New Philosophies of Film: Thinking Images

258 Pages·2011·3.316 MB·English

by  Robert Sinnerbrink

New PhilosoPhies of film:
ThiNkiNg images
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Continuum International Publishing Group
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© Robert Sinnerbrink 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
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system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers.
Author has asserted his/her right under the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-1-4411-4619-9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sinnerbrink, Robert.
N ew philosophies of film : thinking images / Robert
Sinnerbrink.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Includes filmography.
ISBN 978-1-4411-2257-5 (hardback)
1. Motion pictures--Philosophy. I. Title.
PN1995.S514 2011
791.4301--dc22
2011016505
Typeset by Fakenham Prepress Solutions, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 8NN
For Louise, my ideal movie companion, and for Eva and Mimi,
film-philosophers of the future!

CoNTeNTs
Preface viii
Introduction: Why Did Philosophy Go to the Movies? 1
PART I: The Analytic-Cognitivist Turn 11
Chapter 1: The Empire Strikes Back: Critiques of ‘Grand
Theory’ 13
Chapter 2: The Rules of the Game: New Ontologies of Film 28
Chapter 3: Adaptation: Philosophical Approaches to Narrative 45
PART II: From Cognitivism to Film-Philosophy 65
Chapter 4: A. I.: Cognitivism Goes to the Movies 67
Chapter 5: Bande à part: Deleuze and Cavell as
Film-Philosophers 90
Chapter 6: Scenes From a Marriage: On the Idea of Film as
Philosophy 117
PART III: Cinematic Thinking 137
Chapter 7: Hollywood in Trouble: David Lynch’s INLAND
EMPIRE 141
Chapter 8: ‘Chaos Reigns’: Anti-Cognitivism in Lars von
Trier’s Antichrist 157
Chapter 9: Song of the Earth: Cinematic Romanticism in
Terrence Malick’s The New World 177
Coda: ‘The Six Most Beautiful Minutes in the History of
Cinema’ 194
Notes 197
Appendix: Further Reading, Filmographies, Websites 208
Bibliography 220
Filmography 233
Index 239
vii
PRefaCe
At first blush, film and philosophy appear to be uneasy bedfellows.
Going to the movies and having a philosophical conversation
seem to share little in common. Philosophers feature very rarely in
films, though it is usually intriguing when they do. In a memorable
scene from Jean-Luc Godard’s Vivre sa vie (1962), for example, the
beautiful Nana [Anna Karina] engages a ‘real life’ philosopher [Brice
Parain] in conversation at a café. They talk of the necessity to talk,
the difficulty of saying what one means, the way speech and action
conflict, whether one can speak and live at once. At one point during
the philosopher’s monologue, Nana turns to the camera, addressing
us with her ambiguous, mesmerizing gaze. Her gesture is simple but
poses many questions: What is this experience we call ‘cinema’? How
are film and philosophy related? Can their relationship be a true
meeting of minds (and bodies)? Can films ‘do’ philosophy?
This book is dedicated to these questions, exploring, in particular,
the film-philosophy relationship. From strangers in the night they
have become more than good friends. Indeed, the recent flourishing
of philosophical writing on film has been a very welcome surprise.
What are these ‘new philosophies of film’? Why have philosophy
and film theory come together in such fruitful (and sometimes
fractious) ways? New Philosophies of Film examines the new wave
of philosophical film theory that has challenged the older paradigm
(so-called ‘Grand Theory’). These philosophical approaches are
distinguished by their retrieval and renewal of some of the problems
of classical film theory, including the ontology of film, the question
of film as art, and how we understand and interpret film. In the
chapters that follow I focus on three major currents: the analytic-
cognitivist turn in film theory; an alternative stream (inspired by
viii
PRefaCe
Stanley Cavell and Gilles Deleuze) that explores how film and
philosophy respond to shared problems (film-philosophy); and the
idea of ‘film as philosophy’ (that films not only illustrate but can
‘do’ philosophy in their own way). Because it is better to show than
to describe a way of thinking, the final three chapters of this book
offer instances of ‘film-philosophy’ in action, focusing on specific
films by three challenging contemporary filmmakers: David Lynch,
Lars von Trier and Terrence Malick. In so doing, I wish to show
how the relationship between film and philosophy has the possibility
of becoming a mutually transformative encounter — an aesthetic
experiment in new ways of thinking.
A book has many parents who contribute to the conception and
maturing of ideas that eventually appear in written form. Among
the many friends and colleagues who have encouraged me over the
years, I owe a special debt of thanks to the following people, whether
for inspiring conversation, constructive suggestions, or invaluable
support: Louise D’Arcens, Michelle Boulous-Walker, William
Brown, Romana Byrne, Havi Carel, Alan Cholodenko, Felicity
Colman, Marc de Leeuw, Damian Cox, Jean-Philippe Deranty,
Lisabeth During, Joanne Faulkner, the Film-Philosophy editorial
crew, Gregory Flaxman, Daniel Frampton, Berys Gaut, Michael
Goddard, Greg Hainge, Laleen Jayamanne, Fiona Jenkins, Noel
King, Andrew Klevan, Tarja Laine, Adrian Martin, David Martin-
Jones, John Mullarkey, Miread Phillips, Orna Raviv, Daniel Ross,
William Rothman, Richard Smith, David Sorfa, Jane Stadler, Lisa
Trahair, Greg Tuck, Thomas Wartenberg and Magdalena Zolkos. I
would also like to thank David Avital, Tom Crick, Giles Herman,
and Moira Eagling from Continuum for their encouragement in
fostering this project and in preparing my manuscript for publication.
Acknowledgements
Some of the chapters in this book draw on material previously
published elsewhere. I would like to thank the editors of the
following publications for their kind permission to use material from
the following texts.
For the Introduction and Chapter 1:
Sinnerbrink, Robert (2010), ‘Disenfranchising Film? On the Analytic-
Cognitivist Turn in Film Theory,’ in Jack Reynolds, Ed Mares, James
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