Abject Pleasures in the Cinematic: The Beautiful, Sexual Arousal, and Laughter

Abject Pleasures in the Cinematic examines the cinematic strategies that elicit visceral pleasure—tears, goosebumps, sexual arousal, laughter—even in the face of content that is crass, politically problematic, or unethical.
While there might be a progressive predisposition within our discipline, affect pledges no allegiance to any particular political inclination. Progressives, or progressive content, does not hold a monopoly on affect. The beautiful has no inherent bond to the good (i.e., ...