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Most people are too busy to keep up with all the good movies they’d like to see, so why should anyone spend their precious time watching the bad ones?
In Why It’s OK to Love Bad Movies, philosopher and cinematic bottom feeder Matthew Strohl enthusiastically defends a fondness for disreputable films. Combining philosophy of art with film criticism, Strohl flips conventional notions of "good" and "bad" on their heads and makes the case that the ultimate value of a work of art lies in what it can add to our lives. By this measure, some of the worst movies ever made are also among the best.
Through detailed discussions of films such as Troll 2, The Room, Batman & Robin, Twilight, Ninja III: The Domination, and a significant portion of Nicolas Cage’s filmography, Strohl argues that so-called "bad movies" are the ones that break the rules of the art form without the aura of artistic seriousness that surrounds the avant-garde. These movies may not win any awards, but they offer rich opportunities for creative engagement and enable the formation of lively fan communities, and they can be a key ingredient in a fulfilling aesthetic life.
Key Features:
Most people are too busy to keep up with all the good movies they’d like to see, so why should anyone spend their precious time watching the bad ones?
In Why It’s OK to Love Bad Movies, philosopher and cinematic bottom feeder Matthew Strohl enthusiastically defends a fondness for disreputable films. Combining philosophy of art with film criticism, Strohl flips conventional notions of "good" and "bad" on their heads and makes the case that the ultimate value of a work of art lies in what it can add to our lives. By this measure, some of the worst movies ever made are also among the best.
Through detailed discussions of films such as Troll 2, The Room, Batman & Robin, Twilight, Ninja III: The Domination, and a significant portion of Nicolas Cage’s filmography, Strohl argues that so-called "bad movies" are the ones that break the rules of the art form without the aura of artistic seriousness that surrounds the avant-garde. These movies may not win any awards, but they offer rich opportunities for creative engagement and enable the formation of lively fan communities, and they can be a key ingredient in a fulfilling aesthetic life.
Key Features:
1. The Good, the Bad, and the Good-Bad 2. Artists’ Intentions and Bad Movie Greatness 3. A Beautiful Rainbow of Badness 4. Taste and Twilight 5. Nicolas Cage and the Limits of the Critical Imagination 6. Bad Movies and the Good Life
Matthew Strohl is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Montana. He received his Ph.D. from Princeton University and blogs about movies, food, and philosophy of art at strohltopia.com and aestheticsforbirds.com.
". . . this is a wonderful book, and it should take pride of place
in the libraries of many cinephiles. It’s beautifully written,
admirably clear, lucidly ordered, and—something rare in books of
film theory, let alone philosophy—extremely funny."
Adrian Martin, Cineaste "The six chapters of Why It’s OK to Love
Bad Movies, rich with close film analysis and abnormally accessible
philosophical argumentation, convincingly argue that these movies
are wonderful. . . . [Strohl’s] analytical precision, zealous
passion, and overwhelming generosity make Why It’s OK To Love Bad
Movies genuinely indispensable."
Nicholas Whittaker, Los Angeles Review of Books"Why It’s OK to Love
Bad Movies is a deeply personal, philosophically sophisticated, and
thoroughly enjoyable book. . . interesting to cinephiles and
philosophers alike."
Elizabeth Scarbrough, British Journal of Aesthetics"Have you ever
said, "This movie was so bad that it is good"? If you have—and most
of us have—this book is for you. Matthew Strohl has seen them all
and celebrates some of them, giving good reasons for doing so,
revealing, in articulate and witty prose, a new dimension of
aesthetic engagement and appreciation."
Alexander Nehamas, Princeton University"It’s difficult to think of
any book on films in the last couple of decades that would combine
such rigorous argumentation with an amazingly wide range of
examples as Matt Strohl’s book. If you have ever had cinematic
guilty pleasures, this book is sure to free you from any sense of
guilt when indulging in them."
Bence Nanay, University of Antwerp"I was sipping cocktails with my
bourgeois friends and didn’t know what I was missing. Matt Strohl’s
mash note to the rule breakers of cinema (and, by extension, life)
is funny, personal and wise. I downloaded The Core and Troll 2
immediately. Twilight is next. Down with Ridicule—let Love
rule!"
Aaron Meskin, University of Georgia
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