Skepticism Films: Knowing and Doubting the World in Contemporary Cinema [Paperback]

Skepticism Films: Knowing and Doubting the World in Contemporary Cinemaintroduces skepticism films as updated configurations of skepticist thought experiments which exemplify the pervasiveness of philosophical ideas in popular culture. Philipp Schmerheim defends a pluralistic film-philosophical position according to which films can be, but need not be, expressions of philosophical thought in their own right. It critically investigates the influence of ideas of skepticism on film-philosophical theories and develops a typology of skepticism films by analyzingThe Truman Show, Inception, The Matrix, Vanilla Sky, The Thirteenth Floor, Moonand other contemporary skepticism films. With its focus on skepticism as one of the most significant philosophical problems,Skepticism Filmsprovides a better understanding of the dynamic interplay between film, theories of film and philosophy.Philipp Schmerheimis Lecturer in Children's Media Research at the University of Bremen, Germany, and Adjunct Lecturer for Film-Philosophy at the Philosophy Department of the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. His research focuses on film-philosophy, philosophical film analysis, the history and analysis of children's film, and theories of intermediality.

Here is an intriguing volume about a small group of mainstream contemporary films that question the very notion of reality, films such asThe Truman Show,The Matrix,The Thirteenth Floor,Vanilla Sky, andInception. A scholar of the philosophy of film, Schmerheim uses a finely focused theoretical lens to unpack the films and the ways in which they leave viewers without solid ground to stand on, upending traditional notions of narrative and conventional cinematic structure. What is perhaps most refreshing about this volume is the author's scrutiny of films ordinarily dismissed as entertainment, as lacking depth. Schmerheim demonstrates that that is manifestly not the case. Thl#0