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Taking Fiction Film Seriously

A Philosophical Approach to Cinema Studies
Brief Description
Fiction film has been and remains the privileged site of film studies, with film history regularly being viewed as the rise of the narrative fiction film. Taking Fiction Film Seriously argues that despite this privileged position, the notion of fiction as it relates to cinema has... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
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An interrogation of fiction as one of two key categorisations of film, exploring its influence upon audience experience and its broader real-life implications.

An interrogation of fiction as one of two key categorisations of film, exploring its influence upon audience experience and its broader real-life implications.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Fiction film has been and remains the privileged site of film studies, with film history regularly being viewed as the rise of the narrative fiction film. Taking Fiction Film Seriously argues that despite this privileged position, the notion of fiction as it relates to cinema has yet to be properly interrogated.

Mario Slugan explores the significant misunderstandings concerning the categorisation of film, audience experience, and the real-life effects of fiction. He contends with the contradictory assumption that fiction films have tangible effects on audiences' beliefs and behaviours, while also intuitively being 'not true' or not to be believed in.

Slugan analyses the notion of 'fiction' from a theoretical and historical perspective, considering how it manifests in a broad range of films from the past 110 years, including The Arrival of a Train (Lumière brothers, 1895-1897), The Blair Witch Project (Myrick and Sánchez, 1999), and Waltz with Bashir (Folman, 2008). He supports his close readings with findings from philosophy, psychology, and literary studies, and in doing so seeks to challenge the current state of film studies.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781350505711

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 02 October 2025

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic

Illustration: 30 bw illus

Audience: Tertiary education

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 16.0mm

Width: 156.0mm

Height: 232.0mm

Weight: 460g

Pages: 272

About the Author

Mario Slugan is Senior Lecturer in Film Studies at Queen Mary, University of London, UK. He is author of Montage across the Arts (2017), Noël Caroll and Film (Bloomsbury Academic, 2019), and Fiction and Imagination in Early Cinema (Bloomsbury Academic, 2019). He is co-editor (with Daniël Biltereyst) of New Perspectives on Early Cinema History (Bloomsbury Academic, 2022).

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