The Philosophy of Stanley Kubrick

289 Pages·2007·2.81 MB·English

by  Jerold J. Abrams

T P s K
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The Philosophy of Popular Culture
The books published in the Philosophy of Popular Culture series will illuminate
and explore philosophical themes and ideas that occur in popular culture. The
goal of this series is to demonstrate how philosophical inquiry has been reinvigo-
rated by increased scholarly interest in the intersection of popular culture and
philosophy, as well as to explore through philosophical analysis beloved modes
of entertainment, such as movies, TV shows, and music. Philosophical con-
cepts will be made accessible to the general reader through examples in popular
culture. This series seeks to publish both established and emerging scholars who
will engage a major area of popular culture for philosophical interpretation and
examine the philosophical underpinnings of its themes. Eschewing ephemeral
trends of philosophical and cultural theory, authors will establish and elaborate
on connections between traditional philosophical ideas from important thinkers
and the ever-expanding world of popular culture.
Series Editor
Mark T. Conard, Marymount Manhattan College, NY
Books in the Series
The Philosophy of Stanley Kubrick, edited by Jerold J. Abrams
The Philosophy of Martin Scorsese, edited by Mark T. Conard
The Philosophy of Neo-Noir, edited by Mark T. Conard
Basketball and Philosophy, edited by Jerry L. Walls and Gregory Bassham
The PhilosoPhy of
s TA n l e y
KubricK
edited by Jerold J. Abrams
T U P K
he niversiTy ress of enTUcKy
Publication of this volume was made possible in part by a grant
from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Copyright © 2007 by The University Press of Kentucky
Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth,
serving Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre College of Kentucky, Eastern
Kentucky University, The Filson Historical Society, Georgetown College, Kentucky
Historical Society, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State
University, Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania University, University
of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University.
All rights reserved.
Editorial and Sales Offices: The University Press of Kentucky
663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508-4008
www.kentuckypress.com
11 10 09 08 07 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The philosophy of Stanley Kubrick / edited by Jerold J. Abrams.
p. cm. — (The philosophy of popular culture)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8131-2445-2 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Kubrick, Stanley—Criticism and interpretation. I. Abrams, Jerold J., 1971-
PN1998.3.K83P55 2007
791.4302’33092—dc22 2007003153
This book is printed on acid-free recycled paper meeting
the requirements of the American National Standard
for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
Member of the Association of
American University Presses
Man stands face to face with the irrational. He feels within him his longing
for happiness and for reason. The absurd is born of this confrontation
between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world.
—Albert Camus,
The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
Part One: The Subject at War
Understanding the Enemy: The Dialogue of Fear in Fear and Desire and
Dr. Strangelove 9
Elizabeth F. Cooke
Chaos, Order, and Morality: Nietzsche’s Influence on Full Metal Jacket 33
Mark T. Conard
Existential Ethics: Where the Paths of Glory Lead 49
Jason Holt
Part Two: The Subject in Love
Where the Rainbow Ends: Eyes Wide Shut 59
Karen D. Hoffman
Knockout! Killer’s Kiss, the Somatic, and Kubrick 85
Kevin S. Decker
The Logic of Lolita: Kubrick, Nabokov, and Poe 109
Jerold J. Abrams
Part Three: The Subject and the Meaning of Life
Rebel without a Cause: Stanley Kubrick and the Banality of the Good 133
Patrick Murray and Jeanne Schuler
The Big Score: Fate, Morality, and Meaningful Life in The Killing 149
Steven M. Sanders
Part Four: The Subject in History
Spartacus and the Second Part of the Soul 167
Gordon Braden
The Shape of Man: The Absurd and Barry Lyndon 183
Chris P. Pliatska
The Shining and Anti-Nostalgia: Postmodern Notions of History 201
R. Barton Palmer
Part Five: The Subject of the Future
Nihilism and Freedom in the Films of Stanley Kubrick 221
Daniel Shaw
“Please Make Me a Real Boy”: The Prayer of the Artificially Intelligent 235
Jason T. Eberl
Nietzsche’s Overman as Posthuman Star Child in 2001: A Space Odyssey 247
Jerold J. Abrams
Filmography 267
List of Contributors 269
Index 273
Acknowledgments
First, I would like to thank all the contributors for their hard work and
excellent essays. I would like to give special thanks to Mark Conard for his
incredible editorial support and his continued philosophical dialogue. For
editorial guidance and wisdom at every stage of the process, I am grateful
to Steve Wrinn and Anne Dean Watkins at the University Press of Kentucky.
Ron Mandelbaum at Photofest provided an excellent cover shot of Kubrick.
Christopher Erisson provided valuable technical support. ElusiveDVD.com
cleaned up and made available Kubrick’s once-lost first film Fear and Desire.
I am also extremely grateful to Elizabeth F. Cooke and Chris Pliatska for
many rich conversations on Kubrick, cinema, and philosophy in general.
ix