The Philosophy of Christopher Nolan


Ever since I first watched Memento and its fascinating exploration of the philosophical question of personal identity as constituted by memory through time, film director Christopher Nolan has been on my radar. And, Insomnia aside, he has consistently managed to set the bar higher and higher to the point where he stands on a category of cinematographic and philosophical genius all by himself.

In addition of being a master of character development, non-linear storytelling and building hair-raising suspense—not to say anything about the pure aesthetic beauty of his films—Nolan is a director of big ideas. There's virtually no film in which he does not explore—and through multiple angles—concepts of time, the constitution of self, moral and metaphysical identity, character, courage and integrity, mortality, meaning, the difference between reality and appearance, or between memory, perception and imagination, game theoretical questions regarding competition, trust and cooperation, or the tension between scientific knowledge and existential human needs.

And because there's so much to Nolan's films, the good folks at Wisecrack have just finished producing a three-part series on The Philosophy of Christopher Nolan, which we are showcasing here today for your viewing pleasure.

Warning: spoilers ahead.










And as an added bonus, here's a little NerdWriter analysis of the meta quality of Nolan's masterful adaptation of Christopher Priest's The Prestige.




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