Film and philosophy

pp. 3-36

in: Alberto Baracco, Hermeneutics of the film world, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2017

Abstract

In a screen-dependent society within which technological developments continually offer us new forms of content and new conditions of use, film philosophy is a fascinating and compelling subject that deals with this dynamic and multifaceted scenario. The last three decades have seen a large number of works on film philosophy and the corresponding creation of many journals, web sites and conferences devoted to this area of research. Despite this, the main problem in the field continues to be how the relationship between film and philosophy can be effectively placed and studied. Many different solutions have been proposed by scholars in the search to define the way in which film and philosophy can be related to each other, but what film philosophy actually is remains a crucial point, as well as the essential and closely related question about the philosophical capability of film. In general, two typical strategies have been adopted to show that film can function as philosophy. One has involved developing theories of film philosophizing, while the other has presented philosophical interpretations of exemplary movies. A methodological approach could be an alternative solution and offer a new path forward for film as philosophy.