Routledge Philosophical Theories of Political Cinema (Routledge Advances in Film Studies)

This book utilizes philosophical tools to build up a framework for the classification, analysis and assessment of political cinema. The author first maps the category of political cinema, clarifying what it means for a film to be ‘political’, and then analyzes the relation between the value of a film as a political film and its value as art. Through philosophical enquiry, Angelo Emanuele Cioffi builds up a framework that could be of use in art-critical practice and that can help with the classification and assessment of political films. Grounded in analytic philosophy of art and cognitivist film theory, with insights from political science, political philosophy, epistemology and cognitive science, the book presents a unique analysis of the relation between films and the ‘political’. This theory is tested with detailed case studies, and the author uses specific films as examples of the applicability and explanatory power of this theoretical framework. As such, this book will be of interest not just to film studies, film theory and political philosophy scholars, but to anyone with an interest in political film, aesthetic practice and philosophy of art. About the Author Angelo Emanuele Cioffi studied Political Theory and Cultural Policies at the Universities of Pavia and Warwick and received his PhD in History and Philosophy of Art from the University of Kent. He teaches ‘English for the Arts’ at ‘LABA’ Fine Arts Academy and Literature at a high school in Brescia.