Of Elephants and Toothaches : Ethics, Politics, and Religion in Krzysztof Kieslowski's 'Decalogue' /

This collection is the first to offer a genuinely interdisciplinary approach to Krzysztof Kie?lowski’s Decalogue, a ten-film cycle of modern tales that touch on the ethical dilemmas of the Ten Commandments. The cycle’s deft handling of moral ambiguity and inventive technique established Kie?lowski as a major international director. Kie?lowski once said, “Both the deep believer and the habitual skeptic experience toothaches in exactly the same way.” Of Elephants and Toothaches takes seriously the range of thought, from theological to skeptical, condensed in the cycle’s quite human tales. Bringing together scholars of film, philosophy, literature, and several religions, the volume ranges from individual responsibility, to religion in modernity, to familial bonds, to human desire and material greed. It explores Kie?lowski’s cycle as it relentlessly solicits an ethical response that stimulates both inner disquiet and interpersonal dialogue.

A multi- and interdisciplinary collection of essays addressing ethical, political and aesthetic questions raised in the ten-film cycle Decalogue (1989) by Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieślowski.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Introduction: within unrest, there is always a question / Eva Badowska and Francesca Parmeggiani -- Rules and virtues: the moral insight of the Decalogue / William Jaworski -- Tablets of stone, tablets of flesh: synesthetic appeal in the Decalogue / Joseph G. Kickasola -- Decalogue one: witnessing a responsible ethics of response from a Jewish perspective / Moshe Gold -- Visual reverberations: Decalogue two and Decalogue eight / Eva M. Stadler -- Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy: Decalogue three / Joseph W. Koterski, S.J. -- Decalogue four: "you are completely free and I pretend it doesn't affect me at all" / Anne-Katrin Titze -- Decalogue five: a short film about killing, sin, and community / Michael Baur -- States of exception: politics and poetics in Decalogue six / Eva Badowska -- Decalogue seven: a tale of love, failing words, and moving images / Francesca Parmeggiani -- Decalogue eight: childhood, emotion, and the shoah / Emma Wilson -- Divine possession: metaphysical covetousness in Decalogue nine / Philip Sicker -- Laughter makes good neighbors: sociability and the comic in Decalogue ten / Regina Small.

This collection is the first to offer a genuinely interdisciplinary approach to Krzysztof Kie?lowski’s Decalogue, a ten-film cycle of modern tales that touch on the ethical dilemmas of the Ten Commandments. The cycle’s deft handling of moral ambiguity and inventive technique established Kie?lowski as a major international director. Kie?lowski once said, “Both the deep believer and the habitual skeptic experience toothaches in exactly the same way.” Of Elephants and Toothaches takes seriously the range of thought, from theological to skeptical, condensed in the cycle’s quite human tales. Bringing together scholars of film, philosophy, literature, and several religions, the volume ranges from individual responsibility, to religion in modernity, to familial bonds, to human desire and material greed. It explores Kie?lowski’s cycle as it relentlessly solicits an ethical response that stimulates both inner disquiet and interpersonal dialogue.

A multi- and interdisciplinary collection of essays addressing ethical, political and aesthetic questions raised in the ten-film cycle Decalogue (1989) by Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieślowski.

Mode of access: Internet.