Without Empathy

Bol

In Without Empathy, MK Raghavendra investigates how irony and satire function in cinema by focusing on the work of eight visionary directors – Luis Buñuel, R.W. Fassbinder, Stanley Kubrick, Robert Altman, Paul Verhoeven, Aki Kaurismäki, Aleksei Balabanov and David Lynch. At a time when irony is increasingly scrutinized as a mode of expression, this book reconsiders its role in film, revealing how these auteurs deploy wit and subversion in ways that unsettle audience expectations. Through close readings of selected works, Raghavendra identifies layers of meaning beneath the surface of films often misread. The book situates these directors within broader traditions of cinematic satire, while simultaneously interrogating what their work has to say about society, culture and human folly. Without Empathy is a lucid read for scholars and students of film studies and communication, providing a provocative lens on how satirical intent is not always recognisable today and how its actual targets can make society uncomfortable. MK Raghavendra is an Indian film and literary scholar with thirteen published books on film, culture and politics. Irony and the satirical impulse in cinema have gradually lost favor, mockery increasingly more selective in its choice of targets. As Linda Hutcheon notes, irony is becoming a problematic mode of expression in the twenty-first century. The book examines the work of eight film auteurs: Luis Bunuel, R.W. Fassbinder, Stanley Kubrick, Robert Altman, Paul Verhoeven, Aki Kaurismaki, Aleksei Balabanov and David Lynch, much of whose work is not always regarded thus and the films examined are often more ironic than satirical. From apparent melodrama and eroticism to fantasy and horror, these eight directors redefine satire’s limits, providing evidence that irony in cinema often goes unrecognised. The introduction examines the various categories of satire, and the chapters then study the filmmakers individually through selected works, offering interpretations of films and identifying a consistent approach. Since the work is often ambiguous the book speculates on each film’s purport, engaging in textual interpretation of individual works to understand concerns underneath the most obvious. The afterword tries to find common targets and strategies on the filmmakers’ part.

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Pagina's: 238, Hardcover, Intellect Books