Philosophy & Film

Sam Cowling, Denison University, USA & Wesley Cray, Texas Christian University, USA Exploring some of the peculiar features of comics, cartoons, and graphic novels, Sam Cowling and Wesley Cray chart a path through the field of the philosophy of comics. Using examples from a diverse range of comic genres and informed by case studies of classics such as Watchmen and The Flash, they tackle a variety of ethical, metaphysical, and aesthetic puzzles. At a time of rapidly growing interest in graphic storytelling, this is an ideal introduction to the philosophy of comics and some of its most familiar and important questions.

UK June 2022 • US June 2022 • 352 pages • 12 bw illus PB 9781350098459 • £18.99 / $25.95 • HB 9781350098442 • £60.00 / $80.00 ePub 9781350098480 • £17.09 / $23.44 ePdf 9781350098466 • £17.09 / $23.44 Bloomsbury Academic

Chance, Phenomenology and Aesthetics

Heidegger, Derrida and Contingency in Twentieth Century Art

Ian Andrews, University of New South Wales, Australia In drawing upon the work of Jacques Derrida, Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger and aligning it with a new trend in interdisciplinary phenomenology, Ian Andrews provides a unique and refreshing book. His account of how the composer John Cage and other avant-garde creatives such as Marcel Duchamp, Tristan Tzara, Sol LeWitt and Ed Ruscha used chance in their work to question the structures of experience and prompt a new engagement with these phenomena makes a truly important contribution to continental philosophy.

UK May 2022 • US May 2022 • 240 pages PB 9781350187122 • £28.99 / $39.95 Previously published in HB 9781350148468 ePub 9781350148482 • £76.50 / $100.32 ePdf 9781350148475 • £76.50 / $100.32 Bloomsbury Academic

Philosophical Filmmakers

Costica Bradatan, Texas Tech University, USA

Alfred Hitchcock

Filmmaker and Philosopher

Mark W. Roche, University of Notre Dame, USA Hitchcock was a masterful director, critically acclaimed both during and after his long career. What may have been sensed by many viewers but not fully articulated until now is the extent to which his works subtly engage philosophical themes: What is evil, and how does it shield and reveal itself? What is at stake when one knows the truth but cannot speak of it? Roche unlocks Hitchcock’s engagement with philosophical issues, and does so in a way that appeals to the novice and the seasoned philosopher, as well as enthusiastic admirers of Hitchcock’s films.

UK June 2022 • US June 2022 • 224 pages PB 9781474221306 • £19.99 / $26.95 • HB 9781474221313 • £65.00 / $90.00 ePub 9781474221337 • £17.99 / $23.44 ePdf 9781474221320 • £17.99 / $23.44 Series: Philosophical Filmmakers • Bloomsbury Academic A Formalist Theory

Michalle Gal, Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art, Israel Metaphors have traditionally been understood as a linguistic or conceptual phenomenon. This book challenges existing theories and places a new emphasis on how we experience rather than understand metaphors. Moving away from linguistic and cognitive theories, Michalle Gal looks beyond semantic mechanism and broad meaning to draw on analytic aesthetics. Proposing a new theory that takes into account that humans are visual no less than cognitive creatures, Gal responds to the visual turn that is taking place in literature and the media, demanding that the pictorial become a site of philosophical analysis.

UK June 2022 • US June 2022 • 256 pages HB 9781350127715 • £85.00 / $115.00 ePub 9781350127739 • £76.50 / $100.32 ePdf 9781350127722 • £76.50 / $100.32 Bloomsbury Academic

The Philosophy of Curatorial Practice

Between Work and World

Sue Spaid, Independent Scholar, USA This book walks us through the process of how artworks eventually get their meaning. Using notions of belonging and membership and applying analytic perspectives, it shows us how curated exhibitions invite audience members to infer an exhibition’s narrative threads, giving artworks their contents and discursive sense. By drawing on a range of case studies from impressionism, dada, and surrealism to more contemporary exhibitions such as Maurizio Cattelan’s “All” and “Damien Hirst”, this is a new reading of exploration, conceptualisation, presentation, and reception, informing and illuminating current debates in curatorial practice.

UK April 2022 • US April 2022 • 280 pages • 19 bw illus PB 9781350184015 • £28.99 / $39.95 Previously published in HB 9781350114890 ePub 9781350114913 • £76.50 / $100.32 ePdf 9781350114906 • £76.50 / $100.32 Bloomsbury Academic

Luchino Visconti

Filmmaker and Philosopher

Joan Ramon Resina, Stanford University, USA Luchino Visconti was one of Europe’s most prestigious filmmakers. Famous for his elegant lifestyle, his vibrant technicolour dramas are also known for their decadence and stunning display of aesthetic mastery and sensory pleasure. Looking beyond this colourful façade, however, Resina explores the philosophical implications of decadence with a particular focus on Damned (1969), Death in Venice (1971), and Ludwig (1972). From the incestuous relationship between decadence and power to decadence as an outcome of straining toward formal perfection, Resina uncovers the unity and philosophical cohesiveness of these films that deal with different subjects and historical periods.

UK February 2022 • US February 2022 • 224 pages PB 9781350185777 • £21.99 / $29.95 • HB 9781350185760 • £65.00 / $90.00 ePub 9781350185791 • £19.79 / $26.05 ePdf 9781350185784 • £19.79 / $26.05 Series: Philosophical Filmmakers • Bloomsbury Academic