Interpreting Magnolia through Badiou’s Axiomatic Judgment: The Visitation of the Idea that Humanity is Love
Alain Badiou’s interpretation of Paul Thomas Anderson’s film Magnolia is a paradigmatic example of his peculiar procedure of cinematic analysis called axiomatic judgment. According to the axiomatic judgment, to read a film is to inquire into the effects it has on thought. This essay reconstructs Ba...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Milano University Press
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Itinera |
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| Online Access: | https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/itinera/article/view/19758 |
| _version_ | 1797704813279969280 |
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| author | Lorenzo Gineprini |
| author_facet | Lorenzo Gineprini |
| author_sort | Lorenzo Gineprini |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Alain Badiou’s interpretation of Paul Thomas Anderson’s film Magnolia is a paradigmatic example of his peculiar procedure of cinematic analysis called axiomatic judgment. According to the axiomatic judgment, to read a film is to inquire into the effects it has on thought. This essay reconstructs Badiou’s analysis of Magnolia to show how various cinematic elements—acting style, montage, music, and biblical references—are combined to arrange the visitation of a precise idea: that love is the fundamental precondition for humanity’s existence. Without love, the only experience of the world would be monadic. Examining Badiou’s interpretation of Magnolia does not simply aid our understanding of the film; it also clarifies Badiou’s theories of cinema and love.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T05:26:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-afe6faf21f3e47ac99dca85f6c69007c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2039-9251 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T05:26:03Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Milano University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Itinera |
| spelling | doaj.art-afe6faf21f3e47ac99dca85f6c69007c2023-09-03T07:23:41ZengMilano University PressItinera2039-92512023-01-012410.54103/2039-9251/19758Interpreting Magnolia through Badiou’s Axiomatic Judgment: The Visitation of the Idea that Humanity is LoveLorenzo Gineprini0Universität zu Köln Alain Badiou’s interpretation of Paul Thomas Anderson’s film Magnolia is a paradigmatic example of his peculiar procedure of cinematic analysis called axiomatic judgment. According to the axiomatic judgment, to read a film is to inquire into the effects it has on thought. This essay reconstructs Badiou’s analysis of Magnolia to show how various cinematic elements—acting style, montage, music, and biblical references—are combined to arrange the visitation of a precise idea: that love is the fundamental precondition for humanity’s existence. Without love, the only experience of the world would be monadic. Examining Badiou’s interpretation of Magnolia does not simply aid our understanding of the film; it also clarifies Badiou’s theories of cinema and love. https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/itinera/article/view/19758Badiou, Magnolia, axiomatic judgment, philosophy of cinema, impure art. |
| spellingShingle | Lorenzo Gineprini Interpreting Magnolia through Badiou’s Axiomatic Judgment: The Visitation of the Idea that Humanity is Love Itinera Badiou, Magnolia, axiomatic judgment, philosophy of cinema, impure art. |
| title | Interpreting Magnolia through Badiou’s Axiomatic Judgment: The Visitation of the Idea that Humanity is Love |
| title_full | Interpreting Magnolia through Badiou’s Axiomatic Judgment: The Visitation of the Idea that Humanity is Love |
| title_fullStr | Interpreting Magnolia through Badiou’s Axiomatic Judgment: The Visitation of the Idea that Humanity is Love |
| title_full_unstemmed | Interpreting Magnolia through Badiou’s Axiomatic Judgment: The Visitation of the Idea that Humanity is Love |
| title_short | Interpreting Magnolia through Badiou’s Axiomatic Judgment: The Visitation of the Idea that Humanity is Love |
| title_sort | interpreting magnolia through badiou s axiomatic judgment the visitation of the idea that humanity is love |
| topic | Badiou, Magnolia, axiomatic judgment, philosophy of cinema, impure art. |
| url | https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/itinera/article/view/19758 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lorenzogineprini interpretingmagnoliathroughbadiousaxiomaticjudgmentthevisitationoftheideathathumanityislove |