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    Thinking in the Dark
    Cinema, Theory, Practice

    Murray Pomerance (Edited by), R. Barton Palmer (Edited by), R. Barton Palmer (Contributions by), Murray Pomerance (Contributions by), Jeremy Blatter (Contributions by), Tom Gunning (Contributions by), Steven Woodward (Contributions by), Johannes von Moltke (Contributions by), Colin Williamson (Contributions by), Sarah Keller (Contributions by), Matthew Solomon (Contributions by), Dominic Lennard (Contributions by), Nathan Holmes (Contributions by), William Brown (Contributions by), William Rothman (Contributions by), Dudley Andrew (Contributions by), Will Scheibel (Contributions by), Daniel Morgan (Contributions by), Tom Conley (Contributions by), Steven Rybin (Contributions by), Alex Clayton (Contributions by), Gilberto Perez (Contributions by), Jonah Corne (Contributions by), Kristen Hatch (Contributions by)

    9780813566283

    Paperback / softback, published 16 October 2015

    288 pages, 42 photographs
    22.9 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.481 kg

    "Offering twenty-one case studies devoted to individual theorists ranging from Walter Benjamin to Michel Chion, Thinking in the Dark is at once expansive in its scope while focused and specific in its application of each theorist’s works … Overall Thinking in the Dark offers a very strong collection of essays from top scholars in the field of film studies, and it should find its way to those seeking a reinvigorated reading of key film theorists. "
    (South Atlantic Review)
    "In the continuously growing flow of anthologies, readers, textbooks, and handbooks on film theory, the collection edited by Pommerance and Palmer is one of the most original and refreshing ones that I have read in many years … Thinking in the Dark is a sound and solid contribution to film studies."
    (Leonardo Reviews)
    “In lucid and insightful essays, prominent film scholars discuss a major film or cultural theorist and apply the theory to cinematic texts. Refreshingly, the choice of films considered veers away from the most obvious to those that are excitingly offbeat.”
    - Lucy Fischer (Distinguished Professor, University of Pittsburgh)

    Today’s film scholars draw from a dizzying range of theoretical perspectives-they’re just as likely to cite philosopher Gilles Deleuze as they are to quote classic film theorist AndrÉ Bazin. To students first encountering them, these theoretical lenses for viewing film can seem exhilarating, but also overwhelming.
     
    Thinking in the Dark introduces readers to twenty-one key theorists whose work has made a great impact on film scholarship today, including Rudolf Arnheim, Sergei Eisenstein, Michel Foucault, Siegfried Kracauer, and Judith Butler. Rather than just discussing each theorist’s ideas in the abstract, the book shows how those concepts might be applied when interpreting specific films by including an analysis of both a classic film and a contemporary one. It thus demonstrates how theory can help us better appreciate films from all eras and genres: from Hugo to Vertigo, from City Lights to Sunset Blvd., and from Young Mr. Lincoln to A.I. and Wall-E.
     
    The volume’s contributors are all experts on their chosen theorist’s work and, furthermore, are skilled at explaining that thinker’s key ideas and terms to readers who are not yet familiar with them. Thinking in the Dark is not only a valuable resource for teachers and students of film, it’s also a fun read, one that teaches us all how to view familiar films through new eyes. 
     
    Theorists examined in this volume are: Rudolf Arnheim, BÉla BalÁzs, Roland Barthes, AndrÉ Bazin, Walter Benjamin, Judith Butler, Stanley Cavell, Michel Chion, Gilles Deleuze, Jean Douchet, Sergei Eisenstein, Jean Epstein, Michel Foucault, Siegfried Kracauer, Jacques Lacan, Vachel Lindsay, Christian Metz, Hugo MÜnsterberg, V. F. Perkins, Jacques RanciÈre, and Jean Rouch.

    Acknowledgments

    Introduction

    R. Barton Palmer and Murray Pomerance

    Chapter 1: Hugo MÜnsterberg: Psychologizing Spectatorship between Laboratory and Theater

    Jeremy Blatter

    Chapter 2: Vachel Lindsay: Theory of Movie Hieroglyphics

    Tom Gunning

    Chapter 3: BÉla BalÁzs: Film Aesthetics and the Rituals of Romance

    Steven Woodward

    Chapter 4: Siegfried Kracauer: The Politics of Film Theory and Criticism

    Johannes von Moltke

    Chapter 5: Walter Benjamin: Afterimages of the Aura

    Colin Williamson

    Chapter 6: Jean Epstein: Cinema’s Encounter with Modern Life

    Sarah Keller

    Chapter 7: Sergei Eisenstein: Attractions/Montage/Animation

    Matthew Solomon

    Chapter 8: Jacques Lacan: Giving All the Right Signs

    Dominic Lennard

    Chapter 9: Rudolf Arnheim: Cinema and Partial Illusion

    Nathan Holmes

    Chapter 10: Roland Barthes: What Films Show Us and What They Mean

    William Brown

    Chapter 11: Jean Rouch: The Camera as Provocateur

    William Rothman

    Chapter 12: AndrÉ Bazin: Dark Passage into the Mystery of Being

    Dudley Andrew

    Chapter 13: Gilles Deleuze: On Movement, Time, and Modernism

    Will Scheibel

    Chapter 14: Stanley Cavell: The Contingencies of Film and Its Theory

    Daniel Morgan

    Chapter 15: Michel Foucault: Murmur and Meditation

    Tom Conley

    Chapter 16: Jean Douchet: La Politique Hitchcock

    R. Barton Palmer

    Chapter 17: Christian Metz: Dreaming a Language in Cinema

    Steven Rybin

    Chapter 18: V. F. Perkins: Aesthetic Suspense

    Alex Clayton

    Chapter 19: Jacques RanciÈre: Equality and Aesthetics

    Gilberto Perez

    Chapter 20: Michel Chion: Listening to Cinema

    Jonah Corne

    Chapter 21: Judith Butler: Sex, Gender, and Subject Formation

    Kristen Hatch

    Works Cited

    Notes on Contributors

    Index
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