Thanks for your quick answers!
@Aaron: In our project at the Freie Universität Berlin we investigate the well-known paradox that one can take pleasure in negative emotions in aesthetic contexts. As an expert in this field you have dealt yourself with the most obvious example, namely fear (or what Carroll calls "the paradox of horror"). But, to be honest, I do not think that the question of pleasurable fear and other negative emotions has been answered to complete satisfaction by Carroll and other film philosophers or cognitivist film scholars. (That's one of the reasons why I tried to tackle the problem anew, from a phenomenological perspective, in my recent book "Cinematic Emotion in Horror Films and Thrillers. The Aesthetic Paradox of Pleasurable Fear".)
Now, in the interdisciplinary research project that I am involved in at the FU Berlin we look at negative emotions that are less well-researched and thought of as fear, i.e. disgust, sadness and anger. You are absolutely right that many scenes cannot elicit the appropriate response if seen out of context. We try to overcome this problem by taking certain preliminary measures (for instance, by providing synopses). We won't be able to recreate the full experience, but hopefully we will fulfil the requirements of a scientifically valid psychological experiment.
As to your other question: We certainly make a distinction between perceived, intended and felt/experienced emotions. What we are interested in are the viewer's emotions (i.e. felt emotions).
Best, Julian
*
*
Film-Philosophy salon
After hitting 'reply' please always delete the text of the message you are replying to
To leave, send the message: leave film-philosophy to: [log in to unmask]
Or visit: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/film-philosophy.html
For technical help email: [log in to unmask], not the salon
*
Film-Philosophy online: http://www.film-philosophy.com
Contact: [log in to unmask]
**
|