The philosophical side of cinema

MIT students examine movies, art, and ethics from both the producer and audience perspectives. What makes a movie sad? Is there even such a thing as a sad movie?  Those are the questions students explored during a meeting of class 24.213 (Philosophy of Film), an MIT course offered this spring by associate professor of philosophy Justin Khoo. On this particular afternoon, the case study was "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," a 2003 film starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet in which the characters are able to erase the painful memories of their relationship. Rising senior Quincy Cantu, a computer science and engineering major, argued that whether a movie like "Eternal Sunshine" is sad depends on one's individual experience.  "Having a rough breakup is a very universal experience. It's a situation a lot of people can relate to, which is why for a majority of people, it is a sad movie," Quincy said. Khoo expanded on Cantu's perspective. "So based on that view, there really isn't such a thing as a sad movie, right?" asked Khoo. "Because a movie might be sad for X. It's sad for you, but not for me." Cameron White, also a rising senior in computer science and engineering, offered a counter argument, saying there are certain movies where feeling sadness is essential to the emotional payoff. "Every movie has a central message, and those central messages have emotions associated with them," White said. "That's good," Khoo said. "Another way of thinking about it is that it's all about the creator. The creator intends for the viewer to have a certain experience by watching the film. That's what makes it sad, as long as a sad experience is intended."  Looking at film from all angles