Finding Ourselves at the Movies: Philosophy for a New Generation - Hardcover

Kahn, Paul

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0231164386 ISBN 13: 9780231164382

Publisher: Columbia University Press, 2013

Synopsis

Academic philosophy may have lost its audience, but the traditional subjects of philosophy―love, death, justice, knowledge, and faith―remain as compelling as ever. To reach a new generation, Paul W. Kahn argues that philosophy must take up these fundamental concerns as we find them in contemporary culture. He demonstrates how this can be achieved through a turn to popular film.

Discussing such well-known movies as Forrest Gump (1994), The American President (1995), The Matrix (1999), Memento (2000), The History of Violence (2005), Gran Torino (2008), The Dark Knight (2008), The Road (2009), and Avatar (2009), Kahn explores powerful archetypes and their hold on us. His inquiry proceeds in two parts. First, he uses film to explore the nature of action and interpretation, arguing that narrative is the critical concept for understanding both. Second, he explores the narratives of politics, family, and faith as they appear in popular films. Engaging with genres as diverse as romantic comedy, slasher film, and pornography, Kahn explores the social imaginary through which we create and maintain a meaningful world. He finds in popular films a new setting for a philosophical inquiry into the timeless themes of sacrifice, innocence, rebirth, law, and love.

About this title

Book Description:

Paul W. Kahn finds in popular films a new setting for a philosophical inquiry into timeless themes. He explores the nature of action and interpretation, and narratives of politics, family, and faith. Engaging with genres as diverse as romantic comedy, slasher film, and pornography, Kahn explores the social imaginary through which we create and maintain a meaningful world.

About the Author:

Paul W. Kahn is Robert W. Winner Professor of Law and the Humanities and director of the Orville H. Schell Jr. Center for Human Rights at Yale Law School. He is the author of many books, including Sacred Violence: Torture, Terror, and Sovereignty and Political Theology: Four New Chapters on the Concept of Sovereignty.

About this edition

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0231164386
• ISBN 13: 9780231164382
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 239