3 ms·

How is a PhD in romantic comedies any more ridiculous than a PhD focusing on the works of Ovid, Aristophanes, or Shakespeare?

danmg 8y ago
The basis of western thought and canonical English literature versus 'You've Got Mail'. Yes there is a difference.
- oh_sigh 8y ago
  "You've Got Mail" is based off an extremely influential play from 80 years ago. I'm sure there is real analysis that could be done on it. Parfumerie, by Laszlo, inspired The Shop Around the Corner, In the Good Old SUmmertime, She Loves Me, and more.
  - danmg 8y ago
    So it was derivative trash anyway.
    - dang 8y ago
      You've unfortunately posted a lot of unsubstantive comments to Hacker News. We ban accounts that keep doing that, so would you please stop? In addition to https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html, you might find these links helpful for getting an idea of the spirit of this site: https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html https://news.ycombinator.com/hackernews.html https://news.ycombinator.com/hackernews.html http://www.paulgraham.com/hackernews.html http://www.paulgraham.com/hackernews.html http://www.paulgraham.com/trolls.html http://www.paulgraham.com/trolls.html
      - danmg 8y ago
        My comments are good and highly informative. Please stop trolling.
- lukas099 8y ago
  Surely it's good for society to have somebody studying these films.
ohithereyou 8y ago
One of these things enriches society and sheds light on the universal experiences in human existence. The other fuels consumerism, depression, and relegates women to either damsels in distress, objects of conquest, or abuse victims.
- neaden 8y ago
  Are you really going to argue that Greek plays/literature treat women well? I mean, I love the Odyssey but it has a part where they literally hang a bunch of women for having sex with the wrong men and then chop off a male servants genitals.
- ModernMech 8y ago
  > The other fuels consumerism, depression, and relegates women to either damsels in distress, objects of conquest, or abuse victims. I wonder in what ways, and what are the effects of such depictions. If only there was some group of people interested in researching such a thesis...
repolfx 8y ago
Arguably PhDs in those subjects aren't that useful either and they just seem respectable because they've been around a long time. Many things would seem ridiculous if they were brand new but become respectable and accepted through age (see: new religions vs old religions). But in the case being referred to here, it's not just that the subject being studied is ridiculous, it's the reasons she studied it in the first place: https://thoughtcatalog.com/chloe-angyal/2013/10/why-im-getting-a-phd-in-something-that-no-one-cares-about/ https://thoughtcatalog.com/chloe-angyal/2013/10/why-im-getti... Several issues here: 1) She knows nobody cares and studies it anyway. Not a smart move. At least you can argue some people might care about a PhD thesis on the works of Shakespeare. 2) She directly tackles the question you raise and the answer deserves ridicule: "Why study romantic comedies? They’re formulaic and predictable and light and fluffy. Everyone knows how they’re going to end. They don’t mean anything. Why devote years of my life to them when I could be studying The Odyssey" Hmm, good question. Because: "Well, for one thing, I’m interested in stories about women. And all those abovementioned stories, those stories we take so seriously, those 'real' texts, are about dudes." To recap - she admits that she did a PhD in a subject nobody cares about, studying texts that "don't mean anything", for no better reason than because more useful or meaningful texts involve men. In other words - it's gender studies. The stereotype that people with gender studies degrees find it hard to stay employed is being proven true right here.

danmg 8y ago

The basis of western thought and canonical English literature versus 'You've Got Mail'. Yes there is a difference.

oh_sigh 8y ago
"You've Got Mail" is based off an extremely influential play from 80 years ago. I'm sure there is real analysis that could be done on it. Parfumerie, by Laszlo, inspired The Shop Around the Corner, In the Good Old SUmmertime, She Loves Me, and more.
- danmg 8y ago
  So it was derivative trash anyway.
  - dang 8y ago
    You've unfortunately posted a lot of unsubstantive comments to Hacker News. We ban accounts that keep doing that, so would you please stop? In addition to https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html, you might find these links helpful for getting an idea of the spirit of this site: https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html https://news.ycombinator.com/hackernews.html https://news.ycombinator.com/hackernews.html http://www.paulgraham.com/hackernews.html http://www.paulgraham.com/hackernews.html http://www.paulgraham.com/trolls.html http://www.paulgraham.com/trolls.html
    - danmg 8y ago
      My comments are good and highly informative. Please stop trolling.
lukas099 8y ago
Surely it's good for society to have somebody studying these films.

ohithereyou 8y ago

One of these things enriches society and sheds light on the universal experiences in human existence. The other fuels consumerism, depression, and relegates women to either damsels in distress, objects of conquest, or abuse victims.

neaden 8y ago
Are you really going to argue that Greek plays/literature treat women well? I mean, I love the Odyssey but it has a part where they literally hang a bunch of women for having sex with the wrong men and then chop off a male servants genitals.
ModernMech 8y ago
> The other fuels consumerism, depression, and relegates women to either damsels in distress, objects of conquest, or abuse victims. I wonder in what ways, and what are the effects of such depictions. If only there was some group of people interested in researching such a thesis...

repolfx 8y ago

Arguably PhDs in those subjects aren't that useful either and they just seem respectable because they've been around a long time. Many things would seem ridiculous if they were brand new but become respectable and accepted through age (see: new religions vs old religions). But in the case being referred to here, it's not just that the subject being studied is ridiculous, it's the reasons she studied it in the first place: https://thoughtcatalog.com/chloe-angyal/2013/10/why-im-getting-a-phd-in-something-that-no-one-cares-about/ https://thoughtcatalog.com/chloe-angyal/2013/10/why-im-getti... Several issues here: 1) She knows nobody cares and studies it anyway. Not a smart move. At least you can argue some people might care about a PhD thesis on the works of Shakespeare. 2) She directly tackles the question you raise and the answer deserves ridicule: "Why study romantic comedies? They’re formulaic and predictable and light and fluffy. Everyone knows how they’re going to end. They don’t mean anything. Why devote years of my life to them when I could be studying The Odyssey" Hmm, good question. Because: "Well, for one thing, I’m interested in stories about women. And all those abovementioned stories, those stories we take so seriously, those 'real' texts, are about dudes." To recap - she admits that she did a PhD in a subject nobody cares about, studying texts that "don't mean anything", for no better reason than because more useful or meaningful texts involve men. In other words - it's gender studies. The stereotype that people with gender studies degrees find it hard to stay employed is being proven true right here.