Book description
In the course of fifty years, director Stanley Kubrick produced some
of the most haunting and indelible images on film. His films touch on
a wide range of topics rife with questions about human life, behavior,
and emotions: love and sex, war, crime, madness, social conditioning,
and technology. Within this great variety of subject matter, Kubrick
examines different sides of reality and unifies them into a rich
philosophical vision that is similar to existentialism. Perhaps more
than any other philosophical concept, existentialism -- the belief
that philosophical truth has meaning only if it is chosen by the
individual -- has come down from the ivory tower to influence popular
culture at large. In virtually all of Kubrick's films, the protagonist
finds himself or herself in opposition to a hard and uncaring world,
whether the conflict arises in the natural world or in human
institutions. Kubrick's war films (Fear and Desire, Paths of Glory,
Dr. Strangelove, and Full Metal Jacket) examine how humans deal with
their worst fears -- especially the fear of death -- when facing the
absurdity of war. Full Metal Jacket portrays a world of physical and
moral change, with an environment in continual flux in which
attempting to impose order can be dangerous. The film explores the
tragic consequences of an unbending moral code in a constantly
changing universe. Essays in the volume examine Kubrick's interest in
morality and fate, revealing a Stoic philosophy at the center of many
of his films. Several of the contributors find his oeuvre to be
characterized by skepticism, irony, and unfettered hedonism. In such
films as A Clockwork Orange and 2001: A Space Odyssey, Kubrick
confronts the notion that we will struggle against our own scientific
and technological innovations. Kubrick's films about the future posit
that an active form of nihilism will allow humans to accept the
emptiness of the world and push beyond it to form a free and creative
view of humanity. Taken together, the essays in The Philosophy of
Stanley Kubrick are an engaging look at the director's stark vision of
a constantly changing moral and physical universe. They promise to add
depth and complexity to the interpretation of Kubrick's signature films.
""Every page of this book expresses admiration for
America's most philosophical filmmaker, all the while providing
insight into his creative vision." --William Irwin, co-editor of
More Matrix and Philosophy: Revolutions and Reloade" --
Jerold J. Abrams is assistant professor of philosophy at Creighton University.
