In Plato’s Laches, war is ambiguously conceptualized as both fiction and spectacular reality. A ‘man in armour’ displays his technique, and the show is compared to both theatrical competitions and the spectacle of real war. Republic 5 resumes the theme, as war watching is recommended as an educational tool superior to any fictional show. Yet this is not Plato's final word. A sequel of the Republic, the Timaeus-Critias envisages the Republic’s ideal city and the Atlantis empire engaged in a war that Socrates wishes to ‘watch in motion’. War as spectacle comes now in (proto)cinematographic and (proto)fictional form, complete with vivid descriptions and pseudo-documentarism. Plato’s dream of cinema can be contrasted with Plato’s nightmare of cinema as expressed in the cave parable. The former accounts for the endless production of Atlantis stories and invites revision of the view of Plato as an uncompromising enemy of fiction and, potentially, of cinema.

Plato's Cinematic Vision: War and Spectacle in Four Dialogues (Laches, Republic, Timaeus and Critias) / A. Capra - In: War as Spectacle. Ancient and Modern Perspectives on the Display of Armed Conflict / [a cura di] A. Bakogianni, V.M. Hope. - London : Bloomsbury, 2015. - ISBN 978-1-4725-2229-0. - pp. 129-138

Plato's Cinematic Vision: War and Spectacle in Four Dialogues (Laches, Republic, Timaeus and Critias)

A. Capra
2015

Abstract

In Plato’s Laches, war is ambiguously conceptualized as both fiction and spectacular reality. A ‘man in armour’ displays his technique, and the show is compared to both theatrical competitions and the spectacle of real war. Republic 5 resumes the theme, as war watching is recommended as an educational tool superior to any fictional show. Yet this is not Plato's final word. A sequel of the Republic, the Timaeus-Critias envisages the Republic’s ideal city and the Atlantis empire engaged in a war that Socrates wishes to ‘watch in motion’. War as spectacle comes now in (proto)cinematographic and (proto)fictional form, complete with vivid descriptions and pseudo-documentarism. Plato’s dream of cinema can be contrasted with Plato’s nightmare of cinema as expressed in the cave parable. The former accounts for the endless production of Atlantis stories and invites revision of the view of Plato as an uncompromising enemy of fiction and, potentially, of cinema.
Plato; Cinema; Fiction; Education; Atlantis; Republic; Laches; Timaeus; Critias
Settore L-FIL-LET/02 - Lingua e Letteratura Greca
Settore M-FIL/07 - Storia della Filosofia Antica
2015
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/317210
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