Wittgenstein at the Movies: Cinematic Investigations

by Béla Szabados (Editor), Christina Stojanova (Editor), Steven Burns (Contribution by), Andrew Lugg (Contribution by), William L. Lyons (Contribution by)

Overview

Ludwig Wittgenstein loved movies, and based on his remarks on watching them, there is a strong connection between his experience of watching films and his thoughts on aesthetics. Furthermore, however, Wittgenstein himself has been invoked in recent cinema. Wittgenstein at the Movies is centered on in-depth explorations of two intriguing experimental films on Wittgenstein: Derek Jarman's Wittgenstein and Péter Forgács' Wittgenstein Tractatus. The featured essays look at cinematic interpretations of Wittgenstein's life and philosophy in a manner bound to provoke the lively interest of Wittgenstein scholars, film theorists, and students of film aesthetics. As well, the book engages a broader audience concerned with philosophical issues about film and Wittgenstein's cultural significance, with the world of fin-de-siècle Vienna, of Cambridge in the first half of the twentieth century, of artistic modernism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739148853
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	03/24/2011
Pages:	166
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Béla Szabados is professor of philosophy at the University of Regina. He is co-editor of Wittgenstein Reads Weininger and co-author of Hypocrisy: Ethical Investigations and On the Track of Reason, among other publications.

Christina Stojanova is assistant professor of media production and studies at the University of Regina.

Table of Contents

Introduction Béla Szabados Christina Stojanova ix

1 Showing, Not Saying: Filming a Philosophical Genius William Lyons 1

2 Remarks on the Scripts for Derek Jarman's Wittgenstein Michael O'Pray 25

3 The World Hued: Jarman and Wittgenstein on Color Steven Burns 33

4 Sketches of Landscapes: Wittgenstein after Wittgenstein Daniel Steuer 49

5 "How It Was Then": Home Movies as History in Péter Forgács's Meanwhile Somewhere… William C.Wees 79

6 Meaning through pictures: Péter Forgács and Ludwig Wittgenstein Béla Szabados Andrew Lugg 91

7 Beyond Text and Image: Péter Forgács and his Wittgenstein Tractatus Christina Stojanova 121

Index 139

About the Contributors 145

Editorial Reviews

This book is a collection of essays from both philosophers and film studies scholars, each centered on some aspect of the intersection between Wittgenstein and film. As such, its appeal is potentially wider than that of typical philosophy books....What is unique and valuable is the integration of films into the discussions.

Philosophy in Review

It is well know that Wittgenstein was a fan of Hollywood B-movies, using them to clear his mind. It is not so well known that in different places in his writings he expressed a more sophisticated film aesthetic: nor is it so well known that he has been the subject of two movies, directed one by Derek Jarman and the other by Péter Forgács. This volume of original essays edited by Szabados and Stojanova aims to bring these materials to a wider audience—and admirably succeeds. As Szabados has shown in other scholarly writings, Wittgentsein's philosophizing was intensely personal: the ideas, the man, and the life are inextricably linked. These essays show us all three and as well the links. The essays substantially advance our understanding of one of the most elusive figures in twentieth-century philosophy.

Roger A. Shiner

A sparkling and provocative collection that explores the many connections between Wittgenstein and film. Distinguished philosophers and film theorists provide unexpected and insightful perspectives on Wittgenstein's love of movies, their role in his life and work, and films about him.

David G. Stern

Wittgenstein emphasized the role of showing beyond what can be said, and lamented his inability to present philosophy poetically. Movies are a medium for both of these techniques. Finally we have a collection of reflections on Wittgenstein in and at the movies that take these techniques seriously in concrete ways. The contributors are first-rate, and the topics are just what you would hope for.

James C. Klagge

A sparkling and provocative collection that explores the many connections between Wittgenstein and film. Distinguished philosophers and film theorists provide unexpected and insightful perspectives on Wittgenstein's love of movies, their role in his life and work, and films about him.--David G. Stern, University of Iowa

It is well know that Wittgenstein was a fan of Hollywood B-movies, using them to clear his mind. It is not so well known that in different places in his writings he expressed a more sophisticated film aesthetic: nor is it so well known that he has been the subject of two movies, directed one by Derek Jarman and the other by Péter Forgács. This volume of original essays edited by Szabados and Stojanova aims to bring these materials to a wider audience--and admirably succeeds. As Szabados has shown in other scholarly writings, Wittgentsein's philosophizing was intensely personal: the ideas, the man, and the life are inextricably linked. These essays show us all three and as well the links. The essays substantially advance our understanding of one of the most elusive figures in twentieth-century philosophy.--Roger A. Shiner, University of British Columbia Okanagan

From the Publisher

A sparkling and provocative collection that explores the many connections between Wittgenstein and film. Distinguished philosophers and film theorists provide unexpected and insightful perspectives on Wittgenstein's love of movies, their role in his life and work, and films about him.

David Stern