The Great History of Western Philosophy

Chairman Mao, Socrates, the Monkey King and Mickey Mouse meet in this unhinged animated journey through western and eastern philosophy, mythology, art history, pop culture and stream-of-consciousness dream states. A cosmic animator – otherwise known as the monk Xuanzang, who inspired the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West – commits an unknown ‘crime’ that infuriates the Central Committee, which has condemned them to make an educational philosophical film. Mao Zedong goes even further, demanding the artist’s death; but Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, steps in to protect his master. Next step: chaos! That’s about as much sense as you will get with The Great History of Western Philosophy – because, for non-binary Mexican animator Aria Covamonas, subjectivity is much more interesting. Drawing on dada, surrealism, Lacanian psychoanalytic theory, Monty Python and the stylings of photomontage artist Hannah Höch, Covamonas’s visually striking and deliberately disorienting debut feature is constructed from collages cut out of public-domain images. Accompanied by Chinese dialogue that has been – intentionally, and hilariously – dubbed and mistranslated, The Great History of Western Philosophy promises game MIFF audiences an anarchically funny and wild ride into the heart of anti-narrative absurdist animation. “Unfolds on screen as a magnificent orgy of animated images … an invitation to surrender to a different kind of cinematic experience that is certainly worth the effort.” – Screen Anarchy.