Streetphilosophy: Philosophy Takes To The Streets On Arte.tv
A program launched on arte.tv in 2017, Streetphilosophy makes the discipline accessible and fun. As its title suggests, this documentary series takes philosophy to the streets. The different episodes explore key concepts in the form of short 27-minute films shot in Berlin.
Philosophy in relaxed mode
Perhaps you are one of the many people who think that philosophy is too abstract and conceptual for them... However, this discipline that questions all facets of existence is for everyone.
The Streetphilosophy program, to be discovered on arte.tv, aims to bring the philosophical debate to the streets to make this reflection more concrete and easier to grasp.
Each episode of this documentary series poses a philosophical question and tries to answer it in a no-holds-barred way, in a black and white video that lasts less than 30 minutes and looks like a music video...
A philosophical exploration... in the streets of Berlin!
Since its inception, this program has been hosted in turn by three young Berliners Jonas Bosslet, Milosz Paul Rosinski and blogger and journalist Ronja von Rönne.
The mechanics of the show are always the same. The host starts by (asking himself) a fundamental question about life, love, people..., and then he tries to find answers not in a philosophy book but on the street, and more precisely in the hustle and bustle of Berlin's various neighborhoods!
If the concept of Streetphilosophy is to be believed, the answers to the existential questions that plague us are not necessarily to be found in the library with the great thinkers of the history of the discipline, but in the midst of people like you and me.
Just as Socrates addresses his fellow citizens in Plato's writings, the facilitators of this program approach people on the street, in the subway or in a bar and engage in conversation with individuals with a wide variety of profiles...
Very different themes and speakers
Streetphilosophy on arte.tv does everything to make philosophy accessible and not at all boring. This original concept allows the host to collect the point of view of personalities from various backgrounds on a theme, an injunction or a specific quote...
For example, the episode devoted to evil interviews journalists who specialize in legal cases, but the form of this exchange is much more relaxed than a classic television interview.
On arte.tv (link below), you can find episodes devoted to topics as diverse as work, wealth, laziness or language. But for each topic, this program relies on informal exchanges, more authentic and natural than what we are used to seeing on television.
Like Socrates in antiquity, these 'street philosophers' do not necessarily give answers, but allow the viewer to further his or her thoughts around a question.
A neat and original aesthetic
The Arte series Streetphilosophy has been awarded the Adolf Grimme Prize for television productions in Germany. Behind this original program are two passionate directors: Simon Hufeisen and Dominik Bretsch, the latter having studied... philosophy at university!
This program owes part of its success to the care taken in its production. Each short film of about thirty minutes presents a very worked aesthetic in black and white on a background of jazzy music.
On the form as on the content, this televisual UFO is not afraid to dust off philosophy and to challenge the viewer to better push him to think. In short, Arte offers us a philosophical nugget, useful for teenagers who are taking their baccalaureate and beneficial for all ages!
