Eyes Wide Shut

Al di là dell’oculocentrismo

Abstract

Through a close comparison between the thought of Plato, Lévinas and Godard, this essay aims to discuss the theme of oculocentrism and its overcoming in the cinema of Ozu. Despite the distance he establishes between the Greek philosopher and himself, Lévinas invites us to look at the face, just as Plato invites us to look at the sun, falling prey to the same centrality of the scopic regime. Godard himself will not be able to avoid this aporia, since he will suggest looking at the screen. In Ozu, on the other hand, the characters lose their eyesight and thus their vision in order to become visions themselves. In this way, Ozu restores to the image its optical fullness or, if you like, its “panoramicity”.