LSU Science Café: The Political Utility of Hating Movies

Through discussions of appearances of aesthetic judgment in cinema, Assistant Professor Kalling Heck will explore the repercussions of declaring “I hate this movie”—what it means when this is said, and what kinds of projects it allows. Aesthetic judgment is a process where one enumerates the qualities of an object and then renders an account of these properties. But what is particularly striking about this process is the way ourjudgments feel as though they have sprung up from some place deep inside of us, when actually, they are based on other judgments, a process that is subsequently disavowed. Hating movies is a social process that does not feel like one; we judge in the light of other judgments, but we do not feel as if we are doing so. Meanwhile, our harsh judgments are available for scrutiny and—over time—might yield some familiarity with difference, perhaps helping to diminish political polarization. Heck proposes “hating movies” as a social exercise that allows up to hear radically different views without the immediacy that leads to antagonism.

 

About the Speaker

Kalling Heck is an assistant professor of screen arts and English at LSU. His work investigates the relationship between global cinema, film theory, and political theory, with a particular emphasis on the uses of cinema to democracy. His first book, After Authority: Global Art Cinema and Political Transition, is currently available from Rutgers University Press. At LSU, Heck teaches classes that compare films and their contexts from across the globe, and classes that introduce students to philosophical approaches to the arts. In general, his work examines the relationship between aesthetics and politics by exploring everyday uses of media.