This book investigates a group of exceptional films that single-mindedly consider one particular emotion – be it pity, lust, grief, or anxiety – to examine cinematic emotion in depth.
Drawing on philosophical and psychological approaches, Fischer’s unique analysis offers unparalleled case studies for comprehending emotion in the movies. The book provides the reader with an opportunity to contemplate what notion of a particular emotion is advanced onscreen; to describe how the unique tools and aesthetics of cinema are utilized to do so; to place such representations in dialogue with film theory as well as philosophical and psychological commentary; and to illustrate the important dichotomy between filmic portrayals and audience response.
Beyond film and media scholars and students, this book will have resonance for academics and practitioners in several fields of psychology, including social work, psychiatry, and therapy.
Introduction: Film "The Emotion Machine"
1. Animated Emotions
Emblems of Feeling in Inside Out and The Emoji Movie
2. Grief
The Unbearable Heaviness of Being in Pieces of a Woman
3. Trauma
Black Boyhood and Moonlight
4. Anxiety
High Anxiety in Adaptation
5. Guilt
Blame and Culpability in 21 Grams
6. Jealousy
The "Green-Eyed Monster" in Fado
7. Vengeance
"Vengeance is Mine": Red Road
8. Pity
The Refusal of Pathos in Pity
9. Lust
Sex, Greed, and Murder in The Square
10. Happiness
Capturing Joy in Happy-Go-Lucky & Hector and the Search for Happiness
Afterthoughts
Biography
Lucy Fischer is Distinguished Professor Emerita of Film and Media Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, USA where she directed the Program for three decades.
