The Films of Lars von Trier and Philosophy Provocations and Engagements

The films of Lars von Trier offer unique opportunities for thinking deeply about how Philosophy and Cinema speak to one another. The book addresses von Trier’s films in order of their release. The earlier chapters discuss his Golden Heart trilogy and USA: Land of Opportunities series by addressing issues of potential misogyny, ethical critique, and racial justice. The later chapters focus on his Depression Trilogy and address the undermining of gender binaries, the psychoanalytic meaning of the sacrifice of children and depression, and philosophical questions provoked by the depiction of the end of the world. Taken together, the volume explores the topics of Philosophical Psychology, Social Theory, Political Theory, Theories of the Self, Philosophy of Race, and Feminist Thought, and opens a conversation about von Trier’s important work.

Introduction: Provocation to Philosophy.- 1. The Ass I Kick Today May Be the Ass I’ll Have to Kiss Tomorrow: What’s Up with the Sacrifice of Women in the Films of Lars von Trier?.- 2. Film as Phantasm: Dogville’s Cinematic Re-evaluation of  Values.- 3. Manderlay and the Universe of American Whiteness.- 4. Art and Myth: Beyond Binaries.- 5. The Need of the Antichrist to Tame the Wild Tongue of Nosotras.- 6. Lars von Trier: Traversing the Fantasy of the Child.- 7. Melancholia’s End by Timothy Holland.- 8. Would It Be Bad If The Human Race Ceased To Exist? Melancholia and the Import of Human Existence.- 9. It Is There in the Beginning: Melancholia, Time, and Death.

José A. Haro is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Social Sciences, Human Services and Criminal Justice at the Borough of Manhattan Community College (CUNY), USA.

William H. Koch is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Academic Literacy and Linguistics at the Borough of Manhattan Community College (CUNY), USA.