Philosophy, Film, and the Dark Side of Interdependence

Why might interdependence, the idea that we are made up of our relations, be horrifying? On the surface, interdependence—the idea that individuals are each made up of their relations—appears to be a beautiful thing. Ecology, social theory, and the driving forces of digital media seem to agree that more and deeper connections to others are better. Yet there is a dark side of interdependence, too, that remains hidden away. Interdependence threatens the western philosophical ideal of individualism, and this threat lurks unseen in the backs of our minds like a dark spectre. Philosophy can give the contours of this spectre, and film can shine a light on its shadowy details. Together, they reveal a horror of relations. Contributors to this volume interrogate the question of interdependence through analyses of contemporary film and give voice to new perspectives on its meaning. Conceived before and written during the COVID-19 pandemic and through a period of deep social unrest, this volume illuminates a dark reality that is both perennial and timely.