Book Description
Weimar Cinema and After offers a fresh perspective on the arguments which view genres and movements such as 'films of the fantastic', 'Nazi Cinema', 'film noir' and 'New German Cinema' as typically German contributions to twentieth century visual culture. Elsaesser argues that German cinema's significance lies more in its contribution to a creation of a community sharing a 'historical imaginary' rather than a 'national identity.' In this respect, German cinema anticipated some of the problems facing contemporary nations in reconstituting their identities by means of media images, memory, and invented traditions.
About the author
Thomas Elsaesser is Professor and Chair of the Department of Film and Television at the University of Amsterdam
