Philosophy of Films
Chapter 1 THE PHILOSOPHY OF FILM Philosophy is an understanding of what reality is, whereas film, as a visual art form is a window to reality. It is a discourse through which one makes sense of reality. Philosophy questions ‘What is life?’, while film reflects life itself. The application of philosophy into film helps us to understand the nature of film as a reality. This chapter examines the philosophy of films and its nature. 1.1 What is Film? The term ‘film’ means an appearance of continuous motion created by motionless images which have been arranged in appropriate succession so as to produce fiction out of reality.[1] Film is produced by recording actual people and objects with cameras, or by creating them using special effects. When the image passes through the screen the flickering between frames is due to the retention of the eye on the visual image for a fraction of a second after the source has been removed. Films are considered by many to be an important art form; films ente