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“Art is perhaps the most powerful means of creating an awareness of the absurdity of our condition. Yet, attempts to relate absurdist philosophy to actual works of art have so far been rare. Shai Tubali’s Cosmos and Camus: Science Fiction Film and the Absurd provides a model of how to fill this void. The book’s first part develops an interpretation of Camus’ theory of the absurd. Then Tubali skillfully analyzes four science-fiction films in light of this theory. The resulting considerations will not only increase readers’ understanding of these films but also of Camus’ philosophy and of our place in the universe.”
– Thomas Pölzler, Department of Philosophy, University of Graz,
author of Moral Reality and the Empirical Sciences
“Tubali’s fascinating book explores the relevance of Albert Camus’ philosophy of the absurd to cinematic science fiction – a connection that has regrettably been largely neglected within both Camus scholarship and philosophy of film until now. Tubali homes in on Camus’ claim that works of art are valuable mediums for communicating philosophical problems, demonstrating persuasively that sci-fi, in its ability to hold a mirror up to humanity, effectively communicates ‘the feeling of the absurd’ (which was, as Sartre suggested, Camus’ own aim in writing L’Étranger). Unpacking, as it does, yet another dimension of Camus’ literary-philosophical venture, this insightful book represents a substantial contribution to the literature, and I personally hope to see more of its kind.”
– Dr Grace Whistler, author of Camus’ Literary Ethics: Between Form
and Content and “The Absurd” in Brill’s Companion to Camus
“The intersections of film and philosophy have long been the subject of a rich, interdisciplinary academic literature, which has recently seen explosive growth. Cosmos and Camus is one of the most impressive contributions to this field that I have read in years. After a highly systematic and engagingly written exposition of Camus’ work on the absurd, the book offers strikingly original and compelling interpretations of four science fiction films. Cosmos and Camus explores the many ways in which philosophy and films can illuminate the human condition and each other.”
– Peter Krämer, Senior Research Fellow in Cinema & TV
in the Leicester Media School at De Montfort University, Leicester (UK),
and author of BFI Film Classics on 2001: A Space Odyssey and Dr. Strangelove
PETER LANG
Oxford • Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • New York • Wien
Shai Tubali
Cosmos and Camus
Science Fiction Film and the Absurd
PETER LANG
Oxford • Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • New York • Wien
Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data are available
on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Tubali, Shy, author.
Title: Cosmos and Camus : science fiction film and the absurd / Shai Tubali.
Description: Oxford ; New York : Peter Lang, 2020. | Includes
bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2020004410 (print) | LCCN 2020004411 (ebook) | ISBN
9781789976649 (paperback) | ISBN 9781789976656 (ebook) | ISBN
9781789976663 (epub) | ISBN 9781789976670 (mobi)
Subjects: LCSH: Science fiction films--History and criticism. | Camus,
Albert, 1913-1960--Criticism and interpretation. | Absurd (Philosophy)
in literature.
Classification: LCC PN1995.9.S26 T83 2020 (print) | LCC PN1995.9.S26
(ebook) | DDC 791.43/615--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020004410
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020004411
ISBN 978-1-78997-664-9 (print) • ISBN 978-1-78997-665-6 (ePDF)
ISBN 978-1-78997-666-3 (ePub) • ISBN 978-1-78997-667-0 (mobi)
© Peter Lang AG 2020
Published by Peter Lang Ltd, International Academic Publishers, 52 St Giles,
Oxford, OX1 3LU, United Kingdom
[email protected], www.peterlang.com
Shai Tubali has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be
identified as Author of this Work.
All rights reserved.
All parts of this publication are protected by copyright.
Any utilisation outside the strict limits of the copyright law, without the permission of the publisher,
is forbidden and liable to prosecution. This applies in particular to reproductions, translations,
microfilming, and storage and processing in electronic retrieval systems.
This publication has been peer reviewed.
About the author
Shai Tubali is a postgraduate researcher in the School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science at the University of Leeds. His Masters by Research inspired Cosmos and Camus. Currently, he is conducting his doctoral research in the field of the philosophy of mysticism. His previous academic publications include several articles in philosophy journals. As an independent lecturer and author since 2000, he has published 23 books in English, Hebrew and German in the fields of Eastern philosophy and self-transformation. He is also head of the Human Greatness center in Berlin, Germany, and travels extensively throughout Europe for lectures and seminars.
About the book
“Existentialism is being re-evaluated across the humanities and its importance for the study of cinema has never been more obvious. Shai Tubali’s timely book offers an interpretation of four science fiction films – Contact, Arrival, A.I. and Her – in terms of Albert Camus’ discussion of the absurd in The Myth of Sisyphus. The work demonstrates the contemporary relevance of Camus’ ideas and presents a fascinating analysis of the films that shows how they interrogate the very limit of being human. In a world where the disjunction between human endeavour and the brute reality of existence has never been more clearly apparent, Tubali offers us a new way of imagining life.”
— Dr David Sorfa, Senior Lecturer in Film Studies,
University of Edinburgh
“This original monograph is a lucid and engaging contribution to both Camus Studies and the philosophy of science fiction. The interpretation of the science fiction films illuminates and expands Camus’ concept of absurdity, thus contributing