Screen stories : emotion and the ethics of engagement / Carl Plantinga.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Plantinga, Carl R., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Motion pictures--Moral and ethical aspects.

Motion pictures.

Culture in motion pictures.

Motion picture audiences--Psychology.

Motion picture audiences.

Mass media--Moral and ethical aspects.

Mass media.

Mass media and culture.

Mass media--Audiences--Psychology.

Criticism--Moral and ethical aspects.

Criticism.

Mass media--Audiences.

Physical Description:

xii, 311 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2018]

Summary:

"The way we communicate with each other is vital to preserving the cultural ecology, or wellbeing, of a place and time. Do we listen to each other? Do we ask the right questions? Do we speak about each other with respect or disdain? The stories that we convey on screens, or what author Carl Plantinga calls 'screen stories, ' are one powerful and pervasive means by which we communicate with each other. Screen Stories: Emotion and the Ethics of Engagement argues that film and media studies needs to move toward an an approach to ethics that is more appropriate for mass consumer culture and the lives of its citizens. Primarily concerned with the relationship between media and viewers, this book considers ethical criticism and the emotional power of screen stories that makes such criticism necessary. The content we consume-- from television shows and movies to advertisements-- can significantly affect our welfare on a personal and societal level, and thus, this content is subject to praise and celebration, or questioning and even condemnation. The types of screen stories that circulate contribute to the cultural ecology of a time and place; through shared attention they influence what individuals think and feel. Plantinga develops a theory of the power of screen stories to affect both individuals and cultures, asserting that we can better respond ethically to such media if we understand the sources of its influence on us."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Part 1. The power of screen stories

The power of screen stories

The rhetoric of screen stories

Transfer and cultivation

Caveats and complications

part 2. Ethics and engagement

Engagement and estrangement

Immersion and emotion

Moralities and characters as moral agents

The Personal and the political

Mood and ethics

part 3. The contours of engagement

Ethics and character engagement

Narrative structure : closure and frame shifters

Narrative paradigm scenarios : revenge and the Other

Conclusion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 279-291) and index.

ISBN:

9780190867133

0190867132

9780190867140

0190867140

OCLC:

1015242969