Filmosophy

by Daniel Frampton

Book by Daniel Frampton

Genres: Film, Philosophy, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Peace · Rating 3 out of 5]

رؤية ثاقبة تشوبها ميوعة المعنى .. تمنيت لو التقي بالعم دانيال هذا

[Steen Ledet · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book on how to understand film differently than the technicist language which has grown up around film studies over the past 50 years. The description and understanding of the film experience and Frampton's different way of conceiving film analysis seems entirely convincing. Sometimes, however, the style gets a bit repetitive, constantly calling for an organic approach to film analysis.

[Martin Riexinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Usually I give a bad rating when I completely disagree with the content of a book. But in this case my judgement is not that harsh because the approach is daring and original and has pointed out some blind spots in other approaches to film theory.

Taking phenomenology as a starting point, Frampton polemicizes against "technicist" approaches in film studies, not least that of the recently deceased David Bordwell, whom some even call "the Aristotle of film". Instead he asserts that films themselves have subjectivity and create meaning, for which he coins the term filmind. The meaning of each film is produced by the film mind with the specific filmic means color, sound, movement etc. The mind of the filmgoer interacts with the filmind by sensing these elements rather than by understanding them as the "technicists" would argue.
Frampton may have a point with the implicit claim that the theoreticians he polemicizes against may have a blind spot when it comes to the individual experience, not least its emotional aspects. But that being said I have to part ways. As in the case of any other art the enjoyment of the real masterworks will increase when one understands who they function and what the underlying principles are. Many may consider Die Kunst der Fuge as great music without knowing how a counterpoint functions, but will they really be able to enjoy it as much as those who understand this principle?
Furthermore the meaning making of the film is the product of the choices human minds make, usually numerous ones (director, writer, actors, cameraman, composer, costume designer etc.). Doing so they have to take a variety of constraints into account. It is a triviality that sound and color options first had to be invented, but if you opted for color in the early period of color film, you opted simultaneously for less depth of focus and fewer contrasts. In particular in the final chapter he emphasizes that new technological developments will create new opportunities for the filmind. In this respect he may have a point as many constraints for bringing imagination on the screen will become less relevant. But when it comes hitherto existing films, all these aspects cannot be neglected.
And finally: does every film make meaning? Is a bad film as a consequence the product of a defective filmind? Or rather of bad directing, a bad scrip, bad acting etc.

To sum up, many questionable assertions, but an interesting challenge to received notions.

[Tugrul · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a book about a new film-approach based on how we percieve the films. According to the writer, each viewer has it's own understanding about the film, and this creates a film-mind, you become a film-being, and the beings within your understanding become film-entities. In short, the actual meta becomes seperated from you, the viewer and what you understand becomes a third being, and this can only be handled as a seperate discipline called filmosophy.

It's a creative way of thinking, but it won't catch and fire if you ask me.

[Matthew Holtmeier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Provides a new, poetic way of understanding film, which I believe will help move us past interpretive roadblocks that past discourses on cinema have created. Actually fairly light on the academic-ness. Would recommend to anyone interested in thinking about film philosophically, not just folks in academia.

[Meryem Nur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Film zihin çerçevesinde insanın düşünce dağarcığını inanılmaz artıran aynı zamanda es geçtiğimiz bir çok ayrıtının farkındalığını kazandıran bir çalışma olmuş. Uzun zamana yayılarak bir ders kitabı niteliğinde tartışılarak okunması kitabı daha iyi anlamak adına faydalı olabilir.