Physical redemption

psychophysics, messianism, and the origins of Kracauer's theory of film

Matthew Handelman

pp. 239-257

in: Jörn Ahrens, Paul Fleming, Susanne Martin, Ulrike Vedder (eds), "Doch ist das wirkliche auch vergessen, so ist es darum nicht getilgt", Berlin, Springer, 2017

Abstract

The title Theory of Film: The Redemption of Physical Reality (1960) neatly encapsulates the myriad, interdisciplinary directions one associates with the name Siegfried Kracauer. In the half century since his death, such interdisciplinary methods and interests have been recognized as offering up a robust model of cultural criticism "between" disciplines — between literature and theory, between media such as photography and film, and between intellectual milieus in Europe and in the United States. Let us, however, not forget too quickly the criticism that Kracauer's thinking has garnered and the anxiety it has produced as it entwines film with other intellectual pursuits, such as philosophy, theology, and messianism, as captured in the titular promise of redemption.

Cited authors

Kracauer Siegfried