With Clear, Considered, Approachable, and Chummy Prose, a Philosophy Professor Teaches Us ‘How To Fall in Love With Difficult Movies’

If the weakness of many philosophical texts is how readily they descend into illegibility and casuistry, the bonus of Matthew Strohl’s work is how it grounds serious thinking without denuding its complexity.

Via Wikimedia Commons
Honoré Daumier, 'The Loge (In The Theatre Boxes)' (1856-57). Via Wikimedia Commons

A professor of philosophy at the University of Montana, Matthew Strohl, has endeared himself to this critic by talking some serious smack about Rotten Tomatoes — you know, the website that aggregates critical opinion about cinema into a mush of selective quotations and bumper-sticker nostrums. Mr. Strohl’s thoughts can be found in his new book, “Hard To Watch: How To Fall in Love With Difficult Movies.”

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