The Magic Kingdom and the Meaning of Life

�With poignant philosophical insights and moving personal stories, Kadlac�s wonderful book shows how Disney is a surprisingly rich lens through which to think about identity and pleasure, princesses and hipsters, and so much more. Regardless of how you feel about the Disney empire, this inspiring book will provoke you to ask big questions about how pop culture influences our ideas about what it means to live happily ever after.� Skye C. Cleary, Columbia University, and author of How to Be Authentic �Kadlac leads us on a lively ride through philosophical themes inspired by Disney�s parks – the tension between the aristocratic and ordinary in the concept of the �princess,� the strange irony of being anxious about being insufficiently happy, the underappreciated merits of waiting in long lines, and the idiosyncratic and private nature of each individual�s reaction to a mass experience. Philosophical culture criticism at its finest.� Eric Schwitzgebel, University of California, Riverside, and author of The Weirdness of the World �This is what philosophically informed cultural criticism should look like. It starts from the most mundane experiences – waiting in line at the amusement park, for instance – and transforms our understanding of them. And it does so with an unpretentious verve that is fun to read. If you have a friend or relative who�s being a grump about going to Disneyland because they think it�ll be nothing more than a mind-deadening experience in passive consumption, then this book is for them!� Zed Adams, The New School, and author of On the Genealogy of Color