The Future of Art Criticism: Objectivism Goes to the Movies

Abstract

By virtue of an extended consideration of problems and possibilities in the discipline of film studies toward the goal of constructing an Objectivist aesthetics of cinema, this article examines some of the most pressing issues facing contemporary art criticism. Opposing tenets of an Aristotelian aesthetic tradition against tenets of a Kantian aesthetic tradition, the author attempts to resolve a number of long-standing aporias in the Objectivist aesthetics and in the philosophy of art more broadly in the hopes of charting a fruitful path for the future of art criticism.

Bruce Lee and the Perfection of Martial Arts (Studies): An Exercise in Alterdisciplinarity

“…1 As traced by Cavell, the perfectionist lineage runs throughout the history of Western philosophy, from Plato and Aristotle through John Locke and John Stuart Mill all the way up through (most saliently for Cavell) Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau [see Cavell 2004]. In my own work, I have added to this list Ayn Rand and her philosophy of Objectivism [see Barrowman 2017;2018a;2018b;2018c;2018d]. Obviously, for academics invested in left-liberal (to say nothing of Marxist/communist/socialist) idea(l)s, the very mention of Rand, if not also Emerson, will set off any number of alarm bells for any number of reasons.…”

‘English, motherfucker, do you speak it?’ Pulp Fiction and the Future of Film-Philosophy

“…Merrill 1991, 97-98, 170-172;Sokal andBricmont [1997] 1999, 67-73;Hicks 2004, 74-83;and Binswanger 2014, 383-390). For more thorough refutations of the paradigm subjectivity argument, see Barrowman (2018bBarrowman ( , 2019b. (Andrew 1984b: 14).…”

“…For me personally, as a die-hard Tarantino fan, this is a far more serious set of issues, for at stake is not only the validity of ordinary language philosophy as a critical tool for film scholars, but 12 For more detailed examinations of such bad philosophy, see Barrowman (2017Barrowman ( , 2018aBarrowman ( , 2018bBarrowman ( , 2019b. Broadly speaking, the 'logic' here is endemic of a virulent strain of irrationalism in academia that has already been criticized by Alan Sokal and Jean Bricmont, who noted in their trenchant (and sadly still relevant) critique of humanistic inquiry the pernicious efforts to hive scholars off 'into cultures and groups having their own conceptual universes -sometimes even their own "realities" -and virtually unable to communicate with one another' (Sokal andBricmont [1997] 1999, 92).…”

“…Pippin (2012Pippin ( , 2013Pippin ( , 2017, and Daniel Yacavone (2015). Additionally, for my own take on film-philosophy beyond the scope of this essay, see Barrowman (2018b).…”

“…For a more elaborate consideration of Cavell's conception of conversation, both in general philosophical terms and with specific reference to the disciplinary activities of film scholars, seeBarrowman (2018b).6…”