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9781783482504

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An important contribution to the study of contemporary Hollywood cinema and an original gift for lovers of cinema and philosophy. -- Joram ten Brink, Professor at the University of Westminster This work breaks new ground in its analysis of mythological epic as a (re)emergent film genre that addresses perennial human problems, often with the aid of fantasy-worlds that can be depicted more convincingly with new visual technology. Magerstädt reconsiders aesthetic theorists such as Kracauer, Deleuze, Nietzsche in light of these developments in epic film and Tolkien's arguments about the functions of fantasy -- with results that will be rewarding for students of philosophy as much as film theorists. Her innovative argument ultimately links the creative use of illusion to the redemptive power of mythic narratives. The resulting analysis of recent films in the broad mythic genre helps show, pace the dominant elitist view in film aesthetics, that popular blockbuster films can sometimes be serious art. -- John Davenport, Professor of Philosophy, Fordham Univeristy

An important contribution to the study of contemporary Hollywood cinema and an original gift for lovers of cinema and philosophy. -- Joram ten Brink, Professor at the University of Westminster

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Sylvie Magerstädt is a senior lecturer in media cultures at the University of Hertfordshire.

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