Philosophy of Film: An Introduction

The book provides a critical overview of the most important issues in the philosophy of film, from "What is Film?" to "Can Film Do Philosophy?" It provides an objective analysis of the principal arguments on each side of each issue. The set of issues includes all of the most important topics as well as some that are less well represented in the discipline, such as whether the power of cinema derives from its similarity to dreams. The coverage is more comprehensive and up to date than its chief competitors, and the presentation is more objective than the existing monographs that survey the area.

Philosophy of Film: A Contemporary Introduction consists of 11, similarly sized and structured chapters, plus an introduction and a final References list. Each chapter begins with an overview and ends with a summary and an annotated bibliography to guide students' further readings. Each chapter also includes a short annotated filmography of illustrative examples. A companion website provides actual film clips, more extensive bibliographies, and other external resources, for each of the 11 chapters.