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    Paper Information:: Mouse X, in Meta-Narrative To Demonstrate The Nuances of Determinism and How Film Adequately

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    Vlad Genescu
    This paper will examine how films represent and engage with the philosophical debate around free will versus determinism. The author argues that while characters in films appear to have free will, the fact that they are confined to a set timeframe implies a view of determinism. The paper will use Jean-Paul Sartre's concept of original choice and the short film Mouse X to illustrate the nuances of determinism portrayed in different films. It will also discuss how films relate to debates around the nature of time, and whether humans truly have any control over their own lives or if everything is already determined. The paper aims to address these complex philosophical questions through a critical analysis of how entertainment media constructs narratives.

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    Paper Information:: Mouse X, in Meta-Narrative To Demonstrate The Nuances of Determinism and How Film Adequately

    Uploaded by

    Vlad Genescu
    61 views2 pages
    This paper will examine how films represent and engage with the philosophical debate around free will versus determinism. The author argues that while characters in films appear to have free will, the fact that they are confined to a set timeframe implies a view of determinism. The paper will use Jean-Paul Sartre's concept of original choice and the short film Mouse X to illustrate the nuances of determinism portrayed in different films. It will also discuss how films relate to debates around the nature of time, and whether humans truly have any control over their own lives or if everything is already determined. The paper aims to address these complex philosophical questions through a critical analysis of how entertainment media constructs narratives.

    Original Title

    Film_and_Determinism_What_Does_Our_Enter

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    This paper will examine how films represent and engage with the philosophical debate around free will versus determinism. The author argues that while characters in films appear to have free will, the fact that they are confined to a set timeframe implies a view of determinism. The paper will use Jean-Paul Sartre's concept of original choice and the short film Mouse X to illustrate the nuances of determinism portrayed in different films. It will also discuss how films relate to debates around the nature of time, and whether humans truly have any control over their own lives or if everything is already determined. The paper aims to address these complex philosophical questions through a critical analysis of how entertainment media constructs narratives.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    61 views2 pages

    Paper Information:: Mouse X, in Meta-Narrative To Demonstrate The Nuances of Determinism and How Film Adequately

    Uploaded by

    Vlad Genescu
    This paper will examine how films represent and engage with the philosophical debate around free will versus determinism. The author argues that while characters in films appear to have free will, the fact that they are confined to a set timeframe implies a view of determinism. The paper will use Jean-Paul Sartre's concept of original choice and the short film Mouse X to illustrate the nuances of determinism portrayed in different films. It will also discuss how films relate to debates around the nature of time, and whether humans truly have any control over their own lives or if everything is already determined. The paper aims to address these complex philosophical questions through a critical analysis of how entertainment media constructs narratives.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    Jordan Wadden

    Paper Information:
    Film and Determinism: What Does Our Entertainment Say About Us?
    37th Annual Southwest American/Popular Culture Association, Albuquerque, New Mexico

    Abstract:
    The human psyche seems compelled to debate the nature of our freedom. This debate has been
    primarily focussed on attempting to discover whether free will or determinism is the driving
    force behind how our lives unfold. Arguments regarding these two concepts have caused rifts to
    form in both religious traditions as well as in socio-political orders. As such, the aim of this
    paper will be to seek out the underlying factors at play in this issue. In order to make such an
    analysis, I rely on film and its representation of modern culture. How can any art form, let alone
    film, respond to the debate of free will versus determinism? In my endeavour to address this
    question, and the debate as a whole, I seek to employ film theory as well as existentialist
    philosophy.
    Characters in film appear to have some elements of free will; if their roles were determined then
    the spectators could quickly grow bored with predictable story arcs. However, I argue that by the
    very virtue that these characters are contained within a set frame of time implies a societal view
    that favours determinism. For the phenomenological account, I use Jean-Paul Sartre and his
    argument regarding original choice to further defend this idea. I will also use short films, such as
    Mouse X, in meta-narrative to demonstrate the nuances of determinism and how film adequately
    relays these to audience members.
    This paper will be situated within the larger framework of the philosophy of time, as the debate
    between free will and determinism is grounded in an understanding of the future. As such, the
    paper will seek to address arguments surrounding the nature of time itself. Many have sought to
    answer how it is possible to have such a thing as time. For some, time is merely a human
    invention created so we can understand our fleeting existence. So, ultimately, do we have any
    control over our own lives, or is everything that will ever be somehow already situated in time? I
    believe it is possible to adequately address each of these questions, and many more, through a
    critical analysis of how we choose to construct our entertainment.

    Works Cited in Paper:


    Baldwin, Thomas. “The Original Choice in Sartre and Kant” in Proceedings of the Aristotelian
    Society. Vol. 80. London: Wiley, 1979-1980. pp. 31-44.
    Carroll, Noël. “Affect and the Moving Image” in The Philosophy of Motion Pictures. Malden,
    Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2008. pp. 147-191.
    Plantinga, Carl. “Emotion and Affect” in The Routledge Companion to Philosophy and
    Film. Edited by Paisley Livingston and Carl Plantinga. New York: Routledge, 2011.
    pp.86-96.
    Jordan Wadden

    Sartre, Jean-Paul. “Being and Doing: Freedom” in Being and Nothingness. Translated by Hazel
    E. Barnes. Toronto: Washington Square Press, 1984. pp. 559-711.
    Wartenberg, Thomas E. “Film as Philosophy” in The Routledge Companion to Philosophy and
    Film. Edited by Paisley Livingston and Carl Plantinga. New York: Routledge, 2011.
    pp.549-559.

    Films Cited in Paper:


    Abrams, J. J. (Director). (2009) Star Trek [DVD]. Paramount Pictures.
    Cuarón, A. (Director). (2004) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban [DVD]. USA: Warner
    Bros. Entertainment Inc.
    Tagg, J. (Director). (2014) Mouse-X [YouTube]. UK: Attercop Productions. Retrieved from
    https://youtu.be/wKhKLT6PWq0

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