European Cinema and Continental Philosophy

Accessible and rigorous, brimming with indispensable insights for students, scholars, and readers of film studies, continental philosophy, visual culture, and media theory ... It is a rare pleasure to read a work of film-philosophy that so carefully balances textual hermeneutics and political deconstructions. * Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media *
Constitutes an interdisciplinary epistemological and philosophical map, a challenging and precious tool to register, draw and address the complex socio-political dynamics of our time with a critical and experimental spirit ... [An] essential text (a must read for these dangerous times). * New Review of Film and Television Studies *
Not only a rich exploration of the relationship between film and philosophy, European Cinema and Continental Philosophy makes a timely claim on the stakes of thinking Europe today. Elsaesser provides a new and urgently needed framework for grappling with the contemporary conditions of European politics and film culture. * Rosalind Galt, Professor of Film Studies, King’s College London, UK *
Elsaesser argues for a contemporary European cinema of openness and multiplicity, for a cinema that foregrounds autonomy and liberation. These arguments are backed up by an impressive account of contemporary European philosophy and its influences on cinematic thought. Elsaesser develops the key notions of a ‘cinema of abjection’ and ‘post-heroic narratives’ and, as a result, he charts an impressive map of European cinema and a European politics to come. * Richard Rushton, Senior Lecturer in Film Studies, Lancaster University, UK *
European Cinema and Continental Philosophy offers an important and deeply engaging reappraisal of the status of European cinema at a moment of apparent crisis. There is both defiance and brilliance in the way that Elsaesser, situating cinema in its wider philosophical, political, social, and cultural contexts, seizes upon its perceived marginality and irrelevance as the key to its strength, and presents the widespread “abjection” he identifies, as evidence of creative freedom and the embodiment of Europe’s core Enlightenment values. This volume combines daring originality with the impressive scholarship we have come to expect from Thomas Elsaesser. It is a work of major significance which will have a profound impact upon contemporary and future film studies. * Wendy Everett, Professor Emeritus, University of Bath, UK *