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The Philosophy of Film Noir
- The Philosophy of Popular Culture
- Narrated by: Jack Chekijian
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
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Publisher's summary
Noir emerged as a prominent American film genre in the early 1940s, distinguishable by its use of unusual lighting, sinister plots, mysterious characters, and dark themes. From The Maltese Falcon (1941) to Touch of Evil (1958), films from this classic period reflect an atmosphere of corruption and social decay that attracted such accomplished directors as John Huston, Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, and Orson Welles. The Philosophy of Film Noir is the first volume to focus exclusively on the philosophical underpinnings of these iconic films. Opening with an examination of what constitutes noir cinema, the book interprets the philosophical elements consistently present in the films - themes such as moral ambiguity, reason versus passion, and pessimism. The contributors to the volume also argue that the essence and elements of noir have fundamentally influenced movies outside of the traditional noir period. Neo-noir films such as Pulp Fiction (1994), Fight Club (1999), and Memento (2000) have reintroduced the genre to a contemporary audience. As they assess the concepts present in individual films, the contributors also illuminate and explore the philosophical themes that surface in popular culture.
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- Unabridged
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In this beautifully written and brilliantly reasoned collection of essays, Ayn Rand throws new light on the nature of art and its purpose in human life. Once again, she demonstrates her bold originality and her refusal to let conventional ideas define her sense of the truth. Rand eloquently asserts that one cannot create art without infusing it with one's own value judgments and personal philosophy - even an attempt to withhold moral overtones only results in a deterministic or naturalistic message.
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Essential AYN
- By Mica on 07-15-08
By: Ayn Rand
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The Year of Our Lord 1943
- Christian Humanism in an Age of Crisis
- By: Alan Jacobs
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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By early 1943, it had become increasingly clear the Allies would win the Second World War. Christian intellectuals on both sides of the Atlantic thought the soon-to-be-victorious nations were not culturally or morally prepared for their success. These Christian intellectuals - Jacques Maritain, T. S. Eliot, C. S. Lewis, W. H. Auden, and Simone Weil, among others - sought both to articulate a sober and reflective critique of their own culture and to outline a plan for the moral and spiritual regeneration of their countries in the post-war world.
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The Audible is a Train Wreck
- By John on 09-04-18
By: Alan Jacobs
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The Denial of Death
- By: Ernest Becker
- Narrated by: Raymond Todd
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1974 and the culmination of a life's work, The Denial of Death is Ernest Becker's brilliant and impassioned answer to the "why" of human existence. In bold contrast to the predominant Freudian school of thought, Becker tackles the problem of the vital lie: man's refusal to acknowledge his own mortality. In doing so, he sheds new light on the nature of humanity and issues a call to life and its living that still resonates more than 30 years after its writing.
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Not for the closed-minded
- By Yhatze on 05-27-17
By: Ernest Becker
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Cultural Amnesia
- Notes in the Margin of My Time
- By: Clive James
- Narrated by: Clive James
- Length: 6 hrs and 16 mins
- Abridged
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From Anna Akhmatova to Stefan Zweig, via Charles de Gaulle, Hitler, Thomas Mann and Charlie Chaplin, this varied and unfailingly absorbing book is both story and history, both public memoir and personal record - and provides an essential field-guide to the vast movements of taste, intellect, politics and delusion that helped to prepare the times we live in now.
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Very enjoyable and well narrated
- By Larbi on 05-18-08
By: Clive James
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Stay
- A History of Suicide and the Philosophies Against It
- By: Jennifer Michael Hecht
- Narrated by: Jennifer Michael Hecht
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Worldwide, more people die by suicide than by murder, and many more are left behind to grieve. Despite distressing statistics that show suicide rates rising, the subject, long a taboo, is infrequently talked about. In this sweeping intellectual and cultural history, poet and historian Jennifer Michael Hecht channels her grief for two friends lost to suicide into a search for history’s most persuasive arguments against the irretrievable act, arguments she hopes to bring back into public consciousness.
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Informative but oddly dispassionate
- By Scott on 01-07-14
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Deep Thought
- 42 Fantastic Quotes That Define Philosphy
- By: Gary Cox
- Narrated by: Richard Mitchley
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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As Douglas Adams points out, if there is no final answer to the question "what is the meaning of life?" 42 is as good or bad an answer as any other. Indeed, 42 quotes might be even better! Gary Cox guides us through 42 of the most misunderstood, misquoted, provocative, and significant quotes in the history of philosophy, providing witty and compelling commentary along the way.
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Best philosophy intro ever
- By Fabian on 04-14-18
By: Gary Cox
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William Blake vs the World
- By: John Higgs
- Narrated by: John Higgs
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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A wild and unexpected journey through culture, science, philosophy, and religion to better understand the mercurial genius of William Blake.
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Best book ever
- By idamae on 11-04-22
By: John Higgs
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The Story Paradox
- How Our Love of Storytelling Builds Societies and Tears Them Down
- By: Jonathan Gottschall
- Narrated by: Joshua Kane
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Humans are storytelling animals. Stories are what make our societies possible. Countless books celebrate their virtues. But Jonathan Gottschall, an expert on the science of stories, argues that there is a dark side to storytelling we can no longer ignore. Storytelling, the very tradition that built human civilization, may be the thing that destroys it.
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A bit of a mixed bag with some amazing discussion
- By Justin on 04-27-22
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To Show and to Tell
- The Craft of Literary Nonfiction
- By: Phillip Lopate
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 7 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Distinguished author Phillip Lopate, editor of the celebrated anthology The Art of the Personal Essay, is universally acclaimed as “one of our best personal essayists” ( Dallas Morning News). Here, combining more than 40 years of lessons from his storied career as a writer and professor, he brings us this highly anticipated nuts-and-bolts guide to writing literary nonfiction. A phenomenal master class shaped by Lopate’s informative, accessible tone, and immense gift for storytelling.
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Not a guide on writing personal essays
- By A. Yoshida on 08-07-13
By: Phillip Lopate
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The Givenness of Things
- Essays
- By: Marilynne Robinson
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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The spirit of our times can appear to be one of joyless urgency. As a culture we have become less interested in the exploration of the glorious mind, and more interested in creating and mastering technologies that will yield material well-being. But while cultural pessimism is always fashionable, there is still much to give us hope.
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Mostly thoughts on religious things
- By Adam Shields on 01-26-16
What listeners say about The Philosophy of Film Noir
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Cameron Noble
- 12-11-19
Master degree needed
Extremely in depth and detail focused. I think with the line of thinking this book subscribes to, you dive deeper than the film makers intended
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- Buretto
- 06-18-17
Interesting interpretations, sometimes a bit dry
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
Sure. Anyone curious about the origins and motivations behind the genre can get a lot of interesting theories about particular influences and what is meant by the term "film noir". Some essays are more interesting than others, and it gets a bit redundant at times, as might be expected. In general, a fairly diverse range of analysis, though.
If you’ve listened to books by Mark T. Conard before, how does this one compare?
None
Which scene was your favorite?
No favorite, but the essay presenting The Jazz Singer (1927) as the first film noir was so narrowly focused on one particular aspect of a definition of the genre, that it actually served to undercut the claim. It was long-winded, as well. No loss if I'd skipped that one.
Was The Philosophy of Film Noir worth the listening time?
For the most part, yes. But, along with a few redundancies, some of the essays tended to spend a slightly more time than strictly necessary on scene-by-scene recounting of some of the film examples (The Jazz Singer, Pulp Fiction), and deconstruction of staging and dialogue (The Killers, The Maltese Falcon). Interesting if done in moderation, but perhaps a bit much here.
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- zoe
- 06-20-15
Film Noir
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
This audiobook would be very interesting for anyone who is into film noir
I received a free copy from the narrator for my honest review.
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2 people found this helpful
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- MolllyT
- 06-26-15
Not bad for a "Publish or Perish" thesis
Presents as a compilation of views regarding the basic tenets behind the Film Noir movement. I never had considered these things very much, viewing the film interpretations as validation of the Hard Boiled Mysteries which I relish. These chapters shine a light on the darker corners of the post-war attitudes of screenwiters, directors, and other Hollywood visionaries of the time, as well as the How and Why of their choices of novels to memorialize. The concepts of neo-noir still escape me, even after learning from this tome, but I doubt that it is the fault of this book. If you have an affinity for Noir and/or Hard Boiled Mysteries, you will benefit from this presentation.
Narrator Jack does his usual professional best with this. Advisory: When utilizing an academic performed by Narrator Jack, you will find it best to overview at 1.5x speed first, then at normal speed with pen/paper at the ready. This is the perfect way to learn, as his normal rate for these is VERY conducive to appropriate note taking, and unlike class lectures, you can overview first to minimize redundant note-taking.
I am thankful for this gift.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Terri
- 07-17-15
It's about about the Noir....
I received this audio book in exchange for a honest and unbiased review. Noir became a genre back in the 1940's. This book discusses the genre, how it started & how it blossomed. This books discusses different titles, what the movies are about, plot twists some characters named, others not. Many of out classics fall in the category Noir. Noir means darkness, sinister plots, dark themes, mysterious characters and unusual lighting and so on. Some of the most famous Noir names is Alfred Hitchcock & Orson Welles.
The author, Mark T Conard, did a really good job explaining all the difference and informing us to how the movies are written, directed and the whys. He wrote the book in a way that not only made it interest, but also makes me wonder what I missed on some of the classics I haven't seen yet. The narrator, Jack Chekijian did a wonderful delivery in this book.Together, these two men have made me look at the classics in a whole new light.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Teresa
- 09-28-15
The Philosophy of Film Noir and Pop Culture
I absolutely loved this audiobook and that would likely be because I love film noir. This was a wonderful overview and look at how it became popular. This is a gem for any movie buff who enjoys the genre. Even if film noir isn't someone's favorite genre, I think the philosophy itself is interesting in every way. Definitely recommended.
Jack Chekijian narrates this audiobook with style and it goes well with the book. He makes this a winning combination of author/narrator. He speaks clearly and is one of my favorite narrators.
Audiobook received in exchange for an honest review.
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5 people found this helpful