The Power of Movies How Screen and Mind Interact

With enthusiasm and probing intelligence, Colin McGinn ("an ingenious philosopher who thinks like a laser and writes like a dream"Steven Pinker) embarks on a fascinating philosophical consideration of the allure of movieswhat it is we experience when we watch them and what makes them such a universally compelling form of entertainment. McGinn examines how movies work on our minds: how looking "into" the movie screen allows us to imagine the characters portrayed and know their thoughts and feelings . . . how what we see on the screen can seem to recapitulate the workings of consciousness itself . . . how the screen image is ideally suited to capturing both physical and emotional movements, depicting human feeling in all its variations . . . how heightened reality characterizes both film narrative and dreams . . . how our connection to and perception of movies enables us to better understand aspects of our own nature. A fresh, invigorating look into the art of film and the minds of filmmakers and filmgoers, The Power of Movies is certain to change the way you watch movies.

Colin McGinn is a professor of philosophy at Rutgers University. He is the author of sixteen previous books, including The Making of a Philosopher: My Journey Through Twentieth-Century Philosophy; Space Trap, a novel; and, most recently, Mindsight: Image, Dream, Meaning. McGinn’s writing has appeared in such publications as The New York Review of Books, London Review of Books, The New Republic, and The New York Times Book Review.


From the Hardcover edition.