Eighteen Woody Allen Films Analyzed

Book excerpt: This new textbook is an abridgment of the author's earlier Woody Allen's Angst: Philosophical Commentaries on His Serious Films (McFarland, 1997; "invaluable"--Choice.) Five main topics are explored: the desire of many of his characters to ground their lives in traditional ethical values despite their realization that such values may no longer be certain; the opposition between pessimism and optimism throughout his films; gender issues relating to romantic love, sexual desire and the ongoing changes in our cultural expectations of both men and women; the idea that contemporary American society is rapidly descending into barbarism precisely because of societal failure to maintain a sense of individual moral responsibility; and a critique of psychoanalysis as a method for understanding human behavior. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.