Fatherhood, Love and the Unknown: Visual Narratives and Musical Intertwinings in Christopher Nolan’s Inception (2010) and Interstellar (2014)
Year: 2026
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: In a mixed-methodological approach, the current paper explores the pragmatic humanism of quotidian phenomena such as “fatherhood”, “love” and “masculinity” brought to the forefront of the cinematic discourse in two recent motion-pictures directed by Christopher Nolan on music composed by Hans Zimmer: Inception (2010) and Interstellar (2014). The investigative endeavor draws on decade-long phenomenological experiences and empirical experiments as well as on hermeneutic discourse analysis and historic-geographic contextualization, resulting in the creative integration of cinema releases within the broader framework of mainstream media: on the one hand, Inception transcends feminism through the duality of its representation of femininity, inducing a potentially limitless sense of masculine reinvigoration; on the other hand, Interstellar re-actualizes the postemotional debate of late 1990s and allows for alternative discourse in the construction of the future as an exponentially positive self-generative force in light of human cooperation and mutually beneficial understanding. The key-element in this examination is the re-calibration of love as “fatherly love”: an immense, essentially inexhaustible geyser of energy, strength and benevolence.
Author: Maria GRAJDIAN
Institution: Hiroshima University
Language: English
Topic: Cinema History and Criticism
Subfield: Visual Arts and Performing Arts
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W7225618190
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