Without Empathy (Hardcover)

Hardcover. From apparent melodrama and eroticism to fantasy and horror, these eight directors redefine satire's limits, providing evidence that irony in cinema often goes unrecognized. In Without Empathy, MK Raghavendra investigates how irony and satire function in cinema by focusing on the work of eight visionary directorsLuis Bunuel, R.W. Fassbinder, Stanley Kubrick, Robert Altman, Paul Verhoeven, Aki Kaurismaeki, Aleksei Balabanov, and David Lynch. At a time when irony is increasingly scrutinized as a mode of expression, this book reconsiders its role in film, revealing how these auteurs deploy wit and subversion in ways that unsettle audience expectations. Through close readings of selected works, Raghavendra identifies layers of meaning beneath the surface of films often misread. The book situates these directors within broader traditions of cinematic satire, while simultaneously interrogating what their work has to say about society, culture, and human folly. Without Empathy is a lucid read for scholars and students of film studies and communication, providing a provocative lens on how satirical intent is not always recognizable today and how its actual targets can make society uncomfortable. Irony and satire in cinema have fallen out of favor. This study looks at the works of eight auteursLuis Bunuel, R.W. Fassbinder, Stanley Kubrick, Robert Altman, Paul Verhoeven, Aki Kaurismaeki, Aleksei Balabanov, and David Lynchwhose films, though not always seen as such, are often more ironic than satirical. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.…