Doing Philosophy at the Movies

Explores philosophical ideas through an examination of popular film.Doing Philosophy at the Movies finds the roots of profound philosophical ideas in the relatively ordinary context of popular, mostly Hollywood, movies. Richard A. Gilmore suggests that narratives of popular films like Hitchcock's Vertigo, John Ford's The Searchers, Woody Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanors , the Coen Brothers' Fargo, and Danny Boyle's Trainspotting mirror certain epiphanies in the works of great philosophers. Via Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, and Zizek, Gilmore addresses such themes as the nature of philosophy, the possibility of redemption through love, catharsis, the sublime, and the human problem of death. Gilmore argues that seeing these movies through the lens of certain philosophical ideas can show how deeply relevant both philosophy and the movies can be.“Often what is to be learned from a film is openness to others, to new experiences, and to otherness itself; and openness turns out to be the very trait that Gilmore finds necessary to film appreciation … much may be learned here about viewing films philosophically.” — CHOICE"Gilmore has a distinctive take on the relationship between philosophy and film. Using the work of Stanley Cavell as his basis, Gilmore argues that popular films can be a means by which people can experience the pleasures and rewards of philosophy." — Thomas E. Wartenberg, author of Unlikely Movie Romance as Social Criticism"Gilmore perspicuously represents how popular movies actually offer us thoughtful attempts to come to grips with those issues that most profoundly trouble us. He offers startlingly insightful remarks and observations about film and brings out how our quotidian lives can be intensely philosophical without our even being aware." — Dan Flory, Montana State University at Bozeman