The Contemporary Sublime: Human Relationships in Knight of Cups Anonymous College

The sublime, which was once a part of popular culture itself during its heyday in the Romantic period, has receded in popularity and, consequently, in the prevalence of contemporary analysis and understanding. Nevertheless, the concept of the sublime remains more important than ever in the twenty-first century, and its presence and its influence can be identified in many recent works. Since the sublime is about accessing a work that lifts the viewer or reader out of his or her present moment and shows them the intensity of emotions lurking under the surface, it is a concept that has strong applications to virtually every form of media today. In particular, some of the more daring and experimental films that have emerged in the past several years have sought to illustrate the contemporary sublime and how it offers new challenges in the modern world: The contemporary sublime, especially as illustrated in Terrence Malick’s Knight of Cups, illustrates how human relationships can offer what are sometimes missed opportunities to connect with the sublime, as well as the stigmatized nature of the sublime in an increasingly rationalist world. These contemporary engagements with the work of the sublime show how it has both retained some...