Without Empathy

From apparent melodrama and eroticism to fantasy and horror, these eight directors redefine satire's limits, providing evidence that irony in cinema often goes unrecognized.

In Without Empathy, MK Raghavendra investigates how irony and satire function in cinema by focusing on the work of eight visionary directors—Luis Bunuel, R.W. Fassbinder, Stanley Kubrick, Robert Altman, Paul Verhoeven, Aki Kaurismaki, Aleksei Balabanov, and David Lynch. At a time when irony is increasingly scrutinized as a mode of expression, this book reconsiders its role in film, revealing how these auteurs deploy wit and subversion in ways that unsettle audience expectations.

Through close readings of selected works, Raghavendra identifies layers of meaning beneath the surface of films often misread. The book situates these directors within broader traditions of cinematic satire, while simultaneously interrogating what their work has to say about society, culture, and human folly. Without Empathy is a lucid read for scholars and students of film studies and communication, providing a provocative lens on how satirical intent is not always recognizable today and how its actual targets can make society uncomfortable.