True Blood and Philosophy: We Wanna Think Bad Things with You, the latest in the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series, wants you to lick their minds. This compilation of academic-style essays, edited by George A. Dunn and Rebecca Housel, digs deeply into the metaphysical and philosophical questions raised by True Blood and Southern Vampire Mysteries. Not for the faint of heart, this collection asks The Big Questions: Under what conditions is it moral to create another vampire, why is it essential for vampires to “dress up and play human,” are vampires capable of being good citizens, why have philosophers always considered humans “more” than other species, are vampires in fact superior to humans, the hypocrisy of the Fellowship of the Sun, is Sam still Sam when he shifts, what are the connections between coming out of the coffin and coming out of a closet, are vampires inherently evil, is Sookie a feminist? These issues and more are viewed through the filter of some of (human) history’s finest minds like Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, John Locke, Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Nietzsche, and John Rawls.
I openly admit to being a nerd, and I’ve happily spent hours discussing these very questions on the old HBO Boards, and now at Bill’s Wiki’d Women. A huge part of the appeal of True Blood, at least for me, is that while it’s a fun on the surface, there’s plenty going on underneath to sink my teeth into. This book identifies many issues and provides historical context for the discussion, but it ultimately asks more questions than gives answers, leaving the reader to come to his or her own conclusions. Not intended for a quick read-through, this collection is meant to be savored, read slowly and pondered and, ideally, discussed with fellow fan(g)s.
Like all collections, some of the selections are better than others. I particularly enjoyed the existential final section, “‘Our Existence is Insanity’: The Metaphysics of Supernatural Beings,” and the Freudian tongue-in-cheek “Edible” Complex. I loved the notion of “speciesism,” or prejudice among species, and how Bill’s statement, “I am vampire,” (not “I am a vampire”) implies an identity as well as a species. The books raises the question of why vampires would even want equality, since they seem superior to humans in every way (isn’t “equality” actually a step down for them?). There’s a wonderful essay that builds on Malcolm’s line, “Honey, if we can’t kill people, what’s the point of being vampire,” questioning whether or not mainstreaming is contrary to the identity and nature of vampires. I’d never considered that Sookie and Barry’s inability to “hear” vampires is indicative of vampire “otherness.” And I was surprised to find myself reconsidering and even pitying Maryann, something I thought I would never do (as I’ve never been so grateful as when bull-Sam ended that nightmare), when, in “‘I am Sookie, Hear Me Roar!’: Sookie Stackhouse and Feminist Ambivalence,” Maryann’s motivations are examined. The essay discusses Maryann as a paradoxical mixture of extreme feminism (she’s the quintessential ”man-eater,” as she wants to quite literally devour Sam), but ultimately, she’s spent her long, long life in a very traditional feminine role, trying to lure her wayward “man” back to her with the most attractive hearth and home she can create.
True Blood and Philosophy has the difficult task of recognizing the differences between Charlaine Harris’s world and Alan Ball’s world. While similar, there are vast differences, and the book attempts to straddle the fence, moving back and forth between the material. The intention, no doubt, was to provide book fans and show fans (who may or may not have read the books) with a collection that’s equally appealing to both groups, not relying overly on either source. The result is sometimes muddled, as the authors pick and choose which example best suits their particular point, but realistically, it’d be impossible to execute the book otherwise.
Despite this difficulty and the varying quality of the essays, True Blood and Philosophy offers an interesting perspective on the True Blood/SVM universe. For the fan(g) who wants it all, this intellectual stimulation is just as thrilling and essential as the pulpy goodness of well-written smut.
True Blood and Philosophy is available now at bookstores and online.
Excellent review, Lat! this sounds like a fascinating read, especially the argument about speciesism. Vegans make that argument every day of our lives. Plus, I never say “I’m a vegan,” I always tell people, “I’m vegan.” That’s interesting in a way I hadn’t examined before now.
Well done! I wanna read it, too.
Lat, I love your review. As a fellow geek and Bill’s Wiki’d Women, you know how we love to dissect the show, pulling it apart piece-by-piece and analyzing it repeatedly. This book is going to be a must have for me.
Yeah – I don’t recommend speed-reading like I did. Not the best way to enjoy the book. The sacrifices we make for the Nest!
Nothoney, there’s actually quite a bit about minstreaming/TruBlood = vegetarians/vegans. And how we treat animals is very much how most vampires treat humans. I think you’d enjoy that.
I’ll just bet I will. I’ll try to get my copy ordered next weekend.
Thanks for the review! You know you’re preaching to a (select) choir! Amen and Hallelujah, this is why I love TB so much. Take a big bite and sink those teeth right in to the metaphysical and natural world themes.
Thanks for the review, the book sounds really interesting, more up my alley than a TB “companion” book would be.
Interesting review, that sounds fascinating, I’m another self confessed geek (of TB & other things) and adore the complexities of the TB world and the overlaps with other mythical universes. Another book which will be going on my want list.
As Fooled already stated, warm thanks for the review; however, this volume was brought up earlier when it was originally released, and it does not cover anything that hasn’t already been well and totally dissected, consumed, and digested by many of us (especially those longstanding members of the Railcar… the venerable ‘Headshed/Thinktank’ of the original HBO boards). Perhaps it can be recommended for the layman, but it’s old news to me. Nothing here is earth-shattering or reveals something I’ve not already pondered before, and so I think I’ll save my hard-earned schekels and pass. I’d strongly urge others to instead invest their money on a proper monograph dealing with ‘The Singularity’ and the Transhumanist (H+) Movement/Immortality Institute (if they are seeking real-world moral/scientific/philosophical parallels to the eugenic questions raised in TB).
http://www.imminst.org
I remember seeing the CFA (Call for Abstracts) for this book last August on H–Net (the online academic forum for the Humanities and Social Sciences). In fact, it so amused me that I saved the link and have attached it below. Basically, it’s like a quickly cobbled together Anthology or ‘Symposium’ with an obscenely fast vetting process. They threw it out there on a variety of online Academic forums and hoped folks would bite (tired pun intended). The publisher is popular, but neither known nor respected for serious, critical philosophical thought (but then, this is a raunchy television series being discussed and I doubt that serious, critical scholars would give it the time of day). The subtitle alone – ‘We Wanna Think Bad Things with You’ – indicates the level of what to expect between the pages. The editor requests that “Abstracts and subsequent essays should be philosophically substantial but accessible, written to engage the intelligent lay reader. Contributors of accepted essays will receive an honorarium.” For those of us who’ve worked in Academia, this translates as: “We will pay you $$ to write something somewhat meaty but not too challenging for the average schmuck watching 2 ½ Men.” The book doesn’t know what it wants to be… it’s neither fish nor fowl.
I actually saw this volume at a bookstore, bemusedly flipped through some of the essays, snorted in derision, and quickly dropped it back on the shelf. I wouldn’t waste two cents on it when the actual sources quoted have already said it and far better. But that’s just me… If you’re looking for a light appetizer, then go for it. If it is an intellectual entree you hunger for; keep walking past this aisle and straight on to the Philosophy/Metaphysics/Sociology shelves.
http://www.h-net.org/announce/show.cgi?ID=170263
Fascinating. Think many of these questions have been debated at discussion forums ;) A must read methinks!
i might enjoy this book! thanks for the review latb.