Death in Classic and Contemporary Film

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-ix

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2. Introduction: When the Lights Go Down

   1. Introduction: When the Lights Go Down

      • Daniel Sullivan, Jeff Greenberg

      Pages 1-15

3. Terror Management Theory and Film

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 17-17

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   2. A Terror Management Analysis of Films from Four Genres: The Matrix, Life is Beautiful, Iron Man 2, and Ikiru

      • Jeff Greenberg, Alisabeth Ayars

      Pages 19-36

   3. The End is Near: Mortality Salience in Apocalyptic Films

      • Joel D. Lieberman, Mark Fergus

      Pages 37-52

4. Aspects of Death Denial in Individual Films and Genres

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 53-53

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   2. Little Murders: Cultural Animals in an Existential Age

      • Sheldon Solomon, Mark J. Landau

      Pages 55-71

   3. Icons of Stone and Steel: Death, Cinema, and the Future of Emotion

      • Jennifer L. McMahon

      Pages 73-90

   4. Consumed in the Act: Grizzly Man and Frankenstein

      • Kirby Farrell

      Pages 91-103

   5. Black Swan/White Swan: On Female Objectification, Creatureliness, and Death Denial

      • Jamie L. Goldenberg

      Pages 105-117

   6. Death, Wealth, and Guilt: An Analysis of There Will be Blood

      • Daniel Sullivan

      Pages 119-134

   7. The Birth and Death of the Superhero Film

      • Sander L. Koole, Daniel Fockenberg, Mattie Tops, Iris K. Schneider

      Pages 135-150

5. Directors Engaging with Death

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 151-151

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   2. Bergman and the Switching Off of Lights

      • Peter Cowie

      Pages 153-165

   3. Kubrick and Death

      • Susan White

      Pages 167-183

   4. Haneke’s Amour and the Ethics of Dying

      • Asbjørn Grønstad

      Pages 185-196

6. The Prospect of Transcendence

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 197-197

      PDF

   2. Visions of Death: Native American Cinema and the Transformative Power of Death

      • Jennifer L. McMahon

      Pages 199-216

   3. From Despair and Fanaticism to Awe: A Posttraumatic Growth Perspective on Cinematic Horror

      • Kirk J. Schneider

      Pages 217-229

   4. Conclusion: Cinematic Death Benefits

      • Daniel Sullivan, Jeff Greenberg

      Pages 231-245

Mortality is a recurrent theme in films across genres, periods, nations, and directors. This book brings together an accomplished set of authors with backgrounds in film analysis, psychology, and philosophy to examine how the knowledge of death, the fear of our mortality, and the ways people cope with mortality are represented in cinema.

• cinema
• emotion
• ethics
• film
• knowledge
• psychology
• Stanley Kubrick

“Daniel Sullivan and Jeff Greenberg, professors of psychology at the University of Arizona, have compiled a fantastic selection of essays from several authors presenting various approaches to death in the cinema. This collection explores the issue of human mortality as portrayed in film, analyzing our fear of death and our desire to overcome it. … The book, overall, is gripping and a must-read … .” (Afra Siddiqui, Film Matters, Vol. 6 (3), 2015)

Alisabeth Ayars, University of Arizona, USA Peter Cowie, University of California Santa Barbara, USA Kirby Farrell, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA Mark Fergus, film writer and director Daniel Fockenberg, University of Freiburg, Germany Jamie L. Goldenberg, University of South Florida, USA Asbjørn Grønstad, University of Bergen, Norway Sander L. Koole, Free University, The Netherlands Mark J. Landau, University of Kansas, USA Joel D. Lieberman, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA Jennifer L. McMahon, East Central University, USA Iris K. Schneider, Free University, The Netherlands Kirk J. Schneider, Existential-Humanistic Institute, USA Sheldon Solomon, Skidmore College, USA Mattie Tops, Free University, The Netherlands Susan White, University of Arizona, USA

Policies and ethics