Queen’s hold philosophical film conference

Queen’s University is holding a two-day conference looking at the philosophical aspects of film culture.

The Philosophy and Film conference, which began on Friday and continues through to Saturday, will see an international panel present their own take on a personal field of interest within the broad sweep of philosophy and film. Among the topics up for discussion are: 'There is No Paradox of Horror', 'There'll be Sartre, Amphetamines and John Lee Hooker Over the White Cliffs of Dover' and 'Cinema versus Cinematography'.

Event organiser Stephen Rainey said: "Film is a medium through which much of intellectual interest may be shown, and a great many interesting ideas may be raised,” he said. "Philosophy is widely regarded as a quite rarefied and inscrutable field, whereas film enjoys wide currency. It is hoped that in discussing the philosophy of film, besides simply enjoying the discussion, philosophy can be seen in a more accessible light since its application to such a popular medium can be seen as both enjoyable and enlightening."

Barbara Renzi, who also taught a popular course through the Institute of Lifelong Learning this year on 'The Matrix: Philosophical Issues,' said: "I believe that films represent a vast repository of stereotypical figures that can help us to formulate and illustrate arguments and ideas.

“On the 'Matrix' course I taught I saw how enjoyable the discussion was and how students were working on such difficult topics as mind-body problems, democracy and scientific utopias without feeling the burden of them.”

This weekend’s conference follows a similar event last year by the Postgraduate Philosophy Seminar Group that explored philosophy more generally.

The conference is free to attend at 16 University Square and all are welcome.

(MB/SP)