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

by Eva Badowska, Francesca Parmeggiani

Overview

This collection is the first to offer a genuinely interdisciplinary approach to Krzysztof Kieslowski'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 Kieslowski as a major international director.

Kieslowski 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 Kieslowski's cycle as it relentlessly solicits an ethical response that stimulates both inner disquiet and interpersonal dialogue.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823269273
Publisher:	Fordham University Press
Publication date:	06/15/2016
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Eva Badowska watched the Decalogue when it was first screened on Polish TV. She graduated from the University of Sussex (UK) and received her Ph.D. from Cornell University. She is Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Fordham University. Her writing focuses on nineteenth-century British literature and culture, critical theory, as well as contemporary Polish and Eastern European culture. Her articles have appeared in PMLA, Parnassus, The Psychoanalytic Review, and other venues.

Francesca Parmeggiani graduated from the University of Bologna (Italy) and received her Ph.D. from Indiana University, Bloomington. She is Associate Professor of Italian and Comparative Literature at Fordham University. Her research focuses on modern Italian literature, women's writing, and cinema. She is the author of Lo spessore della letteratura, on the fictional adaptations of Scriptures by Italian writers in the 1960's and 1970's, and co-editor of the essay collection, Forme, volti e linguaggi della violenza nella cultura italiana, on the representation of violence in Italian culture. Her articles have appeared in Annali d'Italianistica, Cahiers d'études italiennes, Italica, Italianistica, and Romance Languages, among other venues.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: "Within unrest, there is always a question"
Eva Badowska and Francesca Parmeggiani 1

1. Rules and Virtues: The Moral Insight of The Decalogue
William Jaworski 15

2. Tablets of Stone, Tablets of Flesh: Synesthetic Appeal in The Decalogue
Joseph G. Kickasola 30

3. Decalogue One: Witnessing a Responsible Ethics of Response from a Jewish Perspective
Moshe Gold 51

4. Visual Reverberations: Decalogue Two and Decalogue Eight
Eva M. Stadler 80

5. Remember the Sabbath Day, to Keep It Holy: Decalogue Three
Joseph W. Koterski, S.J. 95

6. Decalogue Four: The Mother up in Smoke, or "Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother"
Gabriella Ripa di Meana 108

7. Decalogue Five: A Short Film about Killing, Sin, and Community
Michael Baur 122

8. States of Exception: Politics and Poetics in Decalogue Six
Eva Badowska 140

9. Decalogue Seven: A Tale of Love, Failing Words, and Moving Images
Francesca Parmeggiani 165

10. Decalogue Eight: Childhood, Emotion, and the Shoah
Emma Wilson 181

11. Divine Possession: Metaphysical Covetousness in Decalogue Nine
Philip Sicker 197

12. Laughter Makes Good Neighbors: Sociability and the Comic in Decalogue Ten
Regina Small 216

Acknowledgments 231

List of Contributors 233

Index 237

Editorial Reviews

...a buffet of stimulating—yet nourishing—dishes on Kieslowski’s masterwork.

Radio and Television Historical Journal of Film

"This is a strong and timely collection that fills a gap in the existing English-language scholarship on a very significant work, and the important issues it raises."-Paul Coates, University of Western Ontario

"This volume is true to the spirit of open engagement in relation to matters of ultimate concern. In their introduction, the editors cite a quote from Kieslowski that wonderfully expresses this openness: 'Both the deep believer and the habitual skeptic experience toothaches in exactly the same way. I always try to speak about toothaches—always. If I am successful in talking about toothaches, I think everyone will understand me.' Indeed, this collection as a whole speaks to this experience of 'toothaches' that afflicts us all. Like Kieslowski himself, the various contributors of this collection are willing to grope in the dark as they explore some of the most fundamental but uncharted facets of the human condition."-John Caruana, Ryerson University

From the Publisher

This volume is true to the spirit of open engagement in relation to matters of ultimate concern. In their introduction, the editors cite a quote from Kieslowski that wonderfully expresses this openness: 'Both the deep believer and the habitual skeptic experience toothaches in exactly the same way. I always try to speak about toothaches—always. If I am successful in talking about toothaches, I think everyone will understand me.' Indeed, this collection as a whole speaks to this experience of 'toothaches' that afflicts us all. Like Kieslowski himself, the various contributors of this collection are willing to grope in the dark as they explore some of the most fundamental but uncharted facets of the human condition.

Ryerson University - John Caruana

“This is a strong and timely collection that fills a gap in the existing English-language scholarship on a very significant work, and the important issues it raises.

University of Western Ontario - Paul Coates