| Alain Badiou's contention that 'mathematics is ontology' suggests not only a new way of thinking of being, but provides a rigorous framework for approaching questions of art, and cinema in particular. Philosophy is 'conditioned' by four situations capable of producing truths, namely: science, politics, art and love. This thesis explores the production of such truths, focusing on the realms of love and cinema, aspects of Badiou's philosophy remain largely unexplored -- an omission this study hopes to rectify.;In order to demonstrate the scope and relevance of Badiou's philosophy to film studies, we begin by offering an insight into the major concepts of 'being', 'event', 'subject' and 'truth' alongside a demonstration of their pertinence to a discussion of New German Cinema, and the films of Wim Wenders in particular. We move from an exploration of post-war Germany as an example of an 'evental site' to trace the factors that instigated a new cinematic movement capable of undertaking an exploration of what it meant to be German in the wake of the Second World War.;We move to a consideration of love as a generic procedure, coupled with an analysis of Wenders' Wings of Desire. The topology of 'the Two'---of the loving couple---provides the basis for a comparative reading of the concept of the 'Open', situating Badiou's mathematical approach alongside those offered by Rilke, Heidegger and Deleuze.;Turning to a more direct application of Badiou's thought, the second half of the thesis considers the question of 'Inaesthetics'---an approach that seeks to think the truths of each art form intrinsically. We position Badiou's interventions in film theory relative to his work with the L'Art du Cinema group, his development of key concepts of Andre Bazin, and his on-going dispute with fellow philosopher Gilles Deleuze. Again, the films of Wenders provide the context for exploring Badiou's tri-partite conception of the 'false movement' of cinema. The topological framework developed in the earlier chapters on love and the open is recapitulated as a means of approaching the key notion of the 'impurification' of the other arts within the framework of cinema. |
