A Philosophy of Fashion Through Film - by Laura T Di Summa (Paperback)
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About this item
Highlights
- The question of whether movies can deliver philosophical content is a leading topic in the cognitive and analytic debate on film.
- About the Author: Laura T. Di Summa is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at William Paterson University, USA.
- 176 Pages
- Philosophy, Aesthetics
Description
Book Synopsis
The question of whether movies can deliver philosophical content is a leading topic in the cognitive and analytic debate on film. But instead of turning to the well-trodden terrain of narrative and emotional engagement, this is the first time fashion and costume choices are analyzed to demonstrate how movies can be said to be doing philosophy.Considering how fashion and costumes can deliver the epistemic content of a film and act as a guidance to the interpretation of the philosophical content of a film, Laura T. Di Summa examines fashion and costume choices in classical and contemporary films. She discusses a number of cinematic examples, and the costumes and fashion elements within them, illustrating the importance of issues such as the performative side of fashion, the alteration between novelty and repetition, the pivotal role of the body, and the relation between fashion, style, and individual as well as collective identity.
Featuring close examinations of 1950s melodramas, Hollywood blockbusters and documentaries such as All That Heaven Allows, Mad Max Fury Road, and McQueen, Di Summa uses an innovative new lens to provide fresh philosophical analysis of films. The result is not only an advancement of our understanding of the aesthetic means through which film can do philosophy, but the first insights into a philosophy of fashion.
Review Quotes
In her exciting new book, Laura T. Di Summa opens a new subject for the philosophy of film - movie fashion. Through enlightening discussions of costume design, accessories, and prosthetics as both elements of film style and prompts for questions of personal identity, Di Summa weaves an intricate text of her own.
Mario Slugan, Lecturer in Film, Queen Mary, University of London, UK
In recent years, theoretical aesthetics has been expanding its purview both in terms of the subjects it finds worthy of attention and of the sources it is willing to consider for philosophical insight. A Philosophy of Fashion Through Film exemplifies both of these tendencies with style and verve. It takes fashion as its topic and examines what it has to say about the expression of selfhood by making the ingenious methodological move of approaching this topic through the optic of cinema where the issue is especially pronounced. Recommended to all lovers of fashion, film, and philosophy.
Noel Carroll, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, USA
Laura T. Di Summa has written a marvellous book on the philosophy of film, arguing that fashion is performative - something we do, not just something we wear. Drawing on Walter Benjamin and Noël Carroll, she shows with admirable clarity how fashion is woven into cinematic aesthetics. A pleasure to read.
Robert Sinnerbrink, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director of Research, Macquarie University, Australia
About the Author
Laura T. Di Summa is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at William Paterson University, USA. She is a co-editor of The Palgrave Handbook of the Philosophy of Film and Motion Pictures (2019).Dimensions (Overall): 8.5 Inches (H) x 5.5 Inches (W) x .38 Inches (D)
Weight: .46 Pounds
Suggested Age: 22 Years and Up
Sub-Genre: Aesthetics
Genre: Philosophy
Number of Pages: 176
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Format: Paperback
Author: Laura T Di Summa
Language: English
Street Date: May 30, 2024
TCIN: 94141343
UPC: 9781350343757
Item Number (DPCI): 247-41-9484
Origin: Made in the USA or Imported
Shipping details
Estimated ship dimensions: 0.38 inches length x 5.5 inches width x 8.5 inches height
Estimated ship weight: 0.46 pounds
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