Philosophy and Film

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

The course will investigate some of the main debates in contemporary philosophical approaches to the aesthetics of film. Of particular concern will be questions that orbit the experience of fictional film. What is the relation between subjective and objective camera shots and point of view? What are points of view in film? What is the difference between fictional narrative film and photography? Theatrical drama? Painting? Other questions posed and discussed: What is the importance of genre to film? What is a genre? Can films be moral or immoral? If so, does that affect our aesthetic experience of film? What is non-narrative film? What is documentary? The class involves both philosophical and film theoretical readings and out-of-class screenings of films to sharpen discussion of the issues.