Archive

Ludwig Wittgenstein: Faith and Language

Wittgenstein in many ways opened quite a few vistas for me to re-examine my epistemological and existential bearings. The first excerpt here from 1984 gives a rather crisp and lucid account of Wittgenstein’s ‘reliogiosity’ and his piercing contemplation of the notion of Faith-God. The second excerpt (Bryan Magee in conversation with Professor Anthony Quinton) provides a glimpse into his central and important philosophy of language, both the pragmatic view of language as well as the logical view. The first excerpt is split into two parts and the second excerpt is split into five.

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Thomas Balmès: Bébé(s) [Babies] 2010

In ‘Babies‘ non-fiction filmmaker Thomas Balmès weaves an engaging narrative chronicling a year in the lives of four infants from four countries. Simple enough premise, but executed with great mastery, and it really feels like he did not have to try very hard. What gave me pleasure was the fact that this is a ‘silent film’, unencumbered by cinematic excesses of lensing, hyper-cutting, voice-overs and what not. Accompanied by an understated yet effective musical score by Bruno Coulais, get ready to welcome little Bayar, Hattie, Mari and Ponijao into your lives. Watch. Read More…

Bertrand Russel: Face to Face. March 4th, 1959.

In 1959, as part of the BBC series “Face to Face”, the influential mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russel had an engaging conversation with John Freeman, touching on various aspects of his professional and personal life. Russel comes across as a particularly ‘like-able’ human being, with an abiding mistrust of human war making and hate mongering, and according to him “… love is wise, hatred is foolish. In this world which is getting more closely and closely interconnected we have to learn to tolerate each other, we have to learn to put up with the fact that some people say things that we don’t like. We can only live together in that way and if we are to live together and not die together we must learn a kind of charity and a kind of tolerance which is absolutely vital to the continuation of human life on this planet.” A timely message from back in time for these times of strife and hate.

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Short Films: Je t’aime John Wayne (1991) and Inside Out (1999)

Two delightful British shorts. Toby MacDonald‘s ‘Je t’aime John Wayne‘ is a witty tribute to ’60s Godardian actor Jean Paul Belmondo. Watch the unfolding of a hero, played with great aplomb by Kris Marshall. ‘Inside Out‘ by the Guard brothers, Charles and Thomas, captures a fleeting moment on busy Oxford Street in London sans dialogue, but with a hefty dose of ‘non-verbalism’. Watch.

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Carl Gustav Jung: An Extraordinary Journey. 1957

In this candid 1957 interview, conducted just four years prior to his death, influential thinker and founder of analytical psychology Carl Jung discusses his remarkable life and career – from early work with Sigmund Freud and Jung’s break with psychoanalysis to his groundbreaking explorations of the dream world. Guided by insightful interviewer Richard I. Evans, this conversation is at once an intimate self-portrait and a unique commentary on the scope and meaning of his life’s work.

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Jan Švankmajer: Animation Shorts II

I am a great admirer of Czech filmmaker Jan Švankmajer. I wish not to put a label to his work, but very often the tag ‘surrealism’ comes into play in describing his ‘super-real’ and very often, irreverent and thematically dark animation. Living and practicing his film craft throughout in his native Prague in the Czech Republic, Švankmajer’s vision of the world is uncoloured by chewing gum commercial imperatives. Which is, a good thing. Take a look.

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Herbert Marcuse and the Frankfurt School. 1978

In this rare televised broadcast from February 2, 1978, the philosopher and political theorist Herbert Marcuse explains how the Frankfurt School re-evaluated Marxism when world economic crisis failed to destroy capitalism as predicted by Marx. He also analyses the philosophical roots of the student rebellions of the sixties. Its intruiging to see Marcuse explain his philosophical and political positioning. (Split into five parts. Language is English.)

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Jan Švankmajer: Animation Shorts I

I am a great admirer of Czech filmmaker Jan Švankmajer. I wish not to put a label to his work, but very often the tag ‘surrealism’ comes into play in describing his ‘super-real’ and very often, irreverent and thematically dark animation. Living and practicing his film craft in his native Prague in the Czech Republic, Švankmajer’s vision of the world is uncoloured by chewing gum commercial imperatives. Which is, a good thing. Take a look.

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Judith Butler, Gender Theorist

Judith Butler is the Maxine Elliot professor in the departments of rhetoric and comparative literature at the University of California, Berkeley and this 2006 ‘bio-pic’ by Paule Zajdermann (for German French TV Channel ‘arte’) gives a perspective on her intellectual life and her influential thought. This includes interviews and sections of her lectures. (in English and French with French subtitles | split into six parts). The voice-over is in French (without subtitles), but thankfully its brief, and, she speaks in English (with a bit of German). Sync problem with part four, just listen in.

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Kenji Mizoguchi: Ugetsu Monogatari. 1953. (Japan)

Mizoguchi’s Ugetsu Monogatari ( “Tales of the Moon Obscured by Rainclouds“) left me with a peculiar aftertaste. Appreciative yet not. What remained with me strongly though is the ‘atmospherics’ (for the lack of a better expression) of the cinematic effort. ‘Ugetsu’ continues to be a very fine example of mid century Japanese revisiting of traditional cultural material to prop up a morality tale of enduring charm. Look out for Kinuyo Tanaka’s Miyagi, Mitsuko Mito’s Ohama and Mizoguchi’s ‘feminism’.

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