Nietzsche in Hollywood
eBook - ePub

Nietzsche in Hollywood

Images of the Übermensch in Early American Cinema

  1. 288 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Nietzsche in Hollywood

Images of the Übermensch in Early American Cinema

About this book

Argues that Nietzsche's idea of the Übermensch was a central concern of filmmakers in the 1920s and 1930s.

Nietzsche in Hollywood offers a compelling and startling history of Hollywood film in which the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and his idea of the Übermensch looms large. Though Nietzsche's philosophy was attacked as egoistic and a sociopathic version of Darwinism in films from the 1910s, it undergoes a series of cinematic and philosophical transformations in the 1920s and 1930s under the eye and pen of some of the most significant names in early Hollywood, including Erich von Stroheim, Josef von Sternberg, Ben Hecht, Howard Hawks, and Ernst Lubitsch. In addition to establishing historical connections between Nietzsche's philosophy and these filmmakers, the book provides philosophical readings of many Hollywood films through the lens of the Nietzschean ideas of "perspectivism" and the critique of morality. Offering a new history of classic Hollywood films as well as a new approach to film philosophy, Nietzsche in Hollywood reveals a reading of the philosopher in American culture that has largely been ignored.

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Yes, you can access Nietzsche in Hollywood by Matthew Rukgaber in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Media & Performing Arts & Film History & Criticism. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  5. Acknowledgments
  6. Abbreviations of Nietzsche’s Works
  7. Introduction: Approaching Film with Nietzsche
  8. 1 The Inhuman in the Human: Social Darwinism and the Übermensch in the Silent Era
  9. 2 The Weakness in Strength: The Übermensch as Degenerate in the Films of Erich von Stroheim
  10. 3 The Criminal Law: The Übermensch as Gangster and the Will to Power
  11. 4 The Salvation of Sin: The Übermensch as Superwoman and the Role of Gender
  12. 5 The Truth of Lies: The Übermensch as Genius in the Comedies of Ben Hecht
  13. 6 The Freedom in Fate: The Übermensch as Dionysius in the Films of Josef von Sternberg
  14. 7 The Revealing Mask: The Übermensch as Free Spirit in the Comedies of Ernst Lubitsch
  15. Conclusion: A Nietzschean Philosophy of Film
  16. Notes
  17. Bibliography
  18. Index
  19. Back Cover