Philosophy of Film

Thomas E. Wartenberg is Professor of Philosophy at Mount Holyoke College, researching the intersection between philosophy and culture. A former Fulbright Research Fellow and a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow, he is the author of Unlikely Couples: Movie Romance as Social Criticism (1999). His other publications include The Nature of Art (ed., 2002) and Philosophy and Film (co-ed., 1995). Angela Curran teaches philosophy at Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania. Her primary areas of research are ancient Greek philosophy, aesthetics, and philosophy of film. Her work in philosophy of film includes an essay on tragedy and film horror for Dark Thoughts: Philosophical Reflections on Cinematic Horror (2003).

• Acknowledgments viiiGeneral Introduction 1Part I: Do We Need Film Theory? 5Introduction 5Study Questions 81 Prospects for Film Theory: A Personal Assessment 11Noël Carroll2 Can Scientific Models of Theorizing Help Film Theory? 21Malcolm Turvey3 Philosophy of Film as the Creation of Concepts 33Gilles DeleuzePart II: What Is the Nature of Film? 39Introduction 39Study Questions 414 Defining the Photoplay 43Hugo Münsterberg5 The Artistry of Silent Film 50Rudolf Arnheim6 Cinematic Realism 59André Bazin7 Film, Photography, and Transparency 70Kendall L. Walton8 Non-fictional Cinematic Artworks and Knowledge 77Trevor PonechPart III: Do Films Have Authors? 91Introduction 91Study Questions 949 La Politique des Auteurs 95François Truffaut10 Auteur Theory and Film Evaluation 99Andrew Sarris11 The Idea of Film Criticism 108Pauline Kael12 Against Authorship 118Stephen Heath13 DVDs and the Director’s Intentions 123Deborah Parker and Mark ParkerPart IV: How Do Films Engage Our Emotions? 133Introduction 133Study Questions 13614 Narrative Desire 139Gregory Currie15 Spectator Emotion and Ideological Film Criticism 148Carl Plantinga16 Engaging Characters 160Murray Smith17 The Paradox of Horror 170Noël CarrollPart V: Must Films Have Narrators? 179Introduction 179Study Questions 18118 Principles of Film Narration 183David Bordwell19 The Cinematic Narrator 190Seymour Chatman20 Narration as Showing 198George M. Wilson Part VI: Can Films Be Socially Critical? 209Introduction 209Study Questions 21221 The Politics of Representation 213Michael Ryan and Douglas Kellner22 But Would You Want Your Daughter To Marry One? Politics and Race in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner 225Thomas E. Wartenberg23 Stella at the Movies: Class, Critical Spectatorship, and Melodrama in Stella Dallas 235Angela CurranPart VII: What Can We Learn From Films? 247Introduction 247Study Questions 25024 Knowledge as Transgression: It Happened One Night 253Stanley Cavell25 Realist Horror 260Cynthia A. Freeland26 Philosophy Screened: Experiencing The Matrix 270Thomas E. Wartenberg27 Virtue and Happiness in Groundhog Day 284Joseph H. KupferSuggestions for Further Reading 295Index 298

“Congratulations to Wartenberg and Curran for their terrific anthology. Uniting key works in film theory, criticism, and philosophy, this much-needed text has excellent sections on core topics.” Deborah Knight, Queen’s University at Kingston “The Philosophy of Film presents a judicious selection of influential writings on the philosophy of film from across the spectrum of current opinion, though weighted toward the increasingly dominant cognitivist paradigm of film experience. The introductory and pedagogic material provided by the editors is uniformly helpful.”Jerrold Levinson, University of Maryland, and Past President, American Society for Aesthetics “Bringing together important writings by prominent philosophers and film theorists, this volume of readings with useful editorial commentary will prove a valuable resource for students of the philosophy of film.” Berys Gaut, University of St Andrews