Hitchcock and Philosophy_HIP HOP & philosophy 8/12/11 12:14 PM Page i Hitchcock and Philosophy Hitchcock and Philosophy_HIP HOP & philosophy 8/12/11 12:14 PM Page ii Popular Culture and Philosophy® Series Editor: George A. Reisch (Series Editor for this volume was William Irwin) VOLUME1 VOLUME16 Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book about Everything Hip Hop and Philosophy: Rhyme 2 Reason(2005) and Nothing(2000) Edited by Derrick Darby and Tommie Shelby Edited by William Irwin VOLUME17 VOLUME2 Bob Dylan and Philosophy: It’s Alright Ma (I’m The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D’oh! of Homer Only Thinking)(2006) Edited by Peter Vernezze (2001) Edited by William Irwin, Mark T. Conard, and Carl J. Porter and Aeon J. Skoble VOLUME18 VOLUME3 Harley-Davidson and Philosophy: The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert Full-Throttle Aristotle(2006) Edited by Bernard E. of the Real(2002) Edited by William Irwin Rollin, Carolyn M. Gray, Kerri Mommer, and Cynthia Pineo VOLUME4 Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy: Fear and VOLUME19 Trembling in Sunnydale(2003) Edited by James B. Monty Python and Philosophy: Nudge Nudge, South Think Think!(2006) Edited by Gary L. Hardcastle and George A Reisch VOLUME5 The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy: One Book to VOLUME20 Rule Them All(2003) Edited by Gregory Bassham Poker and Philosophy: Pocket Rockets and and Eric Bronson Philosopher Kings(2006) Edited by Eric Bronson VOLUME6 VOLUME21 Baseball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the U2 and Philosophy: How to Decipher an Atomic Batter’s Box(2004) Edited by Eric Bronson Band(2006) Edited by Mark A. Wrathall VOLUME7 VOLUME22 The Sopranos and Philosophy: I Kill Therefore I Am The Undead and Philosophy: Chicken Soup for the (2004) Edited by Richard Greene and Peter Soulless(2006) Edited by Richard Greene and K. Vernezze Silem Mohammad VOLUME8 VOLUME23 Woody Allen and Philosophy: You Mean My Whole James Bond and Philosophy: Questions Are Forever Fallacy Is Wrong? (2004) Edited by Mark T. Conard (2006) Edited by James B. South and Jacob M. Held and Aeon J. Skoble VOLUME24 VOLUME9 Bullshit and Philosophy: Guaranteed to Get Perfect Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Results Every Time(2006) Edited by Gary L. Hogwarts(2004) Edited by David Baggett and Hardcastle and George A. Reisch Shawn E. Klein VOLUME25 VOLUME10 The Beatles and Philosophy: Nothing You Can Mel Gibson’s Passion and Philosophy: The Cross, Think that Can’t Be Thunk(2006) Edited by the Questions, the Controversy (2004) Edited by Michael Baur and Steven Baur Jorge J.E. Gracia VOLUME26 VOLUME11 South Park and Philosophy: Bigger, Longer, and More Matrix and Philosophy: Revolutions and More Penetrating(2007) Edited by Richard Hanley Reloaded Decoded(2005) Edited by William Irwin VOLUME27 VOLUME12 Hitchcock and Philosophy: Dial M for Metaphysics Star Wars and Philosophy: More Powerful than You (2007) Edited by David Baggett and William A. Can Possibly Imagine(2005) Edited by Jason T. Drumin Eberl and Kevin S. Decker VOLUME13 INPREPARATION: Superheroes and Philosophy: Truth, Justice, and the Socratic Way(2005) Edited by Tom Morris and The Grateful Dead and Philosophy(2007) Edited Matt Morris by Steven Gimbel VOLUME14 Tarantino and Philosophy (2007) Edited by Richard The Atkins Diet and Philosophy: Chewing the Fat Greene and K. Silem Mohammad with Kant and Nietzsche(2005) Edited by Lisa Heldke, Kerri Mommer, and Cynthia Pineo Pink Floyd and Philosophy (2007) Edited by George A. Reisch VOLUME15 Bruce Springsteen and Philosophy (2008) Edited by The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy: The Randall E. Auxier and Doug Anderson Lion, the Witch, and the Worldview(2005) Edited by Gregory Bassham and Jerry L. Walls Hitchcock and Philosophy_HIP HOP & philosophy 8/12/11 12:14 PM Page iii Popular Culture and Philosophy® Hitchcock and Philosophy Dial M for Metaphysics Edited by DAVID BAGGETT and WILLIAM A. DRUMIN OPEN COURT Chicago and LaSalle, Illinois Hitchcock and Philosophy_HIP HOP & philosophy 8/12/11 12:14 PM Page iv Volume 27 in the series, Popular Culture and Philosophy® The pictures on pages 62, 114, and 228 are reproduced by permission of Corbis. To order books from Open Court, call 1-800-815-2280, or visit our website at www.opencourtbooks.com. Open Court Publishing Company is a division of Carus Publishing Company. Copyright ©2007 by Carus Publishing Company First printing 2007 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, Open Court Publishing Company, a division of Carus Publishing Company, 315 Fifth Street, P.O. Box 300, Peru, Illinois, 61354-3000. Printed and bound in the United States of America. n: Joan Som Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hitchcock and philosophy : dial M for metaphysics / edited by David Baggett and William A. Drumin p. cm. — (Popular culture and philosophy ; 27) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-8126-9616-5 (trade paper : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-8126-9616-6 (trade paper : alk. paper) 1. Hitchcock, Alfred, 1899-1980—Criticism and interpretation. I. Baggett, David. II. Drumin, William A. PN1998.3.H68H53 2007 791.4302’33092—dc22 2007000242 Hitchcock and Philosophy_HIP HOP & philosophy 8/12/11 12:14 PM Page v To Donald Spoto Hitchcock and Philosophy_HIP HOP & philosophy 8/12/11 12:14 PM Page vi Hitchcock and Philosophy_HIP HOP & philosophy 8/12/11 12:14 PM Page vii Contents Previews and Opening Credits xi Part I The Mystery of Everyday Life 1 1. Sabotage: Chaos Unleashed and the Impossibility of Utopia WILLIAM A. DRUMIN 3 2. Shadow of a Doubt: Secrets, Lies, and the Search for the Truth ANGELA CURRAN 17 3. Rope: Nietzsche and the Art of Murder SHAI BIDERMAN and ELIANA JACOBOWITZ 33 Part II Horrors Without End 47 4. Psycho: Horror, Hitchcock, and the Problem of Evil PHILIP TALLON 49 5. The Birds: Plato and Romantic Love RAJA HALWANI and STEVEN JONES 63 6. Featherless Bipeds: The Concept of Humanity in The Birds SCOTT CALEF 75 7. Hitchcock’s Existentialism: Anguish, Despair, and Redemption in Breakdown SANDER LEE 89 vii Hitchcock and Philosophy_HIP HOP & philosophy 8/12/11 12:14 PM Page viii viii Contents Part III The Reeling Mind 99 8. Vertigo and the Pathologies of Romantic Love NOËL CARROLL 101 9. Vertigo: Scientific Method, Obsession, and Human Minds DAN FLORY 115 10. On Being Mr. Kaplan: Personal Identity in North by Northwest STEVEN W. PATTERSON 129 11. Ethics or Film Theory? The Real McGuffin in North by Northwest THOMAS E. WARTENBERG 141 Part IV Hitchcock’s Ethical Dilemmas 157 12. Democracy Adrift in Lifeboat RANDALL E. AUXIER 159 13. Why Be Moral? Amorality and Psychopathy in Strangers on a Train STEVEN M. SANDERS 175 14. Rear Window: Hitchcock’s Allegory of the Cave MICHAEL SILBERSTEIN 187 15. Rear Window: Looking at Things Ethically AEON J. SKOBLE 203 Part V What’s It All About, Alfred? 213 16. Plot Twists and Surprises: Why Are Some Things Improbable? KEVIN KINGHORN 215 Hitchcock and Philosophy_HIP HOP & philosophy 8/12/11 12:14 PM Page ix Contents ix 17. The Hitchcock Cameo: Aesthetic Considerations JASON HOLT 229 18. Knowing When to Be Afraid: Rationality and Suspense CATHERINE JACK DEAVEL and DAVID PAUL DEAVEL 239 19. Shadow of a Doubt and Marnie: Entries into a Mind ROBERT J. YANAL 253 Cast and Crew 261 Index 267