Marx at the Movies: Revisiting History, Theory and Practice

Abstract

Marx and the Moving Image approaches cinema from a perspective that has been marginalised by mainstream film studies for over three decades. It argues that the supposed 'end of history', marked by the comprehensive triumph of capitalism and the 'end of cinema', calls for revisiting Marx's writings in order to analyse film theories, histories and practices. Particular attention is paid to subjects rarely explored by Marxist scholars, such as classical Hollywood cinema and amateur filmmaking, as well as to the use of humour, the problem of adaptation and translation, the relationship between sound and image and the use of music and silence in film. Beyond Marx, the contributors also refer to the works of authors such as Benjamin, Bloch, Adorno, Brecht, Rancière, Hardt and Negri, Sviták and Kosík.