Examined Life

Philosophy in general doesn’t lend itself to film, since it can be hard to illustrate visually, but Astra Taylor solves this problem in her 2008 documentary, Examined Life, by pairing today’s top academics and thinkers with images that underscore their ideas. For instance, Cornell West likens philosophic thinking to playing jazz music, amid a backdrop of actual jazz, and Peter Singer shares his take on consumerism, assisted by images of upscale New York boutiques. The film’s tone is informal and chatty, but combined these segments make the case for considering everyday minutiae philosophically.