Abstract
Lukács’s conception of film is analyzed here exclusively on basis of the chapter of “ The Specificity of the Aesthetic,” in which the philosopher endeavored to disentangle the aesthetic problems raised by cinematic art. Does film constitute an artistic form at all, and if it does, in which respect is it an art form? Lukács looked at the question in the framework in which Béla Balázs and Siegfried Kracauer examined it. He attempted to elaborate a proper film theory relying on the general categories of his Aesthetic like homogenous medium, double reflection, unity of atmosphere, indefinite objectivity, and created immediacy. The fertility of these concepts is illustrated with numerous examples.
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Notes
The Chapter was writtenin co-authorship with Judit Bárdos.
An enlarged version of this article was republished in 1913 (Lukács 1913).
There is little literature about this aspect of Lukács’s aestetic, and few people appreciated his contribution to film theory. Among the few exceptions it is worth mentioning Levin (1987).
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© 2014 János Kelemen
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Kelemen, J. (2014). Lukács and the Art of Film: On a Chapter of his The Specificity of the Aesthetic. In: The Rationalism of Georg Lukács. Political Philosophy and Public Purpose. Palgrave Pivot, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137370259_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137370259_7
Publisher Name: Palgrave Pivot, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-47633-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-37025-9
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