If you're a social theory and philosophy nerd who also loves puppets, have I got a YouTube channel for you—"Theoretical Puppets." The folks who run the channel describe it like this:
Every month we release a new video and invite you to share our passion for puppets, social science and philosophy! Have fun!
This isn't just surface level analysis or a joke, though—whoever plays the puppets clearly has a deep knowledge of the work of the various puppet philosophers featured in their videos. The channel is heavy on French philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Michel Foucault, so they're clearly two of their favorites (and I'm just speculating here, but most likely the philosophers they studied in whatever humanities or social science graduate degree they probably hold). They've also made videos highlighting the work of Hannah Arendt, Bruno Latour, Sigmund Freud, Salvador Dali, Walter Benjamin, and more.
Here are some examples–here's a link to "Michel Foucault from A to Z," which actually ends at "T". For each letter, a puppet Foucault discusses one of his concepts—from Archaeology to Time. And here's one from early in the pandemic that features puppet Deleuze discussing COVID-19, rhizomes, stay at home orders, tracing apps, and more. Finally, here's their latest video, "Gilles Deleuze on Assemblage Theory, Partial Objects, and the Symbioses of the Unconscious":
Deleuze is confronted with and comments on "Assemblage Theory" as developed by Manuel Delanda, Bruno Latour (ANT), and Jane Bennett. He is somewhat irritated by the theory's claim concerning distributed agency. To go from "agencement" to "agency" seems like play with words. Contrary to current readings, he recalls that already in "Anti-Oedipus" he used the term "assemblage." He then goes on to explain the connection of this term to the machinic theory of the unconscious, before being exposed to the fact that his puppet theater might also be an assemblage in its own right.
Like I said, these videos aren't really for beginners, as they assume some knowledge of the ideas of these philosophers as a base. They are great ways to learn more, however, and somehow listening to puppets discussing philosophy makes it all way more engaging. For more, go check out their YouTube or their Twitter.
