Linguistic film theory
[''The Dualist']
Vols. 1–6
Department of Philosophy, Stanford University, 1994, p. 56. is a form of
film theory that studies the
aesthetics
Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, Epistemology, knowledge, Ethics, values, Philosophy of ...
of films by investigating the concepts and practices that comprise the experience and
interpretation
Interpretation may refer to:
Culture
* Aesthetic interpretation, an explanation of the meaning of a work of art
* Allegorical interpretation, an approach that assumes a text should not be interpreted literally
* Dramatic Interpretation, an event ...
of movies.
Overview
Linguistic film theory was proposed by
Stanley Cavell[ and it is based on the philosophical tradition begun by late Ludwig Wittgenstein. The theory itself is said to mirror aspects of the activity of Wittgenstein's own philosophising (e.g. Wittgenstein's thought experiments) as films are viewed capable of engaging the audience in a therapeutic process of 'dialogue' and even investigate the absurd and the limits of thought. Cavell's framework is seen as a distinctive way of approaching film and philosophy since question of style - the finding of words adequate to our aesthetic experience - is central to the understanding of the meaning of films. One of his ideas involved the position that "if one thinks of a grammar as a machine for generating sentences, then perhaps one will wish to speak of the camera and its film as a machine for generating idioms."
Critics from this tradition often clarify misconceptions used in theoretical film studies][Annette Kuhn and Guy Westwell (2012). "Post-theory" in ''A Dictionary of Film Studies''. Oxford: Oxford University Press.] and instead produce analysis of a film's vocabulary and its link to a form of life.
See also
* '' Film-Philosophy''
* Historical poetics
* Neoformalism in film theory
References
Bibliography
* Richard Allen
"Cognitive Film Theory,"
in ''Wittgenstein, Theory and the Arts,'' Routledge, 2001,
* Stanley Cavell
''The World Viewed: Reflections on the Ontology of Film''
(1971); 2nd enlarged edition. (1979)
* Stephen Mulhall
''On Film''
London/New York: Routledge, 2002.
* Rupert Read and Jerry Goodenough (eds.), ''Film as Philosophy: Essays on Cinema After Wittgenstein and Cavell'', Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.
External links
* Daniel Barnett
''"If a Film Did Philosophy We Wouldn′t Understand It"''
Review of Read-Goodenough collection of essays.
* Stanley Cavell
''Conversations with History: Stanley Cavell''
YouTube video of Cavell discussing his philosophy of film.
* Rupert Read
''"What theory of film do Wittgenstein and Cavell have? (Introduction II)"''
Introduction to ''Film as Philosophy: Essays on Cinema After Wittgenstein and Cavell'', Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.
Film theory
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