Transformational ethics of film: thinking the cinemakeover in the film-philosophy debate

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Notes

1. Some examples given include Daniel Frampton’s work on ‘filmosophy’ (2006), or Robert Sinnerbrink’s Deleuzian conception of ‘romantic film-philosophy’ (2011).

2. The nuances of Roussow and Visagie’s ‘frames’ are too detailed to do them justice within this review, but I put forward here a brief ‘gist’ of how Roussow understands them. Technique/how I: the exercise one undertakes such as fighting or meditation. Mode/how II: ‘trans-historical’ categories of exercise, such as temperance and asceticism. Value/to what end: the aim or telos, such as transcendence or freedom. Domain/what: what part of the self will change, such as behaviours or bodily function. Paradigm/why: the historical situatedness of our motives, such as religion or ideology.

3. One brief example of where the ‘transformational ethics of film’ could stretch outside of the Western philosophical tradition can be found with Laura U. Marks (2016), who highlights the work of Muslim thinkers who source their ‘visionary collective politics’ on film and media from Mullā Ṣadrā’s concept of the ‘imaginal realm’ (24–25).