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Edgar Morin

Edgar Morin

Writing

Biography

Edgar Morin (born Edgar Nahoum; 8 July 1921) is a French philosopher and sociologist of the theory of information who has been recognized for his work on complexity and "complex thought" (pensée complexe), and for his scholarly contributions to such diverse fields as media studies, politics, sociology, visual anthropology, ecology, education, and systems biology. As he explains: He holds two bachelors: one in history and geography and one in law. He never did a Ph.D. Though less well known in the anglophone world due to the limited availability of English translations of his over 60 books, Morin is renowned in the French-speaking world, Europe, and Latin America. During his academic career he was primarily associated with the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) in Paris. At the beginning of the 20th century, Morin's family migrated from the Ottoman city of Salonica (Thessaloniki) to Marseille and later to Paris, where Edgar was born. He is of Judeo-Spanish (Sefardi) origin. When the Germans invaded France in 1940, Morin assisted refugees and joined the French Resistance. As a member of the French Resistance he adopted the pseudonym Morin, which he continues to use. He joined the French Communist Party in 1941. In 1945, Morin married Violette Chapellaubeau and they lived in Landau, where he served as a lieutenant in the French Occupation army in Germany. In 1946, he returned to Paris and gave up his military career to pursue his activities with the Communist Party. Due to his critical posture, his relationship with the party gradually deteriorated until he was expelled in 1951 after he published an article in L'Observateur politique, économique et littéraire. In the same year, he was admitted to the National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS). Morin founded and directed the magazine Arguments (1954–1962). In 1959 his book Autocritique was published. The book was a sustained reflection on his adherence to, and subsequent exit from, the Communist Party, focusing on the dangers of ideology and self-deception. In 1960, Morin travelled extensively in Latin America, visiting Brazil, Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Mexico. He returned to France, where he published L'Esprit du Temps, a work on popular culture. That same year, French sociologist Georges Friedmann brought him and Roland Barthes together to create a Centre for the Study of Mass Communication that, after several name changes, became the Edgar Morin Centre of the EHESS, Paris. Also in 1960 Morin and Jean Rouch coauthored the film Chronique d'un été, an early example of cinéma vérité and direct cinema. Beginning in 1965, Morin became involved in a large multidisciplinary project, financed by the Délégation Générale à la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique in Plozévet.

Known For

Apostrophes
8.5

Apostrophes was a live, weekly, literary, prime-time, talk show on French television created and hosted by Bernard Pivot. It ran for fifteen years (724 episodes) from January 10, 1975, to June 22, 1990, and was one of the most watched shows on French television (around 6 million regular viewers). It was broadcast on Friday nights on the channel France 2 (which was called "Antenne 2" from 1975 to 1992). The hourlong show was devoted to books, authors and literature. The format varied between one-on-one interviews with a single author and open discussions between four or five authors.

Apostrophes

1975
Chronicle of a Summer
7.2

Paris, summer 1960. Anthropologist and filmmaker Jean Rouch and sociologist and film critic Edgar Morin wander through the crowded streets asking passersby how they cope with life's misfortunes.

Chronicle of a Summer

1961
Lest We Forget
7.0

A compilation of 30 French filmmakers, Alain Resnais and Jean Luc Godard among them, who use film to make a plea on behalf of a political prisoner. Jean Luc Godard and Anne Marie Mieville's film concerns the plight of Thomas Wanggai, West Papuan activist who has since died in prison. The short films were commissioned by Amnesty International.

Lest We Forget

1991
The Lovely Month of May
8.0

Candid interviews of ordinary people on the meaning of happiness, an often amorphous and inarticulable notion that evokes more basic and fundamentally egalitarian ideals of self-betterment, prosperity, tolerance, economic opportunity, and freedom.

The Lovely Month of May

1963
Bains de Minuit
8.7

"Bains de minuit" (Midnight Baths) was a late-night talk show hosted by Thierry Ardisson on La Cinq in the late 1980s, filmed in the famous Parisian nightclub Les Bains Douches. Ardisson interviewed personalities from the worlds of music, film, fashion, literature, sports, and politics, seated among the audience in the club's authentic atmosphere. The concept was to immerse these personalities in the world of nightlife and festivities, far removed from traditional television studios. The interviews were often irreverent and direct, with a provocative tone that would become Ardisson's trademark. He considers this show one of his freest and most audacious creations. It helped solidify his image as a cosmopolitan, transgressive, and highly scripted late-night talk show host.

Bains de Minuit

1987
The Hour of Truth
6.0

At the end of World War 2, a Nazi escapes arrest by assuming the identity of concentration camp victim. 20 years later, he is threatened with exposure. The only way out would seem to be murder. Hour of Truth was lensed largely on location in Israel.

The Hour of Truth

1965
Jean-Marie Serreau, découvreur de théâtres
10.0

No description available.

Jean-Marie Serreau, découvreur de théâtres

2016
Football And Immigration, 100 Years Of Common History
10.0

Football is both the place, the crystallization of sporting passion and the witness of identity imaginations. It is also an interesting and relevant area for discussing the migration issue. From the 1930s to the present day, football, notably with the composition of the French team, has reflected the plurality of the French population. Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Zinedine Zidane, Basile Boli... these four footballers alone illustrate the four major waves of immigration that France has experienced.

Football And Immigration, 100 Years Of Common History

2014
Aimé Césaire: A Voice for History
10.0

A three-part study that introduces audiences to the celebrated Martinican author Aimé Césaire, who coined the term "négritude" and launched the movement called the "Great Black Cry".

Aimé Césaire: A Voice for History

1995
Kim Kardashian Theory
4.8

Kim Kardashian is the embodiment of our times. She's a total social figure. To analyze her is to talk about ourselves, our relationship with social networks, capitalism and aesthetic standards. Through the eyes of journalists Nesrine Slaoui and Guillaume Erner, this film proposes a theory in the zeitgeist, crossed by questions of race and gender. Journalist and sociologist Guillaume Erner wonders why Kim Kardashian is the most followed woman in the world on social networks "when she does nothing". With the help of journalist and director Nesrine Slaoui, he paints a portrait of this "total social character", who is famous because of... her fame. Fashion icon, star of a never-ending reality TV family saga, savvy businesswoman, future lawyer and activist outraged by the state of American prisons, the beautiful Kim, who is said to be tempted by a political destiny, is in fact not idle at all...

Kim Kardashian Theory

2024
Here to Stay
5.6

Urban sprawl, extinct species, depletion of natural resources and global warming are all causes of deep anxiety. Here to stay takes an uncompromising look at Planet Earth today, in all its beauty but also its scars and contradictions. Illustrating the intricate relationship and contrasts between the miracles of nature and man's obsession in trying to tame them. Can we turn back the tide? What do we really want for ourselves?

Here to Stay

2009
Edgar Morin, un penseur à Paris
4.5

No description available.

Edgar Morin, un penseur à Paris

2019
Un été + 50
7.0

A seventy-five-minute documentary featuring outtakes from "Chronicle of a Summer" (1961), along with new interviews with co-director Edgar Morin and some of the film’s participants.

Un été + 50

2011
Edgar Morin, chronique d'un regard
6.5

No description available.

Edgar Morin, chronique d'un regard

2015
Mario Ruspoli, Prince of the Whales
N/A

Colleagues, friends and specialists pay tribute to the filmmaker Mario Ruspoli in a portrait that mixes encounters, archive images and film excerpts. With testimonies from Richard Leacock, Albert Maysles, Edgar Morin, D.A. Pennebaker and others.

Mario Ruspoli, Prince of the Whales

2011
Edgar Morin, journal d'une vie
N/A

A philosopher of complexity, Edgar Morin has renewed the figure of the intellectual. Born Edgar Nahoum in Paris in 1921, he joined the Communist Resistance in 1942, where he adopted the pseudonym Morin, which he never abandoned. Author of about a hundred books, doctor "honoris causa" of about forty universities in the world, he never stopped promoting human brotherhood.

Edgar Morin, journal d'une vie

2021