On Monday we discussed early silent cinema, including early film theory with excerpts from Kaes et. al., The Promise of Cinema, in terms of its transnational characteristics. Part of this discussion was a debate about the extent of the universal nature of film. The readings proposed various arguments: gestures and images as a kind of universal language that transcends the limitations of traditional language; the notion that cinema is for everyone, not just the elite; and that a film can only be considered successful if it is internationally popular. While aspects of these claims may be grounded in truth, a closer look reveals the white-eurocentric position from which these claims are made. Gestures are not, in fact, universal, as various gestures carry different meanings in different cultures. Film was indeed democratizing to an extent in Europe in that the working class was also able to afford it, and films from around the world did give those who did not have the means to travel an impression of different countries, often considered “exotic.” However, this was still only true for the white-western world. Film was made by and for the global-privileged class and thus reinforced the stereotypes that the western world held concerning the developing world just as much as–if not more than–it educated the masses about different cultures.
Workers Leaving The Lumière Factory in Lyon . The first film by the Lumière brothers.
During class, we also tied this discussion to the film for this week, Murnau’s Nosferatu. Nosferatu is an excellent example of a silent film that relies on gestures and acting to tell the story. The intertitles act as signposts to guide the viewer along but are not central to the understanding of the film. Nosferatu is particularly interesting in this respect because it initiates the genre of Vampire film that has exploded in recent decades and because it offers a meta-commentary on the medium of film itself. Ubiquity, crossing borders, foreignness, reproducibility, shadows, a preference for darkness, and sunlight as damaging are all characteristics that vampires and film share.
Shadow of Nosferatu as he climbs the stairs to visit Ellen.
On Wednesday we will go into more detail about the stereotypes and othering present in Nosferatu and Vampire films in general, but for this post I would like you to comment on the universality and transnational nature of film with regard to early cinema or, if you choose, more specifically Nosferatu. Please post as a reply below. (Min. 200 words)