Flight, Emmanuel Levinas, and the Critique of Theodicy
This article analyzes the 2012 Paramount Pictures film Flight for the various theodicies that the film presents. It does so alongside the twentieth-century philosopher Emmanuel Levinas's critique of theodicy and suggests that Flight provides illustrations of what Levinas sees as the problem wit...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
University of Saskatchewan
[2016]
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In: |
Journal of religion and popular culture
Year: 2016, Volume: 28, Issue: 1, Pages: 11-22 |
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Flight
/ Theodicy
/ Lévinas, Emmanuel 1906-1995, Totalité et infini
/ Lévinas, Emmanuel 1906-1995, Autrement qu'être ou au-delà de l'essence
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IxTheo Classification: | AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism CD Christianity and Culture NBC Doctrine of God |
Further subjects: | B
Emmanuel Levinas
B Theodicy B Religion B Responsibility B Philosophy |
Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
Summary: | This article analyzes the 2012 Paramount Pictures film Flight for the various theodicies that the film presents. It does so alongside the twentieth-century philosopher Emmanuel Levinas's critique of theodicy and suggests that Flight provides illustrations of what Levinas sees as the problem with theodicies, namely that they work to relativize the unconditional call to responsibility that sits at the heart of human consciousness. The article analyzes such examples in detail and does so alongside a presentation of Levinas's philosophy and his critiques of theodicy. Furthermore, the article suggests that the closing scenes of Flight present what is a moment of anti-theodicy, according to the philosophy of Levinas, whereby the main character embraces his responsibility and thereby exemplifies an ethical freedom. Readers of this article should note that it deals with all of the aspects of the film's plot and so will spoil the ending for anyone who has not seen it. |
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ISSN: | 1703-289X |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of religion and popular culture
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.3138/jrpc.28.1.3150 |