Thinking cinema with Alain Badiou

In any case, as Badiou sees it, philosophy is obliged to engage with film for the very simple reason that “cinema is a philosophical situation.” 14 The aim of this chapter is accordingly to consider Badiou’s understanding of cinema itself— taken in the generic sense as an art almost entirely defined by its relation to other arts (and nonart)— and draw out some of the more interesting artistic and philosophical consequences of his position.15 Following a brief examination of Badiou’s “inaesthetic” conception of art and its relation to truth and philosophy, we will move on to discuss cinema’s peculiar position among the arts before finally addressing some of the paradoxes Badiou’s understanding of cinema gives rise to, as well as some of the challenges it presents his philosophical system as a whole.