This new textbook is an abridgment of the authors earlier Woody Allens Angst: Philosophical Commentaries on His Serious Films (McFarland, 1997 invaluableChoice ) Five main topics are explored: the desire of many of his characters to ground their lives in traditional ethical values despite their realization that such values may no longer be certain the opposition between pessimism and optimism throughout his films gender issues relating to romantic love, sexual desire and the ongoing changes in our cultural expectations of both men and women the idea that contemporary American society is rapidly descending into barbarism precisely because of societal failure to maintain a sense of individual moral responsibility and a critique of psychoanalysis as a method for understanding human behavior Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here