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Interpreting Irony in Film: Intention, Rhetoric, and Irony’s Edge

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Irony in Film

Part of the book series: Palgrave Close Readings in Film and Television ((CRFT))

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Abstract

This chapter of Irony in Film confronts key theoretical questions that irony raises for the practice of interpretation concerning intention, rhetoric, and the possibility of misinterpretation. Some theorists claim that irony cannot be a property of texts but is rather an interpretive strategy employed by readers; thus, if a text is not read as ironic, then it is not ironic. By contrast, MacDowell proposes that to express oneself ironically is to have ironic intentions; according to this argument, an irony intended by a film is an irony present in that film, regardless of how it may be read. This case is made partly via an extended analysis of the ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ scene from Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Warwick, Coventry, UK

    James MacDowell

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  1. James MacDowell
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MacDowell, J. (2016). Interpreting Irony in Film: Intention, Rhetoric, and Irony’s Edge. In: Irony in Film. Palgrave Close Readings in Film and Television. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-32993-6_4

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