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A Philosophy of the Screenplay A Philosophy of the Screenplay Recently, scholars in a variety of disciplines—including philosophy, fi lm and media studies, and literary studies—have become interested in the aesthetics, defi nition, and ontology of the screenplay. To this end, this vol- ume addresses the fundamental philosophical questions about the nature of the screenplay: What is a screenplay? Is the screenplay art—more specifi - cally, literature? What kind of a thing is a screenplay? Nannicelli argues that the screenplay is a kind of artefact; as such, screenwriters collectively deter- mine its boundaries, and both writers and readers of screenplays collectively determine its ontological nature. Any plausible philosophical account of the screenplay must be strictly constrained by our collective creative and ap- preciative practices, and must recognize that those practices indicate that at least some screenplays are artworks. Ted Nannicelli is a Lecturer in Screen and Media Studies at the University of Waikato in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy For a full list of titles in this series, please visit www.routledge.com 15 Intergenerational Justice 23 Habermas and Rawls Rights and Responsibilities Disputing the Political in an Intergenerational Polity Edited by James Gordon Finlay- Janna Thompson son and Fabian Freyenhagen 16 Hillel Steiner and the Anatomy 24 Philosophical Delusion of Justice and Its Therapy Themes and Challenges Outline of a Philosophical Edited by Stephen de Wijze, Mat- Revolution thew H. Kramer, and Ian Carter By Eugen Fischer 17 Philosophy of Personal Identity 25 Epistemology and the Regress and Multiple Personality Problem Logi Gunnarsson By Scott F. Aikin 18 The Force of Argument 26 Civil Society in Liberal Essays in Honor of Democracy Timothy Smiley Mark Jensen Jonathan Lear and Alex Oliver 27 The Politics of Logic 19 Autonomy and Liberalism Badiou, Wittgenstein, Ben Colburn and the Consequences of Formalism 20 Habermas and Literary Paul M. Livingston Rationality David L. Colclasure 28 Pluralism and Liberal Politics Robert B. Talisse 21 Rawls, Citizenship, and Education 29 Kant and Education M. Victoria Costa Interpretations and Commentary Edited by Klas Roth and 22 Objectivity and the Language- Chris W. Surprenant Dependence of Thought A Transcendental Defence of 30 Feminism, Psychoanalysis, and Universal Lingualism Maternal Subjectivity Christian Barth Alison Stone 31 Civility in Politics and 40 Aesthetics After Metaphysics Education From Mimesis to Metaphor Edited by Deborah S. Mower, Miguel de Beistegui Wade L. Robison 41 Foundations of Freedom 32 Philosophical Inquiry into Welfare-Based Arguments Pregnancy, Childbirth, against Paternalism and Mothering Simon R. Clarke Maternal Subjects Edited by Sheila Lintott and 42 Pittsburgh School of Philosophy Maureen Sander-Staudt Sellars, McDowell, Brandom Chauncey Maher 33 Authenticity as an Ethical Ideal 43 Reference and Structure in the Somogy Varga Philosophy of Language A Defense of the Russellian 34 The Philosophy of Curiosity Orthodoxy Ilhan Inan Arthur Sullivan 35 Self-Realization and Justice 44 Civic Virtue and the A Liberal-Perfectionist Defense Sovereignty of Evil of the Right to Freedom from Derek Edyvane Employment Julia Maskivker 45 Philosophy of Language and Webs of Information 36 Narrative Identity, Autonomy, Heimir Geirsson and Mortality From Frankfurt and MacIntyre 46 Disagreement and to Kierkegaard Skepticism by John J. Davenport Edited by Diego E. Machuca 37 Contemporary Feminist 47 Philosophy in Schools Pragmatism An Introduction for Philosophers Edited by Maurice and Teachers Hamington and Celia Edited by Sara Goering, Bardwell-Jones Nicholas J. Shudak, and Thomas E. Wartenberg 38 Morality, Self Knowledge, and Human Suffering 48 A Philosophy of Material An Essay on The Loss of Culture Confi dence in the World Action, Function, and Mind Josep Corbi Beth Preston 39 Contrastivism in Philosophy 49 A Philosophy of the Screenplay Edited by Martijn Blaauw Ted Nannicelli A Philosophy of the Screenplay Ted Nannicelli First published 2013 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Simultaneously published in the UK by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2013 Taylor & Francis The right of Ted Nannicelli to be identifi ed as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Nannicelli, Ted. A philosophy of the screenplay / by Ted Nannicelli. p. cm. — (Routledge studies in contemporary philosophy) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Motion picture authorship. 2. Motion picture plays—History and criticism. I. Title. PN1996.N25 2013 808.2'3—dc23 2012030879 ISBN: 978-0-415-52144-4 ISBN: 978-0-203-06910-3 Typeset in Sabon by Apex CoVantage, LLC For Leo and Vin, who arrived during the writing of this book. And for Aliza—I owe you. Contents Acknowledgements xi Introduction 1 PART I Defi nition 1 What Is a Screenplay? An Intentional–Historical Formalist Defi nition 11 2 Defending the Defi nition: Intentionality, History, and Artifact Concepts 34 PART II Art Status 3 The Historical Narrative Approach to Identifying Art: Exegesis and Defense 61 4 From Playwriting to Screenwriting: The Historical Narrative 79 PART III Ontology 5 Objections and Ontology I: Is the Screenplay an Autonomous Work of Art? 111 6 Instructions and Artworks: Musical Scores, Theatrical Scripts, Architectural Plans, and Screenplays 124 x Contents 7 Objections and Ontology II: Is the Screenplay Literature? 139 8 Toward an Ontology of the Screenplay 162 PART IV Appreciation 9 The Appreciation of the Screenplay as Literature 191 Notes 219 Bibliography 251 Index 263 Acknowledgements This book began as a Ph.D. thesis and, as a result, it has benefi tted enor- mously from the support of an especially large group of people. The seeds of the argument that at least some screenplays are works of literature were fi rst planted when, as an M.F.A. student at Temple Univer- sity, I was simultaneously writing a feature-length screenplay for my thesis committee—which included Jeff Rush, Eran Preis, and Michelle Parkerson— and studying the philosophy of fi lm under the guidance of Noël Carroll. I am grateful to them for discussions that pushed me to start thinking philo- sophically about screenplays and for their encouragement. More recently, Noël was generous enough to read and offer feedback on two chapters and, even more indicatively of how supportive he has been, also commented on and encouraged me to publish a conference paper—now part of Chapter 5— that critiqued his own work. I am especially appreciative of his help. I would like to thank everyone at the University of Kent—in particular within the Film Studies Department and Aesthetics Research Group—who supported my thesis research. I cannot name everyone here, but would like to single out my Ph.D. cohort for subjecting my work to careful scru- tiny on a regular basis. Film Studies staff members Jinhee Choi, Peter Stanfi eld, and Aylish Wood all read rough drafts of thesis chapters, and their feedback during these early stages was very helpful. While at Kent, I benefi tted from discussions with Jerrold Levinson—a Leverhulme Visit- ing Professor in 2010—who was also kind enough to comment on a draft chapter. I was extraordinarily fortunately to have Hans Maes and David Bordwell as my examiners. Their thoughtful comments on my completed thesis were extremely helpful as I rewrote the manuscript for publication as a book. I am also grateful to Hans for allowing me to teach on his philosophy of art module and giving me the confi dence to work in what was to me an almost entirely new discipline. David’s work has served as model for me ever since my fi rst undergraduate fi lm studies course, and I am very grateful to him for taking the time out of his extremely busy schedule to serve as my external examiner. xii Acknowledgements Murray Smith, in his capacity of my thesis supervisor, not only read all of the chapters on multiple occasions, but also helped me in countless other ways too numerous to mention here. He saw the potential of my project before I was able to clearly explain what it was I wanted to write, and convinced me—in his own work and in supervisions—of the fruitfulness of working simultaneously in fi lm studies and philosophical aesthetics. From the day I arrived at the University of Waikato, my colleagues have been extraordinarily welcoming and helpful. Audiences at research seminars in the Screen and Media Studies Programme and the Philosophy Programme have pressed me to clarify and refi ne my ideas. I am especially grateful to Justine Kingsbury for her comments on two draft chapters. Thanks are also due to Willemijn Krijnen and Daniel Barron for research assistance and to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences for funding it. I am indebted to Paisley Livingston and an anonymous referee who re- viewed my project for Routledge and offered helpful feedback, as well as to Felisa Salvago-Keyes, who commissioned the book. I presented material that eventually made its way into the book at a number of conferences: the Screenwriting Research Network conferences at the University of Leeds in 2008 and at the Helsinki University of Art and Design in 2009; the European Network for Cinema Studies Conference at Lund University in 2009; the British Society for Aesthetics Conference at Heythrop College, University of London in 2010; and the Society for Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image conferences at University of Copen- hagen in 2009 and at Sarah Lawrence College and New York University in 2012.
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