Philosophy, Myth and Epic Cinema: Beyond Mere Illusions - Softcover

Magerstädt, Sylvie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1783482516 ISBN 13: 9781783482511

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2014

Synopsis

This is a philosophical discussion of cinema's power to create positive illusions and myths, drawing on Nietzsche, Kracauer, and Deleuze.

About this title

About the Author:

Sylvie Magerstädt is a senior lecturer in media cultures at the University of Hertfordshire.

Review:

An important contribution to the study of contemporary Hollywood cinema and an original gift for lovers of cinema and philosophy. (Joram ten Brink, Professor at the University of Westminster)

This work breaks new ground in its analysis of mythological epic as a (re)emergent film genre that addresses perennial human problems, often with the aid of fantasy-worlds that can be depicted more convincingly with new visual technology. Magerstädt reconsiders aesthetic theorists such as Kracauer, Deleuze, Nietzsche in light of these developments in epic film and Tolkien's arguments about the functions of fantasy -- with results that will be rewarding for students of philosophy as much as film theorists. Her innovative argument ultimately links the creative use of illusion to the redemptive power of mythic narratives. The resulting analysis of recent films in the broad mythic genre helps show, pace the dominant elitist view in film aesthetics, that popular blockbuster films can sometimes be serious art. (John Davenport, Professor of Philosophy, Fordham Univeristy)

About this edition

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1783482516
• ISBN 13: 9781783482511
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208