The Philosophy of David Cronenberg

Initially regarded as a cult figure with a strong following amongst sci-fi and horror film fans, Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg emerged as a major and commercially viable film director with mainstream hits such as A History of Violence (2005) and Eastern Promises (2007). With his unique ability to present imagery that is both disturbing and provocative, Cronenberg creates striking films, noteworthy not just for their cinematic beauty but also for the philosophical questions they raise. The Philosophy of David Cronenberg examines Cronenberg's body of work, from his breakthrough Scanners (1981) through his most recognizable films such as The Fly (1986) and more recent works. Editor Simon Riches and a collaboration of scholars introduce the filmmaker's horrific storylines and psychologically salient themes that reveal his pioneering use of the concept of "body horror," as well as his continued aim to satirize the modern misuse of science and technology. The Philosophy of David Cronenberg also explores the mutation of self, authenticity and the human mind, as well as language and worldviews. While Cronenberg's films have moved from small-market cult classics to mainstream successes, his intriguing visions of humanity and the self endure.

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The Philosophy of David Cronenberg

Initially regarded as a cult figure with a strong following amongst sci-fi and horror film fans, Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg emerged as a major and commercially viable film director with mainstream hits such as A History of Violence (2005) and Eastern Promises (2007). With his unique ability to present imagery that is both disturbing and provocative, Cronenberg creates striking films, noteworthy not just for their cinematic beauty but also for the philosophical questions they raise. The Philosophy of David Cronenberg examines Cronenberg's body of work, from his breakthrough Scanners (1981) through his most recognizable films such as The Fly (1986) and more recent works. Editor Simon Riches and a collaboration of scholars introduce the filmmaker's horrific storylines and psychologically salient themes that reveal his pioneering use of the concept of "body horror," as well as his continued aim to satirize the modern misuse of science and technology. The Philosophy of David Cronenberg also explores the mutation of self, authenticity and the human mind, as well as language and worldviews. While Cronenberg's films have moved from small-market cult classics to mainstream successes, his intriguing visions of humanity and the self endure.

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The Philosophy of David Cronenberg

The Philosophy of David Cronenberg

The Philosophy of David Cronenberg

The Philosophy of David Cronenberg

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Overview

Initially regarded as a cult figure with a strong following amongst sci-fi and horror film fans, Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg emerged as a major and commercially viable film director with mainstream hits such as A History of Violence (2005) and Eastern Promises (2007). With his unique ability to present imagery that is both disturbing and provocative, Cronenberg creates striking films, noteworthy not just for their cinematic beauty but also for the philosophical questions they raise. The Philosophy of David Cronenberg examines Cronenberg's body of work, from his breakthrough Scanners (1981) through his most recognizable films such as The Fly (1986) and more recent works. Editor Simon Riches and a collaboration of scholars introduce the filmmaker's horrific storylines and psychologically salient themes that reveal his pioneering use of the concept of "body horror," as well as his continued aim to satirize the modern misuse of science and technology. The Philosophy of David Cronenberg also explores the mutation of self, authenticity and the human mind, as well as language and worldviews. While Cronenberg's films have moved from small-market cult classics to mainstream successes, his intriguing visions of humanity and the self endure.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780813140605
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Publication date: 05/23/2012
Series: The Philosophy of Popular Culture
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 232
File size: 737 KB
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Simon Riches is a researcher at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London. He previously taught philosophy at University College London and Heythrop College, University of London. He holds a PhD in philosophy from University College London and has also studied philosophy at the University of Southampton and psychology at the University of East London. His research interests lie in epistemology and the philosophy of psychology. He is a contributing author in UPKY's The Philosophy of David Lynch.

Table of Contents

Introduction Simon Riches 1

Part 1 Body Horror and Bodily Transformation

The Fly and the Human: Ironies of Disgust Colin McGinn 9

Tragedy and Terrible Beauty in A History of Violence and Eastern Promises Cynthia Freeland 24

Cronenberg as Scientist: Antiessentialism, Sex as Remixing, and the View from Nowhere Peter Ludlow 36

What Happens to Brundle? Problems of Teleportation and Personal Identity in The Fly Paul F. Snowdon 53

Part 2 Psychology, Skepticism, and the Self

eXistenZial Angst Duncan Pritchard 69

"Freaks of Nature": Extrasensory Perception and the Paranormal in the Films of David Cronenberg Keith Allen 77

Deception and Disorder: Unraveling Cronenberg's Divided Minds Simon Riches 91

Psychological Determinism in the Films of David Cronenberg Daniel Shaw 113

Self-Creation, Identity, and Authenticity: A Study of A History of Violence and Eastern Promises Daniel Moseley 125

Part 3 Words and Worldviews

The Fiction of Truth in Fiction: Some Reflections on Semantics and eXistenZ Graham Stevens 143

Re(ct)ifying Empty Speech: Cronenberg and the Problem of the First Person Brook W. R. Pearson 155

The Politics of Mad Science in The Fly and Dead Ringers R. Barton Palmer 175

From "Impassioned Morality" to "Bloodless Agnosticism": A Philosophy of David Cronenberg through the Burroughs/Ballard Axis Jones Irwin 197

List of Contributors 217

Index 221

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