre, Pennsylvania. He originated the philosophy and popular culture genre of books as coeditor of the bestselling The Simpsons and Philosophy and has overseen recent titles including Batman and Philosophy, House and Philosophy, and Mad Men and Philosophy.