Table Of ContentHitchcock and Philosophy_HIP HOP & philosophy 8/12/11 12:14 PM Page i
Hitchcock and Philosophy
Hitchcock and Philosophy_HIP HOP & philosophy 8/12/11 12:14 PM Page ii
Popular Culture and Philosophy®
Series Editor: George A. Reisch
(Series Editor for this volume was William Irwin)
VOLUME1 VOLUME16
Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book about Everything Hip Hop and Philosophy: Rhyme 2 Reason(2005)
and Nothing(2000) Edited by Derrick Darby and Tommie Shelby
Edited by William Irwin
VOLUME17
VOLUME2 Bob Dylan and Philosophy: It’s Alright Ma (I’m
The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D’oh! of Homer Only Thinking)(2006) Edited by Peter Vernezze
(2001) Edited by William Irwin, Mark T. Conard, and Carl J. Porter
and Aeon J. Skoble
VOLUME18
VOLUME3 Harley-Davidson and Philosophy:
The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert Full-Throttle Aristotle(2006) Edited by Bernard E.
of the Real(2002) Edited by William Irwin Rollin, Carolyn M. Gray, Kerri Mommer, and
Cynthia Pineo
VOLUME4
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy: Fear and VOLUME19
Trembling in Sunnydale(2003) Edited by James B. Monty Python and Philosophy: Nudge Nudge,
South Think Think!(2006) Edited by Gary L. Hardcastle
and George A Reisch
VOLUME5
The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy: One Book to VOLUME20
Rule Them All(2003) Edited by Gregory Bassham Poker and Philosophy: Pocket Rockets and
and Eric Bronson Philosopher Kings(2006) Edited by Eric Bronson
VOLUME6 VOLUME21
Baseball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the U2 and Philosophy: How to Decipher an Atomic
Batter’s Box(2004) Edited by Eric Bronson Band(2006) Edited by Mark A. Wrathall
VOLUME7 VOLUME22
The Sopranos and Philosophy: I Kill Therefore I Am The Undead and Philosophy: Chicken Soup for the
(2004) Edited by Richard Greene and Peter Soulless(2006) Edited by Richard Greene and K.
Vernezze Silem Mohammad
VOLUME8 VOLUME23
Woody Allen and Philosophy: You Mean My Whole James Bond and Philosophy: Questions Are Forever
Fallacy Is Wrong? (2004) Edited by Mark T. Conard (2006) Edited by James B. South and Jacob M. Held
and Aeon J. Skoble
VOLUME24
VOLUME9 Bullshit and Philosophy: Guaranteed to Get Perfect
Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Results Every Time(2006) Edited by Gary L.
Hogwarts(2004) Edited by David Baggett and Hardcastle and George A. Reisch
Shawn E. Klein
VOLUME25
VOLUME10 The Beatles and Philosophy: Nothing You Can
Mel Gibson’s Passion and Philosophy: The Cross, Think that Can’t Be Thunk(2006) Edited by
the Questions, the Controversy (2004) Edited by Michael Baur and Steven Baur
Jorge J.E. Gracia
VOLUME26
VOLUME11 South Park and Philosophy: Bigger, Longer, and
More Matrix and Philosophy: Revolutions and More Penetrating(2007) Edited by Richard Hanley
Reloaded Decoded(2005) Edited by William Irwin
VOLUME27
VOLUME12 Hitchcock and Philosophy: Dial M for Metaphysics
Star Wars and Philosophy: More Powerful than You (2007) Edited by David Baggett and William A.
Can Possibly Imagine(2005) Edited by Jason T. Drumin
Eberl and Kevin S. Decker
VOLUME13 INPREPARATION:
Superheroes and Philosophy: Truth, Justice, and the
Socratic Way(2005) Edited by Tom Morris and The Grateful Dead and Philosophy(2007) Edited
Matt Morris by Steven Gimbel
VOLUME14 Tarantino and Philosophy (2007) Edited by Richard
The Atkins Diet and Philosophy: Chewing the Fat Greene and K. Silem Mohammad
with Kant and Nietzsche(2005) Edited by Lisa
Heldke, Kerri Mommer, and Cynthia Pineo Pink Floyd and Philosophy (2007) Edited by
George A. Reisch
VOLUME15 Bruce Springsteen and Philosophy (2008) Edited by
The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy: The
Randall E. Auxier and Doug Anderson
Lion, the Witch, and the Worldview(2005) Edited
by Gregory Bassham and Jerry L. Walls
Hitchcock and Philosophy_HIP HOP & philosophy 8/12/11 12:14 PM Page iii
Popular Culture and Philosophy®
Hitchcock and
Philosophy
Dial M for Metaphysics
Edited by
DAVID BAGGETT
and
WILLIAM A. DRUMIN
OPEN COURT
Chicago and LaSalle, Illinois
Hitchcock and Philosophy_HIP HOP & philosophy 8/12/11 12:14 PM Page iv
Volume 27 in the series, Popular Culture and Philosophy®
The pictures on pages 62, 114, and 228 are reproduced by permission
of Corbis.
To order books from Open Court, call 1-800-815-2280, or visit
our website at www.opencourtbooks.com.
Open Court Publishing Company is a division of Carus Publishing
Company.
Copyright ©2007 by Carus Publishing Company
First printing 2007
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher,
Open Court Publishing Company, a division of Carus Publishing
Company, 315 Fifth Street, P.O. Box 300, Peru, Illinois, 61354-3000.
Printed and bound in the United States of America.
n: Joan Som
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hitchcock and philosophy : dial M for metaphysics / edited by David
Baggett and William A. Drumin
p. cm. — (Popular culture and philosophy ; 27)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8126-9616-5 (trade paper : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-8126-9616-6 (trade paper : alk. paper)
1. Hitchcock, Alfred, 1899-1980—Criticism and interpretation.
I. Baggett, David. II. Drumin, William A.
PN1998.3.H68H53 2007
791.4302’33092—dc22
2007000242
Hitchcock and Philosophy_HIP HOP & philosophy 8/12/11 12:14 PM Page v
To Donald Spoto
Hitchcock and Philosophy_HIP HOP & philosophy 8/12/11 12:14 PM Page vi
Hitchcock and Philosophy_HIP HOP & philosophy 8/12/11 12:14 PM Page vii
Contents
Previews and Opening Credits xi
Part I
The Mystery of Everyday Life
1
1. Sabotage: Chaos Unleashed and the Impossibility
of Utopia
WILLIAM A. DRUMIN 3
2. Shadow of a Doubt: Secrets, Lies, and the Search for
the Truth
ANGELA CURRAN 17
3. Rope: Nietzsche and the Art of Murder
SHAI BIDERMAN and ELIANA JACOBOWITZ 33
Part II
Horrors Without End
47
4. Psycho: Horror, Hitchcock, and the Problem of Evil
PHILIP TALLON 49
5. The Birds: Plato and Romantic Love
RAJA HALWANI and STEVEN JONES 63
6. Featherless Bipeds: The Concept of Humanity in
The Birds
SCOTT CALEF 75
7. Hitchcock’s Existentialism: Anguish, Despair, and
Redemption in Breakdown
SANDER LEE 89
vii
Hitchcock and Philosophy_HIP HOP & philosophy 8/12/11 12:14 PM Page viii
viii Contents
Part III
The Reeling Mind
99
8. Vertigo and the Pathologies of Romantic Love
NOËL CARROLL 101
9. Vertigo: Scientific Method, Obsession, and Human Minds
DAN FLORY 115
10. On Being Mr. Kaplan: Personal Identity in North
by Northwest
STEVEN W. PATTERSON 129
11. Ethics or Film Theory? The Real McGuffin in North
by Northwest
THOMAS E. WARTENBERG 141
Part IV
Hitchcock’s Ethical Dilemmas
157
12. Democracy Adrift in Lifeboat
RANDALL E. AUXIER 159
13. Why Be Moral? Amorality and Psychopathy in Strangers
on a Train
STEVEN M. SANDERS 175
14. Rear Window: Hitchcock’s Allegory of the Cave
MICHAEL SILBERSTEIN 187
15. Rear Window: Looking at Things Ethically
AEON J. SKOBLE 203
Part V
What’s It All About, Alfred?
213
16. Plot Twists and Surprises: Why Are Some Things
Improbable?
KEVIN KINGHORN 215
Hitchcock and Philosophy_HIP HOP & philosophy 8/12/11 12:14 PM Page ix
Contents ix
17. The Hitchcock Cameo: Aesthetic Considerations
JASON HOLT 229
18. Knowing When to Be Afraid: Rationality and Suspense
CATHERINE JACK DEAVEL and DAVID PAUL DEAVEL 239
19. Shadow of a Doubt and Marnie: Entries into a Mind
ROBERT J. YANAL 253
Cast and Crew 261
Index 267
