
Badiou and Cinema
Alex Ling(Author)
Edinburgh University Press
Published on 26. November 2010
Book
Hardback
224 pages
978-0-7486-4113-0 (ISBN)
Shipment within 15-20 days
Description
This book offers an in-depth examination of cinema and its philosophical significance. Alex Ling employs the philosophy of Alain Badiou to answer the question central to all serious film scholarship - namely, 'can cinema be thought?' Treating this question on three levels, the author first asks if we can really think what cinema is, at an ontological level. Second, he investigates whether cinema can actually think for itself; that is, whether or not it is truly 'artistic'. Finally he explores in what ways we can rethink the consequences of the fact that cinema thinks.In answering these questions, the author uses well-known films ranging from Hiroshima mon amour to Vertigo to The Matrix to illustrate Badiou's philosophy as well as to consider the ways in which his work can be extended, critiqued and reframed with respect to the medium of cinema.
Reviews / Votes
As learned as it is exciting, Alex Ling has produced a textbook example of how to investigate Badiou's Platonist Cinema with utter rigour and fidelity. From Hiroshima Mon Amour to The Matrix, he provides readings of films that mix his own ingenuity with Badiou's insights into the inessence of cinema. Yet Badiou and Cinema is more than simply an illustration of philosophical thought: it opens up the possibility of a truly thoughtful cinema, a cinema that thinks events in its own way, beyond the exigencies of both extant film theory and philosophy. -- Dr John Mullarkey, Professor of Film and Television, Kingston University As learned as it is exciting, Alex Ling has produced a textbook example of how to investigate Badiou's Platonist Cinema with utter rigour and fidelity. From Hiroshima Mon Amour to The Matrix, he provides readings of films that mix his own ingenuity with Badiou's insights into the inessence of cinema. Yet Badiou and Cinema is more than simply an illustration of philosophical thought: it opens up the possibility of a truly thoughtful cinema, a cinema that thinks events in its own way, beyond the exigencies of both extant film theory and philosophy. -- John Mullarkey, Professor of Film and Television, Kingston UniversityMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Weight
484 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7486-4113-0 (9780748641130)
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Alex Ling
Badiou and Cinema
E-Book
11/2010
1st Edition
Edinburgh University Press
€0.00
Available for download
Person
Alex Ling is Research Lecturer in Communication and Media Studies at the University of Western Sydney.
Content
Introduction: Gorky's Maxim; 1. Presenting Alain Badiou; 2. Can Cinema Be Thought?; 3. In the Kingdom of Shadows; 4. An Aesthetic of Truth; 5. An Instant or an Eternity: Rethinking Cinema After Deleuze; 6. Alain Resnais and the Mise-en-Scene of Two; 7. The Castle of Impurity; Bibliography; Filmography; Index.