Rate My Professor Matthew Cipa

Dr. Matthew Cipa serves as Teaching Associate in Film and Television within the School of Communication and Arts at the University of Queensland, and holds an Affiliate Research Fellow position in the School of Languages and Cultures. He completed his Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Queensland in 2020, with a thesis entitled "Metaphysical film and television: the aesthetic experience of abstract reality." Cipa's research centers on Film and Television Studies, delving into metaphysical dimensions of the screen, transcendental style in cinema, the interplay between philosophy and film, critical reception dynamics, and portrayals of autism and empathy in audiovisual media. His scholarly pursuits also encompass film aesthetics, theory, criticism, and film-philosophy.

Cipa has made notable contributions to academic literature through diverse publications. His debut monograph, "Is Harpo Free?: And Other Questions of the Metaphysical Screen," appeared in 2024 with SUNY Press. Key book chapters include "A friend out of an enemy: screen space and the traversal of sociocultural boundaries in A Majority of One" (2025, Rutgers University Press), "Ferrara’s polarizing critical reception: clarity, coherence, and incongruity" (2024, Edinburgh University Press, co-authored with Ted Nannicelli and Joel Fantini), "The role of philosophy in Schiller’s prose" (2023, Palgrave Macmillan), and "Performative restraint and the challenges of empathy in being there and phantom thread" (2022, University of Texas Press). Journal publications feature "A tale of two donkeys: transcendent creatures and transcendental style in Au Hasard Balthazar and EO" (2024, Senses of Cinema), "Jackass Forever, directed by Jeff Tremaine, MTV Films, 2022" (2023, Australasian Journal of American Studies), and book reviews in Projections (2020 and 2016). Additionally, he is the sole editor and contributor to "Starting Over: Amnesia and Personal Identity in Film and Television," under contract with SUNY Press. As a dedicated educator, Cipa teaches in Film and Television Studies and is available for PhD supervision as an Associate Advisor.