Thomas Elsaesser
The subject of this lecture will be the question–already marginally raised by writers on film as diverse as André Bazin, Stanley Cavell and Gilles Deleuze – of whether it makes sense to consider the cinema under a somewhat different aspect from the approaches that dominated the discussion in the first century: is it an art form? is it a language? does it provide the most immediate access to reality or is it merely a deceptive simulation of reality? The challenge will be to see in what ways Siegfried Kracauer can still serve as a guide.
Thomas Elsaesser ist Professor Emeritus für Film- und Fernsehstudien an der Universtät Amsterdam.
