Film societies in Germany and Austria 1910-1933 : tracing the social life of cinema. / Michael Cowan

Fist Edition

Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2023.

1 online resource (274 pages)

Film Culture in Transition

This study traces the evolution of early film societies in Germany and Austria, from the emergence of mass movie theaters in the 1910s to the turbulent years of the late Weimar Republic. Examining a diverse array of groups, it approaches film societies as formations designed to assimilate and influence a new medium: a project emerging from the world of amateur science before taking new directions into industry, art and politics. Through an interdisciplinary approach-in dialogue with social history, print history and media archaeology-it also transforms our theoretical understanding of what a film society was and how it operated. Far from representing a mere collection of pre-formed cinephiles, film societies were, according to the book's central argument, <cite>productive</cite> social formations, which taught people how to nurture their passion for the movies, how to engage with cinema, and how to interact with each other. Ultimately, the study argues that examining film societies can help to reveal the diffuse agency by which generative ideas of cinema take shape.

9048555728 (electronic bk.)
9789048555727 (electronic bk.)

Motion pictures Societies, etc. History.
Motion pictures Social aspects Germany History 20th century.
Motion pictures Social aspects Austria History 20th century.
Cinéma Associations Histoire.
Cinéma Aspect social Allemagne Histoire 20e siècle.
Cinéma Aspect social Autriche Histoire 20e siècle.
Films, cinema.
HISTORY / Europe / Germany.
PERFORMING ARTS / Film & Video / History & Criticism.
SOCIAL SCIENCE / Media Studies.
Motion pictures Social aspects
Motion pictures Societies, etc.
Austria
Germany
Film societies, German cinema, Austrian cinema, film culture, film journals, media archaeology, scientific film, film industries, cinephilia, film activism.

History

Film culture in transition.