Stanley Cavell's Film Theories

The World Viewed (1971)

• Films both show and cut us off from the world.

• They reflect modern privacy and anonymity.

• Subjectivity is established through viewing, feeling unseen.

Pursuits of Happiness (1981)

• Overcoming subjectivity requires affirmation by another.

• Films offer views enabling us to move beyond subjectivity.

• 'Comedies of remarriage' explore remarriage as embracing potential divorce.

• Subjects feel certain through anonymity and uncertainty.

• The world exists as it is screened.

• Movies mirror our subjective entrapment.

• Marriage can 'marry' subjective views, creating a shared world.

• Remarriage is a metaphor for film.

Contesting Tears (1996)

• 'Melodramas of the unknown woman' focus on failed couple quests (Hollywood, 1940s-1950s).

• Discovering independence leads to knowing the world.

• Women choose to remain unknown, affirming independence.

• Independence overcomes isolation by affirming subjectivity.

• Choosing against sharing view is a conscious choice.

Stella Dallas (King Vidor, 1936)

• Stella affirms and accepts her unknownness.

• This transforms her trapped state.

• The window symbolizes the screen, facilitating transformation.

• The movie screen presents self-knowledge and moving to self-reliance.

• It enables independent thought and judgment.