The Philosophy Of David Cronenberg

Initially regarded as a cult figure with a strong following amongst sci-fi and horror film fans, Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg emerged as a major and commercially viable film director with mainstream hits such as A History of Violence (2005) and Eastern Promises (2007). With his unique ability to present imagery that is both disturbing and provocative, Cronenberg creates striking films, noteworthy not just for their cinematic beauty but also for the philosophical questions they raise. The Philosophy of David Cronenberg examines Cronenberg's body of work, from his breakthrough Scanners (1981) through his most recognizable films such as The Fly (1986) and more recent works. Editor Simon Riches and a collaboration of scholars introduce the filmmaker's horrific storylines and psychologically salient themes that reveal his pioneering use of the concept of "body horror," as well as his continued aim to satirize the modern misuse of science and technology. The Philosophy of David Cronenberg also explores the mutation of self, authenticity and the human mind, as well as language and worldviews. While Cronenberg's films have moved from small-market cult classics to mainstream successes, his intriguing visions of humanity and the self endure.

While freelance journalist Naomi places her safety in the hands of a suspicious grad student to investigate a sexual philosopher's murder, her rival and lover, Nathan, contracts a rare STD while documenting a surgeon's controversial work in organ trafficking. A first novel. 75,000 first printing.

David Cronenberg is Canada's most provocative director. With internationally acclaimed films such as "Scanners, The Fly, Dead Ringers and "Naked Lunch, he has demonstrated his ability to touch painful nerves and invest his own unique genre with a rare philosophical and emotional intensity. In this stimulating, vivid book--combining memoir, behind-the-scenes movie stories and unsettling and original insights into the traumas of the late 20th century--David Cronenberg reveals the concerns and obsessions which dominate his rich, complex work.

Interviews conducted 1984 to 1993.

While freelance journalist Naomi places her safety in the hands of a suspicious grad student to investigate a sexual philosopher's murder, her rival and lover, Nathan, contracts a rare STD while documenting a surgeon's controversial work in organ trafficking. A first novel. 75,000 first printing.

The horror and psychological denial of our mortality, along with the corruptibility of our flesh, are persistent themes in drama. Body horror films have intensified these themes in increasingly graphic terms. The aesthetic of body horror has its origins in the ideas of the Marquis de Sade and the existential philosophies of Arthur Schopenhauer and Friedrich Nietzsche, all of whom demonstrated that we have just cause to be anxious about our physical reality and its existence in the world. This book examines the relationship between these writers and the various manifestations of body horror in film. The most characteristic examples of this genre are those directed by David Cronenberg, but body horror as a whole includes many variations on the theme by other figures, whose work is charted here through eight categories: copulation, generation, digestion, mutilation, infection, mutation, disintegration and extinction.

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.

For more than thirty years, David Cronenberg has made independent films such as "Scanners" and "A History of Violence" which aim to disturb, surprise, and challenge audiences. He has also repeatedly drawn on literary fiction for inspiration, adapting themes from authors like William Burroughs, J. G. Ballard, and Patrick McGrath for the big screen; "David Cronenberg: Author or Filmmaker?" is the first book to explore how underground and mainstream fiction have influenced and can help illuminate his labyrinthine films. Film scholar Mark Browning examines Cronenberg s literary aesthetic not only in relation to his films obvious source material, but by comparing his movies to the writings of Vladimir Nabokov, Angela Carter, and Bret Easton Ellis. This groundbreaking volume addresses Cronenberg s narrative structures and his unique conception of auteurism, as well as his films shocking psychological frameworks, all in the broader context of film adaptation studies. "David Cronenberg" is an essential read for anyone interested in the symbiotic relationship between literature and filmmaking. "David Cronenberg" is a work that attempts to illuminate and unravel the connection between the great Canadian auteur and his literary influences. "Film Snob Weekly""" "David Cronenberg" is an essential read for anyone interested in the symbiotic relationship between literature and filmmaking. "Video Canada""" """""