University of California Press Cinema and Experience: Siegfried Kracauer, Walter Benjamin, and Theodor W. Adorno: 44 (Weimar & Now: German Cultural Criticism)

Siegfried Kracauer, Walter Benjamin, and Theodor W. Adorno-affiliated through friendship, professional ties, and argument-developed an astute philosophical critique of modernity in which technological media played a key role. This book explores in depth their reflections on cinema and photography from the Weimar period up to the 1960s. Miriam Bratu Hansen brings to life an impressive archive of known and, in the case of Kracauer, less known materials and reveals surprising perspectives on canonic texts, including Benjamin's artwork essay. Her lucid analysis extrapolates from these writings the contours of a theory of cinema and experience that speaks to questions being posed anew as moving image culture evolves in response to digital technology. Review "Cinema and Experience aptly fuses historiography and theory."--Roy Grundmann "Cineaste" (7/1/2014 12:00:00 AM) Cinema and Experience aptly fuses historiography and theory.-- "Cineaste" (6/1/2014 12:00:00 AM) "A crowning achievement in its own right."--Noah Isenberg "Bookforum" (4/30/2012 12:00:00 AM) "This magisterial book is a gift. . . . There is no other study like it."-- "Artforum" (12/1/2012 12:00:00 AM) [Hansen's] reader is amply rewarded by the rich suggestiveness and expansive quality of her insights. . . . A crowning achievement."-- "Bookforum" (5/1/2012 12:00:00 AM) From the Inside Flap Like a careful gardener, Miriam Hansen planted and interwove traditions of Frankfurt critical theory, modern film history, and her own critical passions and curiosity. She is an important transatlantic bridge for the traditions of enlightenment and film art. She was not only a theoretical mind, but someone who also exerted a strong, practical influence on filmmaking. Because of her, the Minutenfilm saw a rebirth, as well as film projected onto multiple screens, the Max Ophüls renaissance, and much more. We auteurs listened to her. She wasas she sat in her Chicago office and worked, occasionally glancing over the lakeour prophet. Alexander Kluge, Berlin Journal Cinema and Experience is a doubly poignant book: simultaneously a soulful investigation into the complex fate of experience in a mass-mediated modernity and the posthumous publication of the culminating masterwork of one the master scholars of cinema studies. Rich and probing insights resonate from every page of this wonderful volume. Dana Polan, author of Scenes of Instruction: The Beginnings of the U.S. Study of Film Miriam Hansens brilliant analysis of the cinematic experience combines a democratic respect for mass culture with the highest standards of scholarly excellence. Mickey Mouse, slapstick comedy, the photographic image and filmed reality become her keys to deciphering the philosophical differences between Adorno and Benjamin, and the philosophical significance of Kracauers journalistic eye. The presentnew media, social networking, drone warfareis never out of her sight. For the beginning student and the advanced scholar in multiple disciplines, Hansens writing is a gift, and a roadmap to every relevant scholarly debate. This is an indispensable book by an irreplaceable author. We shall miss her. Susan Buck-Morss, author of The Dialectics of Seeing: Walter Benjamin and the Arcades Project Miriam Hansens study is the first comprehensive reconstruction of the complex theoretical frames in which Adorno, Benjamin, and Kracauer set their philosophical thoughts on film and cinema. Hansens profound knowledge of the complete works of these influential thinkers allows her to relate questions of film and cinema aesthetics to the core thoughts of the Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School in manifold and sometimes surprisingly new ways. This study will establish a new look at the Frankfurt School as well as on film theory in general. Gertrud Koch, author of Siegfried Kracauer: An Introduction In her posthumous book, Miriam Hansen offers novel readings, both sub