Narrative, Film, and Identity

How Cinema Impacts the Meaning of Life

Series: 

Our identities are shaped by narratives, and cinema contributes to that process. While there is substantial scholarship on both narrative identity and film narrative, there is very little investigation of the intersection between them. This book provides that, with particular attention to how the interaction between film narratives and life narratives affect the meaning of life. Traditional issues like spectator activity and realism appear in a different light when viewed through this interaction. It also reveals how film can both help and hinder the meaning of our lives by sustaining oppressive narratives or promoting new narrative possibilities.
Copyright Year:
2025
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Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-71108-2
Publication:
21 Oct 2024
Hardback
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Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-71107-5
Publication:
07 Nov 2024
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William C. Pamerleau, Ph.D., is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. He publishes articles on a variety of philosophical topics but specializes in the philosophy of film. He is the author of Existentialist Cinema (2009).
Introduction

1 Meaning and Narrative
 1 The Narrative Self
 1.1 Narrative Structure

 1.2 Narrative Identity


 2 Meaning and Narrative

 3 Narrative and Meaning in Life
 3.1 Subjectivists and Objectivists

 3.2 Meaning of Life

 3.3 Meaning in Life


 4 Objections to Narrative Identity
 4.1 The Self Is Not the Same Thing as the Narrated Life

 4.2 Narrative Inaccurately Describes Our Life as We Experience It

 4.3 The Narrative Process Distorts What Is Valuable about Life


 5 Refining the Narrative Approach

 6 Conclusion


2 Meaning and Film
 1 Spectator Activity and Film Narrative
 1.1 Cognitivist Spectator Theories

 1.2 Spectator Activity and Emotions


 2 Experiencing Films as Meaningful
 2.1 An Experience Unaccounted for by Film Scholars

 2.2 The Role of Life Narratives


 3 Shaping Viewer Narratives
 3.1 Shaping Perceptions and Sustaining Stereotypes

 3.2 Making More Meaningful Narratives


 4 Conclusion


3 Narrative Realism
 1 Defining “Realism”

 2 Narrative Realism
 2.1 A Multifaceted Approach

 2.2 Realism Depends on Interest

 2.3 Creating New Possibilities


 3 Narrative Distortion
 3.1 Objections to Narrative Realism

 3.2 Defending Narrative Realism: Real Narratives and Truth

 3.3 Defending Narrative Realism: The Differences between Film Narratives and Life Narratives


 4 Conclusion


4 Meaningful Films
 1 Film Viewing as Meaningful Experience
 1.1 The Emotion of Meaningfulness

 1.2 Does the Personal Nature of Life Narratives Limit Theoretical Analysis?


 2 An Analysis of Meaningful Films
 2.1 Good Will Hunting

 2.2 American Beauty

 2.3 Winter Light


 3 Conclusion


5 Cinema’s Effect on Social Narratives
 1 The Social Nature of Narratives

 2 The Impact of Film on Social Narratives

 3 A Narrative Approach to Prejudice and Discrimination in Film
 3.1 Schemas

 3.2 Selection

 3.3 Immersion


 4 Conclusion


6 Expanding Narrative Possibilities
 1 Making Meaningful Narratives: Clarifying the Scope of Moral Principles
 1.1 Engaging Existing Moral Perspectives

 1.2 Effects on Agency


 2 Creating New Moral Perspectives
 2.1 Virtue and Moral Examples

 2.2 Moral Examples in Fictional Narratives


 3 Expanding Resources for Constructing Meaningful Identities

 4 Challenging Narratives
 4.1 Renewal Narratives

 4.2 Upsetting Narrative Forms


 5 Conclusion


Conclusion

Bibliography

Index

This book is of interest to academics of various levels in film theory, the philosophy of film, narrative identity, and those who study the meaning of life (both in philosophy and psychology). Such broad appeal should also be of interest to libraries.
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