Where Film Meets Philosophy: Godard, Resnais, And Experiments In Cinematic Thinking

Description

Closely reading the films of Jean-Luc Godard and Alain Resnais, Hunter Vaughan establishes a connection between phenomenology and image-philosophy to analyze the moving image and its challenge to conventional modes of thought. Striving to establish a clear foundation for the recent field of inquiry called "film-philosophy," he devises a systematic theory of film's philosophical function and its deconstruction of classic oppositional concepts, such as subject and object, real and imaginary, and interior and exterior. After merging Maurice Merleau-Ponty's theory of subject-object relations with Gilles Deleuze's image-philosophy, Vaughan applies this rich framework to a comparative analysis of Godard and Resnais. Godard's work critiques the audio-visual illusion of empirical observation (objectivity), while Resnais's innovative play with the sound-image generates new, thrilling portrayals of individual experience (subjectivity). Both radically deconstruct classical film codes, upending conventional notions of subjectivity and, by reorganizing formal elements, reconfigure subject-object relations to alter our understanding of ourselves and the world.
Films discussed include Godard's Vivre sa vie (1962), Contempt (1963), and his lesser-critiqued 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967); Resnais's Hiroshima, mon amour (1959), Last year at Marienbad (1961) and his critically overlooked masterpiece, The War is Over (1966). Situating the formative works of these filmmakers within a broader philosophical context, Vaughan pioneers a phenomenological film semiotics that reconciles two disparate methodologies and joins them to the achievements of two seemingly oppositional artists.

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Vaughan's discussions of the films of Resnais and Godard are incisive and engaging, providing welcome relief from the difficulties of abstruse philosophical debates, offering clarification of the practical implications of the theoretical points, and enriching the abstract concepts via a penetrating treatment of the specific techniques of film form as, in themselves, modes of thought with far-reaching conceptual implications. -- Ronald Bogue, University of Georgia, and author of Deleuzian Fabulation and the Scars of History Where Film Meets Philosophy is a superb new contribution to film-philosophy. With wonderfulinsight, rigour, creativity and verve, Vaughan draws on Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Gilles Deleuze to critically examine how film form can be aligned with thinking, and to question what this might mean for our engagement with the world. The "experiments in cinematic thinking" of the internationally renowned auteurs Alain Resnais and Jean-Luc Godard are analysed in depth, appearing for the first time as companions in such a focused discussion. This standout book offers an important intervention into both recent discussions in film studies, and longer running philosophical debates. -- David Martin-Jones, author of Deleuze and World Cinemas

Reviews

Hunter Vaughan's brilliant book, Where Film Meets Philosophy, places him on the cutting edge of contemporary studies that blend film and philosophy. By reconstructing and clarifying how film-philosophy renders fresh insight into the revolutionary potential of the moving film image, Vaughan opens a new dimension to thought and action. -- Sam B. Girgus, Vanderbilt University