European cinema: Between Mit-sein, Da-sein and Nah-sein

Abstract

Abstract This article expands on some of the polemical theses the author proposes in his book European Cinema and Continental Philosophy (2018), focusing on the idea of European cinema as 'thought experiment', the notion of 'double occupancy', which the author now articulates in terms of a 'cinema of abjection' and the idea of 'mutual interference', which is now re-examined as part of a broader re-assessment of the core Enlightenment values of 'liberty-equality-fraternity' viewed under present-day conditions of asymmetry, but also in light of their 'antagonistic mutuality'. These concepts, taken together, are an attempt to put forward a change of both model and method when studying European cinema, one based neither on the 'Europe-Hollywood' binaries, nor on an ever-elusive identity, but rather on Europe's self-understanding as a 'work-in-progress', as well as on its position in a globalized world, in which it is no longer the central player. Elsaesser proposes to 'enlarge the context' – a phrase coined by the European politician, diplomat and thinker Jean Monnet: if you cannot solve a problem, enlarge the context. Enlarging the context means taking a step back and focusing not on cinema, but on what in this period of intense internal and external crises we mean by 'Europe', before evaluating some of the ways in which certain films and filmmakers have positioned themselves in light of the challenges that are in play today.