Philosophy of film: resistances to ontology

The present article is devoted to theoretical issues of ontological researches of cinema within the framework of new, developing scientific field of philosophy of film. The general particularity of philosophy of film, its tasks and problems is considered in the paper. The ontology of cinema is presented as one of the most important paradigm of philosophical criticism of cinema. There is given a definition of ontology of cinema in terms of conventional conception as an investigation of essence, a search of all-encompassing idea of film. The crucial difficulties of the construction of ontology of cinema are stated and analyzed in the text. Firstly, there is emphasized a problem of concern for good object by which we mean desire of researcher for constituting cinema as real or possible love object. It is assumed, that this desire is caused by empathic feelings suggested by movies, as well as by directive of film studies to articulate taste preferences. Secondly, the problem of transformation of ontological categories influenced by cinematic experience is designated in the article. The transformation is due to dialectical interpretation of indivisibility of form and content in cinema. Ultimately it results in the viewed world of movie is endued with mode of being. This way not only category “being” and related to it “matter”, “space”, “time” and others are rethought, but radical doubt of Humean type about any ontological laws is actualized. Finally, it is noted that significant obstruction of ontological theories is a problem of incomplete being of cinema. Cinema as an elusive object, evolution of which is radical and extremely unpredictable, is a possibility of its own future realizations. In this regard it seems it is impossible to take an ontological approach motivated by directions of essentialism to film. Meanwhile, it is assumed that overcoming of specified problems is reached through revision of classical model of ontological analysis. By virtue of conception by M. Heidegger, it is suggested distinguishing of notions “essence” and “being”. It allows to reformulate the question of ontology of cinema: a question “What is cinema?” is changed by such questions as “What is existence of cinema?” and “How is cinema?”. In turn, in view of close correlation between designated problems and subject and his consciousness, it seems that phenomenological approach is a pre-requisite to ontology of cinema.

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