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Siegfried Kracauer (; ; February 8, 1889 – November 26, 1966) was a German writer, journalist, sociologist,
cultural critic A cultural critic is a critic of a given culture, usually as a whole. Cultural criticism has significant overlap with social and cultural theory. While such criticism is simply part of the self-consciousness of the culture, the social positions o ...
, and film theorist. He has sometimes been associated with the
Frankfurt School The Frankfurt School is a school of thought in sociology and critical theory. It is associated with the University of Frankfurt Institute for Social Research, Institute for Social Research founded in 1923 at the University of Frankfurt am Main ...
of
critical theory Critical theory is a social, historical, and political school of thought and philosophical perspective which centers on analyzing and challenging systemic power relations in society, arguing that knowledge, truth, and social structures are ...
. He is notable for arguing that realism is the most important function of cinema.


Life and career

Born to a
Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
ish family in
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
, Kracauer studied architecture from 1907 to 1913, eventually obtaining a doctorate in engineering in 1914 and working as an architect in
Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...
, Munich, and
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
until 1920. Near the end of the First World War, he befriended the young
Theodor W. Adorno Theodor W. Adorno ( ; ; born Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund; 11 September 1903 – 6 August 1969) was a German philosopher, musicologist, and social theorist. He was a leading member of the Frankfurt School of critical theory, whose work has com ...
, to whom he became an early philosophical mentor. In 1964, Adorno recalled the importance of Kracauer's influence: From 1922 to 1933 he worked as the leading film and literature editor of the '' Frankfurter Zeitung'' (a leading Frankfurt newspaper) as its correspondent in Berlin, where he worked alongside
Walter Benjamin Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin ( ; ; 15 July 1892 – 26 September 1940) was a German-Jewish philosopher, cultural critic, media theorist, and essayist. An eclectic thinker who combined elements of German idealism, Jewish mysticism, Western M ...
and Ernst Bloch, among others. Between 1923 and 1925, he wrote an essay entitled ''Der Detektiv-Roman'' (''The Detective Novel''), in which he concerned himself with phenomena from everyday life in modern society. Kracauer continued this trend over the next few years, building up theoretical methods of analyzing circuses, photography, films, advertising, tourism, city layout. In 1927, he published the work ''Ornament der Masse'' (published in English as ''The Mass Ornament'') which emphasizes the tremendous value of studying the masses and
popular culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art
f. pop art F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet. F may also refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems * ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function * F-distributi ...
or mass art, sometimes contraste ...
. His essays in ''Ornament der Masse'' shows Karacauer's fascination with popular culture, particularly within the capitalist society of the United States. In 1930, Kracauer published ''Die Angestellten'' (''The Salaried Masses''), a critical look at the lifestyle and culture of the new class of white-collar employees. Spiritually homeless, and divorced from custom and tradition, these employees sought refuge in the new "distraction industries" of entertainment. Observers note that many of these lower-middle class employees were quick to adopt
Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...
, three years later. In a contemporary review of ''Die Angestellten'', Benjamin praised the concreteness of Kracauer's analysis, writing that " e entire book is an attempt to grapple with a piece of everyday reality, constructed here and experienced now. Reality is pressed so closely that it is compelled to declare its colors and name names." Kracauer became increasingly critical of capitalism (having read the works of
Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...
) and eventually broke away from the ''Frankfurter Zeitung''. About this same time (1930), he married Lili Ehrenreich. He was also very critical of
Stalinism Stalinism (, ) is the Totalitarianism, totalitarian means of governing and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953), 1927 to 1953 by dictator Jose ...
and the "terrorist totalitarianism" of the Soviet government. With the rise of the Nazis in Germany in 1933, Kracauer migrated to Paris. In March 1941, thanks to the French ambassador Henri Hoppenot and his wife, Hélène Hoppenot, he emigrated to the United States, with other German refugees like
John Rewald John Rewald (May 12, 1912 – February 2, 1994) was an American academic, author and art historian. He was known as a scholar of Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Cézanne, Renoir, Pissarro, Seurat, and other French painters of the late 19th cen ...
. From 1941 to 1943 he worked in the
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
in New York City, supported by Guggenheim and Rockefeller scholarships for his work in German film. Eventually, he published '' From Caligari to Hitler: A Psychological History of the German Film'' (1947), which traces the birth of Nazism from the cinema of the
Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...
as well as helping lay the foundation of modern
film criticism Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: Academic criticism by film studies, film scholars, who study the composition of film theory and publish ...
. In 1960, he released ''Theory of Film: The Redemption of Physical Reality'', which argued that realism is the most important function of cinema. In the last years of his life Kracauer worked as a sociologist for different institutes, amongst them in New York as a director of research for applied social sciences at
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
. He died there, in 1966, from the consequences of pneumonia. His last book is the posthumously published ''History, the Last Things Before the Last'' (New York, Oxford University Press, 1969).


Theories on memory

Siegfried Kracauer's theories on memory revolved around the idea that memory was under threat and was being challenged by modern forms of technology. His most often cited example was the comparison of memory to photography. The reason for this comparison was that photography, in theory, replicates some of the tasks currently done by memory. The differences in the functions of memory and the functions of photography, according to Kracauer, is that photography creates one fixed moment in time whereas memory itself is not beholden to a singular instance. Photography is capable of capturing the physicality of a particular moment, but it removes any depth or emotion that might otherwise be associated with the memory. In essence, photography cannot create a memory, but rather, it can create an artifact. Memory, on the other hand, is not beholden to one particular moment of time, nor is it purposefully created. Memories are impressions upon a person that they can recall due to the significance of the event or moment. Photography can also work to record time in a linear way, and Kracauer even hints that floods of photographs ward off death by creating a sort of permanence. However, photography also excludes the essence of a person, and over time photographs lose meaning and become a "heap of details." This isn't to say that Kracauer felt that photography has no use for memory, it is simply that he felt that photography held more potential for historical memory than for personal memory. Photography allows for a depth of detail that can be to the advantage of a collective memory, such as how a city or town once appeared because those aspects can be forgotten, or overridden throughout time as the physical landscape of the area changes.


Reception

Although he wrote for both popular and scholarly publications throughout much of his career, in the United States (and in English) he mainly concentrated on philosophical and sociological writings. This attracted some criticism from American scholars who found his style difficult to penetrate. At the time of his death in 1966, Kracauer was somewhat marginal in both American and German intellectual contexts. He had long ago abandoned writing in German, yet his research remained difficult to place within American scientific and academic categories. In the decades following Kracauer's death, translations of his earlier essays and works, such as "The Mass Ornament," and the publication of his letters in German, revealed a fuller portrait of Kracauer's style and gradually brought greater recognition in the United States. His former colleague from Frankfurt, Leo Löwenthal, expressed pleasant surprise at the newfound fame that seemed to accumulate around Kracauer in his death. Since the 1980s and 1990s a new generation of film theorists and critics, including , Miriam Hansen, Tom Levin and Thomas Elsaesser have interpreted and introduced his work for a new generation of scholars.Michael Kessler and Thomas Y. Levin, eds, ''Siegfried Kracauer. Neue Interpretationen.'', Tübingen: Stauffenburg Verlag, 1990.


Works

* * * * * * * * * * *


See also

*
Frankfurt School The Frankfurt School is a school of thought in sociology and critical theory. It is associated with the University of Frankfurt Institute for Social Research, Institute for Social Research founded in 1923 at the University of Frankfurt am Main ...
* Exilliteratur


References


Further reading

* Agard, Olivier. ''Siegfried Kracauer. Le chiffonnier mélancolique''. Paris: CNRS Editions, 2010. * Baumann, Stephanie. ''Im Vorraum der Geschichte. Siegfried Kracauers' History - The Last Things Before the Last''. Paderborn: Konstanz University Press, 2014. * Oschmann, Dirk. ''Auszug aus der Innerlichkeit. Das literarische Werk Siegfried Kracauers''. Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag C. Winter 1999 * Koch, Gertrud. ''Siegfried Kracauer: An Introduction''. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000. * Reeh, Henrik. ''Ornaments of the Metropolis: Siegfried Kracauer and Modern Urban Culture''. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005. * Von Moltke, Johannes and Gerd Gemünden, eds. ''Culture in the Anteroom: The Legacies of Siegfried Kracauer''. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2012. * Attilio Bruzzone, ''Siegfried Kracauer e il suo tempo (1903-1925). Il confronto con Marx, Simmel, Lukács, Bloch, Adorno, alle origini del pensiero critico'', Milano-Udine: Mimesis, 2020, ISBN 978-88-5757-232-1


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kracauer, Siegfried 1889 births 1966 deaths Anti-Stalinist left American anti-capitalists German anti-capitalists Anti-consumerists Writers from Frankfurt American film critics German film critics Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to France Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States Jewish philosophers Jewish atheists German male journalists German male novelists Frankfurter Zeitung people German sociologists Jewish sociologists Exilliteratur writers Existentialists Film theorists Jewish American journalists Jewish American non-fiction writers Jewish American novelists German male writers 20th-century German journalists German philosophers of technology German philosophers of mind German philosophers of culture German philosophers of history Propaganda theorists Offenbach scholars