Cloud: Between Paris and Tehran: Kiarostami/Corbin/Lacan
A theoretical examination of veiling, shame, and modesty in the films of the Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami through the lenses of Islamic philosophy and Lacanian psychoanalysis.


In Cloud: Between Paris and Tehran, Joan Copjec examines the films of the Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami. The key to these films, she argues, lies in the image of a fragile yet sheltering tree that appears in several of his films. This simple image depicts a central concept of Islamic philosophy, which is known as the “Cloud” or the “Imaginal World.” It designates the place out of which all the things of this world manifest themselves and “covers,” or veils, that which must remain hidden.

The concept of the Cloud plays a significant role in defining: 1) the unique nature of the Islamic God, who is not a creator or father; 2) the nature of the image, which assumes a priority and a greater power than it is elsewhere accorded; and 3) the nature of modesty, shame, and sexuality.

Copjec walks her readers through the thicket of Islamic philosophy while demonstrating how its abstract concepts produce what audiences see on screen. The most ambitious aspect of the book lies in its attempt to demonstrate the inheritance by psychoanalysis of a new notion of knowledge, or gnosis, formulated by Muslim thinkers, who radically redefined the relation between body and thought.
"1146137562"
Cloud: Between Paris and Tehran: Kiarostami/Corbin/Lacan
A theoretical examination of veiling, shame, and modesty in the films of the Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami through the lenses of Islamic philosophy and Lacanian psychoanalysis.


In Cloud: Between Paris and Tehran, Joan Copjec examines the films of the Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami. The key to these films, she argues, lies in the image of a fragile yet sheltering tree that appears in several of his films. This simple image depicts a central concept of Islamic philosophy, which is known as the “Cloud” or the “Imaginal World.” It designates the place out of which all the things of this world manifest themselves and “covers,” or veils, that which must remain hidden.

The concept of the Cloud plays a significant role in defining: 1) the unique nature of the Islamic God, who is not a creator or father; 2) the nature of the image, which assumes a priority and a greater power than it is elsewhere accorded; and 3) the nature of modesty, shame, and sexuality.

Copjec walks her readers through the thicket of Islamic philosophy while demonstrating how its abstract concepts produce what audiences see on screen. The most ambitious aspect of the book lies in its attempt to demonstrate the inheritance by psychoanalysis of a new notion of knowledge, or gnosis, formulated by Muslim thinkers, who radically redefined the relation between body and thought.
35.0 Pre Order
Cloud: Between Paris and Tehran: Kiarostami/Corbin/Lacan

Cloud: Between Paris and Tehran: Kiarostami/Corbin/Lacan

by Joan Copjec
Cloud: Between Paris and Tehran: Kiarostami/Corbin/Lacan

Cloud: Between Paris and Tehran: Kiarostami/Corbin/Lacan

by Joan Copjec

Paperback

$35.00 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Qualifies for Free Shipping
    Available for Pre-Order. This item will be released on May 6, 2025
  • PICK UP IN STORE

    Store Pickup available after publication date.

Related collections and offers


Overview

A theoretical examination of veiling, shame, and modesty in the films of the Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami through the lenses of Islamic philosophy and Lacanian psychoanalysis.


In Cloud: Between Paris and Tehran, Joan Copjec examines the films of the Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami. The key to these films, she argues, lies in the image of a fragile yet sheltering tree that appears in several of his films. This simple image depicts a central concept of Islamic philosophy, which is known as the “Cloud” or the “Imaginal World.” It designates the place out of which all the things of this world manifest themselves and “covers,” or veils, that which must remain hidden.

The concept of the Cloud plays a significant role in defining: 1) the unique nature of the Islamic God, who is not a creator or father; 2) the nature of the image, which assumes a priority and a greater power than it is elsewhere accorded; and 3) the nature of modesty, shame, and sexuality.

Copjec walks her readers through the thicket of Islamic philosophy while demonstrating how its abstract concepts produce what audiences see on screen. The most ambitious aspect of the book lies in its attempt to demonstrate the inheritance by psychoanalysis of a new notion of knowledge, or gnosis, formulated by Muslim thinkers, who radically redefined the relation between body and thought.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780262552394
Publisher: MIT Press
Publication date: 05/06/2025
Series: Short Circuits
Pages: 216
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Joan Copjec is Professor of Modern Culture & Media at Brown University. She is the author of Read My Desire: Lacan Against the Historicists and Imagine There’s No Woman: Ethics and Sublimation. She was editor of the S book series at Verso, as well as editor of October and editor and cofounder of Umbr(a).
From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews