Theodor Adorno and Film Theory: The Fingerprint of Spirit

182 Pages·2013·2.66 MB·English

by  Brian Wall (auth.)

Theodor Adorno and Film Theory
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Theodor Adorno and Film Theory
The Fingerprint of Spirit
Brian Wall
theodor adorno and film theory
Copyright © Brian Wall, 2013.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2013 978-1-137-30613-5
All rights reserved.
First published in 2013 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States— a
division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by
Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England,
company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has
companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United
Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-349-45506-5 ISBN 978-1-137-30614-2 (ebook)
DOI 10.1057/9781137306142
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Wall, Brian, 1961-
Theodor Adorno and film theory: the fingerprint of spirit / Brian Wall.
pages cm
1. Motion pictures— Philosophy. 2. Adorno, Theodor W., 1903- 1969— Aesthetics. I.
Title.
PN1995.W345 2013
791.4301— dc23 2012039428
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Scribe Inc.
First edition: March 2013
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Wendy and Nadja
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Contents
List of Figures ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction: The Fingerprint of Spirit 1
1 The Subject/Object of Cinema:
The Maltese Falcon (1941) 7
2 “A Deeper Breath”: From Body to
Spirit in Kiss Me Deadly (1955) 39
3 Negative Dioretix: Repo Man (1984) 75
4 “Jackie Treehorn Treats Objects Like Women!”:
Two Types of Fetishism in The Big Lebowski (1998) 117
Notes 153
References 165
Index 171
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Figures
Figure 1.1 Effie and Sam unwrap the Falcon 27
Figure 1.2 The Falcon 31
Figure 1.3 Sam Spade drugged by Gutman 154
Figure 2.1 Christina’s legs 49
Figure 2.2 Hammer, Sugar, and Charlie 53
Figure 2.3 A deeper breath 58
Figure 2.4 The Great Whatsit 67
Figure 3.1 Miller and Otto 94
Figure 3.2 Otto holding Dioretix 98
Figure 3.3 Otto and trash 106
Figure 3.4 The auratic Malibu 110
Figure 4.1 Gutterballs 127
Figure 4.2 The Dude enjoying his fantasy 130
Figure 4.3 Maude and the rug over Los Angeles 138
Figure 4.4 The Dude under the sign of castration 147