Why Film Matters

Prof. Dr. Stephen Mulhall (Oxford University)

Professor Stephen Mulhall (New College, Oxford) 
Why Film Matters 

Wed November 12 
18.00 (drinks and nibbles from 17.30) 

Ashmolean Museum, Education Centre 
(nearest entrance from St. Giles).

Free - no booking required 

Events get busy so please arrive early or email [email protected].uk if you'd like a seat reserved in your name.

 
Abstract

Film matters in a lot of ways, of course; but I will be focussing the ways it might matter to philosophy, and in particular I will be exploring the ways in which we might think of films (including mainstream Hollywood blockbusters) not just as handy illustrations of philosophical ideas, or as the object of philosophical analysis, but as capable of sustained philosophical reflection in their own right. My primary example of what we might call 'film as philosophy' will be David Fincher's 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'.

Stephen Mulhall is a Professor and Fellow in Philosophy, and has been at New College since 1998. He was previously at All Souls College, Oxford, and at the University of Essex.Stephen's two main areas of research are the philosophy of Wittgenstein, and some of the key figures in the Franco-German traditions of philosophy arising from Kant - especially Heidegger, Sartre, Nietzsche and Kierkegaard. These philosophers tend to take a rather critical view of the ways philosophy is done in contemporary Anglo-American circles. He also has an interest in the ways literature and film relate to philosophy. Stephen has written over 15 books including On Film (2nd edition, 2008).
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