Allegories of the End of Capitalism

Six Films on the Revolutions of Our Times

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by Milo Sweedler

Type

Essays

Subject

On Films > Film selections

Keywords

politics, radical

Publishing date

2020

Publisher

Zero Books

Language

English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Paperback • 208 pages
5 ½ x 8 ½ inches (14 x 21.5 cm)

ISBN

978-1-78535-862-3

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Book Presentation:
In Allegories of the End of Capitalism, Milo Sweedler examines how filmmakers from six different countries, across four continents, give narrative and audio-visual form to the frustration and anger that burst into public view in 2011, the ongoing class war between the super-rich and the rest of the world's population, and the insurrection that is yet to come. Films examined include Melancholia, Cosmopolis, Suffragette, Django Unchained, Elysium and Snowpiercer.

About the Author:
Milo Sweedler is an associate professor of French, cultural analysis, and social theory at Wilfrid Laurier University. He has written extensively on film, literature, politics, and culture. He lives in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

Press Reviews:
Milo Sweedler's book is an unfailingly interesting and indeed fun read from start to finish.... The detailed micro-attention to and sophistication of his reading of film form are two of the book's many strengths. -- Mike Wayne, Culture Matters

Allegories of the End of Capitalism ventures beyond the typical ambit of Hollywood Left productions to provide astute readings of six films from around the globe that agitate for revolution. -- Kirk Boyle, co-editor of The Great Recession in Fiction, Film, and Television

It has often been said that it is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism. Milo Sweedler's highly readable and continually engaging book focuses on several recent films responsive in widely different ways to this lament. From considerations of the end of the world by celestial body to the creative destruction of financial markets, in both senses of the phrase, Sweedler places six cinematic expressions of popular discontent in a rich historical, theoretical, and aesthetic context, and demonstrates that, even in the bleakest circumstances, the hope of creating a better world survives. -- Jeff Kinkle, co-author of Cartographies of the Absolute

Sweedler's book deserves to be widely read. Its subject is of vital importance. -- Daniel Lindvall, Film International

See the publisher website: Zero Books