Examined Life2008
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Member Reviews (3)
At the beginning of the film a voice over commentates on the difficulty of prying philosophy out of its textbooks and into film-format. It is all the more disappointing that even with the recognition of this hazard, the format of ten minute conversations with "popular" philosophers is neither exciting to view nor hear. The film The Polymath about Samuel Delaney shows a filmic solution to the issue by decontextualizing the recordings and collaging them with a wider range of atmospheric shots and abstracts. While the philosophers in this film are real and their discussions are philosophical they converse at the surface of science, asking 'what if's intended to ooo and awe the gentle minds of the audience. One of the philosophers discusses how him not wanting to eat another living being made him a vegetarian. But that's about it: a literal parade of unexamined statements are heaped high, full of relativisms, as more of a circus than an analysis.
Is this a documentary? Is it a failed experiment in cinema? Could this have just been a podcast?
This was interesting but I would have appreciated more depth. It bears a couple of viewings though so it does cram a bit into a little space.
Quite possibly the best introduction to philosophy yet created, Astra Taylor has created a documentary as important as it is enjoyable. I put this film in my top 25 list without question.