Examined Life pulls philosophy out of academic journals and classrooms, and puts it back on the streets. In Examined Life, filmmaker Astra Taylor accompanies some of today's most influential thinkers on a series of unique excursions through places and spaces that hold particular resonance for them and their ideas. Peter Singer's thoughts on the ethics of consumption are amplified against the backdrop of Fifth Avenue's posh boutiques. Michael Hardt ponders the nature of revolu... (Full plot summary below)
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Examined Life pulls philosophy out of academic journals and classrooms, and puts it back on the streets. In Examined Life, filmmaker Astra Taylor accompanies some of today's most influential thinkers on a series of unique excursions through places and spaces that hold particular resonance for them and their ideas. Peter Singer's thoughts on the ethics of consumption are amplified against the backdrop of Fifth Avenue's posh boutiques. Michael Hardt ponders the nature of revolution while surrounded by symbols of wealth and leisure. Judith Butler and a friend stroll through San Francisco's Mission District questioning our culture's fixation on individualism. And while driving through Manhattan, Cornel West - perhaps America's best-known public intellectual - compares philosophy to jazz and blues, reminding us how intense and invigorating a life of the mind can be. Offering privileged moments with great thinkers from fields ranging from moral philosophy to cultural theory, Examined Life reveals philosophy's power to transform the way we see the world around us and imagine our place in it.
Leave your thoughts about Examined Life.
| NewsBlazeKam WilliamsEndlessly thought-provoking at every turn, this iconoclastic documentary offers the opportunity for a transcendental experience amounting to this critic's most satisfying cinematic experience of 2009 thus far. |
| Salon.comAndrew O'HehirBy conducting her conversations in public spaces, and removing her interlocutors from desks and offices and book-lined studies and other appurtenances of intellectual authority, Taylor introduces a degree of playfulness and unpredictability that becomes the movie's M.O. |
| Film4Jon FortgangA fascinating introduction to the big issues in modern philosophy, presented with a pleasantly light touch. |
| Capital Times (Madison, WI)Rob ThomasWatching "Examined Life" is sort of like sitting on a plane next to a total stranger who insists on making conversation. Except this is that one time out of 100 when the stranger turns out to be a completely fascinating person. |
| rec.arts.movies.reviewsLouis ProyectWhatever you think of the interviewees (I confess to being immune to Zizek's charms), this is brilliant film-making. |
| Chicago ReaderJ. R. JonesThere's plenty of food for thought here, though the movie is more a buffet than a meal. |
| Little White LiesAdam WoodwardEccentric but always accessible, Taylor's boff-doc avoids the idiosyncrasy that her work has previously exhibited. In bringing philosophy into the real world, Examined Life is at once illuminating and intellectually stimulating. |
| Daily Telegraph (UK)Tim RobeyThis is an addictive and stimulating experience all round. |
| Spirituality and PracticeFrederic and Mary Ann BrussatAn unusual and compelling documentary featuring eight thinkers musing on philosophical matters as they walk in creative places. |
| New York TimesA.O. ScottPart of the fun of Examined Life comes from watching these very intelligent thinkers try to make themselves intelligible. |
