The Culture and Philosophy of Ridley Scott, edited by Adam Barkman,
Ashley Barkman, and Nancy Kang, brings together eighteen critical
essays that illuminate a nearly comprehensive selection of the
director's feature films from cutting-edge multidisciplinary and
comparative perspectives. Chapters examine such signature works as
Alien (1979), Blade Runner (1982), Thelma and Louise (1991),
Gladiator (2000), Hannibal (2001), Black Hawk Down (2001), and
American Gangster (2007). This volume divides the chapters into
three major thematic groups: responsibility, remembering, and
revision; real, alienated, and ideal lives; and gender, identity,
and selfhood. Each section features six discrete essays, each of
which forwards an original thesis about the film or films chosen
for analysis. Each chapter features close readings of scenes as
well as broader discussions that will interest academics,
non-specialists, as well as educated readers with an interest in
films as visual texts. While recognizing Scott's undeniable
contributions to contemporary popular cinema, the volume does not
shy away from honest and well-evidenced critique. Each chapter's
approach correlates with philosophical, literary, or cultural
studies perspectives. Using both combined and single-film
discussions, the contributors examine such topics as gender roles
and feminist theory; philosophical abstractions like ethics, honor,
and personal responsibility; historical memory and the challenges
of accurately rendering historical events on screen; literary
archetypes and generic conventions; race relations and the effect
of class difference on character construction; how religion shapes
personal and collective values; the role of a constantly changing
technological universe; and the schism between individual and
group-based power structures. The Culture and Philosophy of Ridley
Scott assembles the critical essays of scholars working in the
fields of philosophy, literary studies, and cultural studies. An
international group, they are based in the United States, Canada,
Argentina, Italy, Greece, Korea, the United Kingdom, and New
Zealand. The guiding assumption on the part of all the writers is
that the filmmaker is the leading determiner of a motion picture's
ethos, artistic vision, and potential for audience engagement.
While not discounting the production team (including screenwriters,
actors, and cinematographers, among others), auteur theory
recognizes the seminal role of the director as the nucleus of the
meaning-making process. With Scott an active and prolific presence
in the entertainment industry today, the timeliness of this volume
is optimal.
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