Happiness and Tears, After Cavell by Paul Deb

Happiness and Tears, After Cavell by Paul Deb

Explores contemporary expressions of these two genres, and their continuing relevance, in recent Hollywood films.

Stanley Cavell's influential philosophical work on American cinema concerns itself with the thought that some of the most popular movies of Hollywood's Golden Age constitute two related, but previously undefined, genres that he names "the comedy of remarriage" and "the melodrama of the unknown woman," respectively. In this collection, the first devoted to the subject, leading figures in philosophy and film studies provide detailed readings of more recent Hollywood films that show how these two genres continue to be inherited in American cinema, not least by the films' participation in a certain moral outlook—concerning personal and cultural transformation—that Cavell calls "Emersonian Perfectionism." The films discussed include Rich and Famous, As Good as It Gets, My Best Friend's Wedding, Revolutionary Road, On the Rocks, Palm Springs, and Tenet.

"This collection demonstrates that Stanley Cavell's writings on films and cinema are more important now than everKey writers on Cavell offer comprehensive reflections on the nature and form of contemporary films, showing that his approach to cinema is essential for our understanding of the significance of film and its relation to philosophy." — Richard Rushton, Lancaster University

Paul Deb is Research Associate in Philosophy at New College, Oxford.