MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

It’s never just a movie! Movies, at least the better ones, have something to say. At times, they have something very profound to say about the big questions of life. They raise questions about the main interests of philosophical enquiry: What is real?, What does it mean to be a human being?, Is human knowledge possible?, If knowledge is possible, through what means?, What constitutes good and evil?, What is beauty?, What does it mean for human beings to be political beings? This presentation will engage participants in a conversation about how popular film can, and sometimes does, raise deeply significant questions of human interest. The presentation will be interactive. Participants will view selected clips of a number of Hollywood films and discuss the philosophical significance of the scenes presented. The presenter will facilitate the conversation by introducing philosophical language into the conversation and by suggesting how significant philosophers may have either approved or objected to the perspective articulated in the film clip.

A few examples of the films that may be used in the presentation and their relevance to philosophical conversation follow: City of Angels and “Doubt* raise epistemological questions regarding the source of knowledge (science or emotion) and whether knowledge can be certain. The Matrix raises questions about the nature of reality. 10 Cloverfield Lane poses the question whether “evil” is primarily external or internal. American Beauty, not surprisingly confronts questions of an aesthetic nature. Movies as diverse as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Disclosure raise issues of political power.

The goal of the presentation is to respect filmmaking as art, as cultural artifact, and as a medium of communication for ideas of profound human significance.