Without Empathy: Irony and the Satirical Impulse in Eight Major Filmmakers MK Raghavendra (Freelance Film Scholar) 9781835951408

Irony and the satirical impulse in cinema have gradually lost favor, mockery increasingly more selective in its choice of targets. As Linda Hutcheon notes, irony is becoming a problematic mode of expression in the 21st century.

The book examines, selectively, the work of eight film auteurs: Luis Bunuel, RW Fassbinder, Stanley Kubrick, Robert Altman, Paul Verhoeven, Aki Kaurismaki, Aleksei Balabanov and David Lynch, much of whose work is not always regarded thus and the films examined are often more ironic than satirical.

The introduction examines the various categories of satire, and the chapters then study the filmmakers individually through selected works, offering interpretations of films and identifying a consistent approach. Since the work is often ambiguous the book speculates on each film's purport, engaging in textual interpretation of individual works to understand concerns underneath the most obvious. The Afterword tries to find common targets and strategies on the filmmakers' part.

MK Raghavendra is an Indian film and literary scholar and academic with eight books from international publishers. He is an award winning writer and his writing has been translated into French, Polish, Spanish and Russian.