module

Undergraduate Module Descriptor

PHL1112: Philosophy of Film

This module descriptor refers to the 2023/4 academic year.

Overview

In this module, you will watch and discuss 10 films, with a view to investigating the philosophically interesting problems that they raise. Topics discussed include horror films, film and politics, film and psychoanalysis and the aesthetics of cinema. This module is suitable for all students. It does not require a prior background in philosophy. Films often address philosophically interesting topics, but not in the manner of abstract philosophical books or articles. A film, like any fiction, tells a story, in which a philosophical idea may be obliquely conveyed. But it is also a visual article, which can further clarify or complicate its philosophical meaning. The nature of cinema as a medium is a philosophically interesting topic in its own right. This module introduces you to a variety of philosophical problems through film, and asks what cinema may contribute – if anything – to our understanding of those problems