Surprisingly good

Open Court Press appears to have stumbled on to a publishing goldmine with their Popular Culture and Philosophy series – each title offers a collection of essays reflecting on some aspect of pop culture. Initially I was suspicious that anything good could come of this, but a friend bought me The Simpsons and Philosopy as a birthday present and it was surprisingly good.

So, when I found myself at Borders last night with a 30% off any item coupon in my hot little hands, I was pleasantly surprised to come across Mel Gibson’s Passion and Philosophy. The essays offer philosophical reflection on the film itself, but also on the broader topics it raises like the Atonement, artistic depictions of the Passion, Jesus and violence, and so on, all written by serious scholars. I’ve only read one essay so far, but it was a really excellent one by Loyola University of Chicago philosopher Paul K. Moser on “The Crisis of the Cross: God as Scandalous” (which you can also read online here).

Obviously the Passion of Our Lord has a rich history of providing fodder for deep thinking, so maybe the quality of this volume exceeds such titles as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy or The Atkins Diet and Philosophy(!), but based on my limited sample I have to say that they’ve produced some quality material.