Althusser and Pasolini

Agon Hamza offers an in-depth analysis of the main thesis of Louis Althussers philosophical enterprise alongside a clear, engaging dissection of Pier Paolo Pasolinis most important films. There is a philosophical, religious, and political relationship between Althussers philosophy and Pier Paolo Pasolinis films. Hamza teases out the points of contact, placing specific focus on critiques of ideology, religion, ideological state apparatuses, and the class struggle. The discussion, however, does not address Althusser and Pasolini alone. Hamza also draws on Spinoza, Hegel, Marx, and iek to complete his study. Pasolinis films are a treasure-trove of Althusserian thought, and Hamza ably employs Althusserian terms in his reading of the films. Althusser and Pasolini provides a creative reconstruction of Althusserian philosophy, as well as a novel examination of Pasolinis film from the perspective of the filmmakers own thought and Althussers theses.