ABSTRACT
The definitions of political cinema and propaganda cinema developed in the previous chapters are linked to the idea that cinema has epistemic value. In this chapter, and the followings, the author expands on the possibility that cinema, and more specifically, political cinema, could yield knowledge. Specifically, in this chapter, the author deals with the problem of value interaction; he takes issue with the idea that we could distinguish between an aesthetic and an artistic value of art and then sketches the possible relation between aesthetic and epistemic value. The author argues that if we want to make sense of the category of political cinema, we need to prove that cinema has got epistemic value and that this value is not merely adventitious, but it is rather linked to the properties of the film itself. The author analyzes the film Leviathan to inquire into the possible interrelation between the epistemic and aesthetic value and he holds that, when it comes to aesthetic appreciation, it does not suffice for a film to have epistemic value, but it is necessary that this value is to be conveyed ‘via’ the film, and it should not rely on any external justification. The empirical knowledge conveyed by Leviathan is justified by testimony, and it seems entirely dependent on features that cannot be appreciated in the artwork. If the epistemic value depends exclusively on properties external to the artwork, then there is no value interaction.
