The Digital Outside : Deleuzian film philosophy and contemporary screen cultures ; Le Dehors Numérique : Deleuze et l'écran contemporain

Abstract

The problem this thesis intends to address is that of a certain disconnect between the cinematic philosophy of Gilles Deleuze and the condition of the contemporary moving-image, which, in the years since Deleuze wrote on film, has been radically altered by its transformation into digital format(s). It is my central contention that a productive relationship between this philosophy and contemporary screen cultures is indeed possible, and potentially of great value, provided we can reread and extend certain key Deleuzian concepts.Pursuant to this goal, drawing on a concept deployed throughout Deleuze's Cinema II: The Time-Image (1985), I argue that digital images can engender certain unique relations with an "outside" –an unarticulated presence beyond the frame, which serves to unground and problematise thought. The "outside" –developed from the literary philosophy of Maurice Blanchot– constitutes a genetic condition of thought, which sees the thinker confronted with that which is fundamentally un-thought, an unrecognisable terrain to which she must respond with creative, novel solutions. This model of thought, I argue, impels us away from habitudes and orthodoxies, forcing us to become radically open to contingency and change –a movement commensurate with what I will claim is the fundamental political orientation of Deleuze's philosophy. ; Le problème que cette thèse se propose d'aborder est celui d'un décalage entre la philosophie du cinéma de Gilles Deleuze et la condition de l'image cinématographique contemporaine, qui, depuis l'analyse de Deleuze, a été radicalement modifiée par le numérique. Mon argument principal est qu'une relation productive entre cette philosophie et les cultures contemporaines de l'écran est en effet possible et potentiellement très utile, à condition que nous puissions relire et étendre certains concepts-clés de la pensée deleuzienne. Dans ce contexte, à partir d'un concept utilisé dans Cinéma II : l'image-temps (1985), je soutiens que les images numériques peuvent engendrer des ...