«Bad faith», «past» and «death». A reading based on Jean-Paul Sartre’s philosophy
The cinematographic work of Akira Kurosawa has been analyzed from certain categories of that vast literary and philosophical movement that has been called «existentialism». The finitude, the anxiety, the absurd, the authenticity, the decision –typical «existentialist» motives–, run through much of h...
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Format: | Online |
Language: | spa |
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Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad
2021
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Online Access: | https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/eticaycine/article/view/34185 |
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author | Prestía, Martín |
author_facet | Prestía, Martín |
author_sort | Prestía, Martín |
collection | Portal de Revistas |
description | The cinematographic work of Akira Kurosawa has been analyzed from certain categories of that vast literary and philosophical movement that has been called «existentialism». The finitude, the anxiety, the absurd, the authenticity, the decision –typical «existentialist» motives–, run through much of his filmography. On this regard, the film Ikiru [To Live, 1952] is perhaps one of his most eloquent productions. Inspired by Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilych, Kurosawa’s work is set in the last months of the life of Kanji Watanabe, Head of the Tokyo Citizens’ Section, a minor office of a complex state bureaucracy that the film portrays as inoperative. His life changes at the root when he realizes that he has stomach cancer and has only one year to live. The film will show Watanabe’s various attempts to find meaning to his life. The purpose of this article is to offer an interpretation of the film based on some concepts included in L être et le néant [Being and Nothingness, 1943], Jean-Paul Sartre’s fundamental philosophical work. I wwill focus on the characteristic Sartrean notion of «bad faith», the relationship between the For-Itself and the «past», and the analysis of «death», in controversy with Martin Heidegger. |
format | Online |
id | oai:ojs.revistas.unc.edu.ar:article-34185 |
institution | Universidad Nacional de Cordoba |
language | spa |
publishDate | 2021 |
publisher | Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad |
record_format | ojs |
spelling | oai:ojs.revistas.unc.edu.ar:article-341852021-07-26T23:45:15Z «Bad faith», «past» and «death». A reading based on Jean-Paul Sartre’s philosophy «Mala fe», «pasado» y «muerte». Una lectura a partir de la filosofía de Jean-Paul Sartre Prestía, Martín Akira Kurosawa Jean-Paul Sartre French philosophy Existentialism Project Death Akira Kurosawa Jean-Paul Sartre Filosofía francesa Existencialismo Proyecto Muerte The cinematographic work of Akira Kurosawa has been analyzed from certain categories of that vast literary and philosophical movement that has been called «existentialism». The finitude, the anxiety, the absurd, the authenticity, the decision –typical «existentialist» motives–, run through much of his filmography. On this regard, the film Ikiru [To Live, 1952] is perhaps one of his most eloquent productions. Inspired by Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilych, Kurosawa’s work is set in the last months of the life of Kanji Watanabe, Head of the Tokyo Citizens’ Section, a minor office of a complex state bureaucracy that the film portrays as inoperative. His life changes at the root when he realizes that he has stomach cancer and has only one year to live. The film will show Watanabe’s various attempts to find meaning to his life. The purpose of this article is to offer an interpretation of the film based on some concepts included in L être et le néant [Being and Nothingness, 1943], Jean-Paul Sartre’s fundamental philosophical work. I wwill focus on the characteristic Sartrean notion of «bad faith», the relationship between the For-Itself and the «past», and the analysis of «death», in controversy with Martin Heidegger. La obra cinematográfica de Akira Kurosawa ha sido a menudo analizada a partir de ciertas categorías de la vasta atmósfera o sensibilidad –literaria y filosófica– del «existencialismo». La finitud, la angustia, el absurdo, la autenticidad, la decisión, recorren buena parte de su filmografía. La película Ikiru [Vivir, 1952] es quizá una de sus producciones más elocuentes al respecto. Inspirada en la historia de Tolstói La muerte de Iván Illich, el film de Kurosawa se ubica en los últimos meses de la vida de Kanji Watanabe, Jefe de la Sección de Ciudadanos de Tokio, una oficina de una compleja burocracia estatal que es retratada como inoperante. Su vida cambia de raíz al recibir la noticia de que se halla enfermo de cáncer de estómago y que le resta un año de vida. A partir de entonces, el film mostrará los diversos intentos del protagonista por hallar un sentido a su vida. El propósito del presente artículo es ofrecer una interpretación del film de Akira Kurosawa a partir de algunos conceptos incluidos en L´être et le néant [1943], la obra filosófica fundamental de Jean-Paul Sartre. Se prestará especial atención a la característica noción sartreana de «mala fe», a la relación del para-sí con el «pasado» y al tratamiento que el autor francés hace de la «muerte», en polémica con Martin Heidegger. Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad 2021-07-26 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion application/pdf https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/eticaycine/article/view/34185 10.31056/2250.5415.v11.n2.34185 Ética y Cine Journal; Vol. 11 Núm. 2 (2021): Cine y Filosofía; 47-59 2250-5415 2250-5660 10.31056/2250.5415.v11.n2 spa https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/eticaycine/article/view/34185/34633 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ |
spellingShingle | Akira Kurosawa Jean-Paul Sartre French philosophy Existentialism Project Death Akira Kurosawa Jean-Paul Sartre Filosofía francesa Existencialismo Proyecto Muerte Prestía, Martín «Bad faith», «past» and «death». A reading based on Jean-Paul Sartre’s philosophy |
title | «Bad faith», «past» and «death». A reading based on Jean-Paul Sartre’s philosophy |
title_alt | «Mala fe», «pasado» y «muerte». Una lectura a partir de la filosofía de Jean-Paul Sartre |
title_full | «Bad faith», «past» and «death». A reading based on Jean-Paul Sartre’s philosophy |
title_fullStr | «Bad faith», «past» and «death». A reading based on Jean-Paul Sartre’s philosophy |
title_full_unstemmed | «Bad faith», «past» and «death». A reading based on Jean-Paul Sartre’s philosophy |
title_short | «Bad faith», «past» and «death». A reading based on Jean-Paul Sartre’s philosophy |
title_sort | bad faith past and death a reading based on jean paul sartre s philosophy |
topic | Akira Kurosawa Jean-Paul Sartre French philosophy Existentialism Project Death Akira Kurosawa Jean-Paul Sartre Filosofía francesa Existencialismo Proyecto Muerte |
topic_facet | Akira Kurosawa Jean-Paul Sartre French philosophy Existentialism Project Death Akira Kurosawa Jean-Paul Sartre Filosofía francesa Existencialismo Proyecto Muerte |
url | https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/eticaycine/article/view/34185 |
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