Course overview
This course in philosophy of film examines film/cinema as both an aesthetic and communicative medium. Theoretical material is drawn largely but not exclusively from analytical philosophy of film. Addressing the question of film as a distinct art-form, Classical film theory's treatment of the formativism and realism debate will be a starting point in the first half of the course. From there various forms of and theories about realism in both fiction film and documentary will be critically explored, analyzed and critiqued. The focus in the second half of the course will shift to viewers' engagement with film, cognitively, emotionally, and morally. Competing theories of identification, empathy, and sympathy will be examined in considering how emotional responses evoked by film might be crucial to narrative understanding and moral evaluation. The question whether and how films might morally educate and whether the aesthetic value of a film is inseparable from its moral evaluation will also be addressed. The course will conclude with consideration of the 'paradox of horror' and the various possible theoretical responses to this alleged paradox. The course will contain specified film-viewing, using both contemporary and historical material, details of which will be provided at commencement of the course.
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