Abstract

Stanley Cavell’s influential philosophical work on American cinema concerns itself with the thought that some of the most famous movies of classical Hollywood constitute two related, but previously undefined, genres that he names “the comedy of remarriage” and “the melodrama of the unknown woman,” respectively. In this collection, the first devoted to the subject, leading figures in philosophy and film studies provide detailed readings of more recent Hollywood films that show how the two genres continue to be inherited in American cinema, not least by the films’ participation in a certain moral outlook—concerning personal and cultural transformation—that Cavell calls “Emersonian Perfectionism.” The films discussed include Rich and Famous, As Good as It Gets, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Revolutionary Road, On the Rocks, Palm Springs, and Tenet.