Abstract:

The“undecidable film”refers to a cinematic form characterized by structural ambiguity and semantic indeterminacy. In recent years, this emerging form has entered mainstream commercial production, giving rise to  representative works such as Barbie and Her Story. The undecidable film is not only a product of the film industry’s restructuring and transformation in response to various challenges since the new century but also represents a promising new direction for its future development. However, the emergence of this new form poses significant challenges to film scholarship and criticism. In this context, the research trajectory of“film as thought experiment,”proposed by film theorist Thomas Elsaesser, offers profound theoretical inspiration for analyzing the undecidable film. It is argued that approaching these films as thought experiments allows for a deeper understanding of their function in navigating contemporary cultural contradictions.

Key words: undecidable film, thought experiment, tipping point, film industry