Margulies book makes a timely and original argument for the Humanities by offering a new assessment of the powers and responsibilities of the arts. It will be essential reading in many fields of inquiry beyond its obvious relevance to film studies: Holocaust studies, genre studies, theater, anthropology, and each of the many national cinema traditions and individual filmmakers considered.
Ivone Margulies is Professor in the Department of Film & Media at Hunter College of the City University of New York.