Title:
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Towards a neo-Blochian theory of complexity, hope and cinematic utopia
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The thesis sketches-out three main and general philosophical, analytical and utopian-strategic areas:
Initially, the project begins with a cumulative overview (i.e. drawing upon a collection of authors and
publications) of the Marxist philosopher of hope and utopia Ernst Bloch, and, the Blochian
philosophical framework. I focus upon, and, analyse several specific philosophical areas within the
Blochian framework, notably, those of the chaos of the trace, and Bloch's unifying (unfolding, trans-historical)
category of Hope and Utopia. In order to navigate this difficult philosophical terrain, the
thesis proposes several conceptual and neologistic "inventions" - associated with chaos and
complexity - so as to invoke a potentially useful (neo )-Blochian philosophical vocabulary. The project
then applies Bloch and the Blochian utopian framework to the specific area of popular film/cinema
(and, within this, the portrayal of "beautiful monsters"). The neo-Blochian concepts are then applied
to utopian cinematic metaphors, images and themes concerning "beautiful monsters"; in
exploration of this, I embark upon several contra-punctive Blochian (and, neo-Blochian) analyses of
the films: E. T., Edward Scissorhands, Monsters Inc., and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. This is to
highlight the theoretical use, and, application of, the different (and refracted) areas of neo-Blochian
theory. The conclusion proposes the potential for a cinematic utopian strategy, based upon the
notion of anarchogogy and the complex-temporal trace connections that can be prompted by
popular cultural (cinematic) sources.
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