ABSTRACT
In accordance with some contributions from the field of aesthetics that point out how, by postulating a relegation or even contempt of Theodor W. Adorno for cinema, most receptions have impoverished the critical potential of Adorno’s thought, this paper moves forward on some aspects of Adorno’s aesthetic consideration of cinema. On the one hand, we highlight a materialist and dialectical reading of Adorno’s famous category of culture industry. On the other, we draw attention to the central place of Alexander Kluge’s early films and theoretical insights for Adorno’s postulation of a specific aesthetics of cinema. In this context, the paper revisits Adorno’s thought on cinema, considering one of the most interesting aesthetic problems that arises from his relation to Kluge: thinking cinema against the image. In this point, we highlight the reflection on a cinema that is self-aware of its formal aspects, on the image beyond its referential character and on the montage technique. At the end, we set out how cinema, from Adornos point of view, shows its affinity with writing and subjective experience.
Keywords:
Theodor W; Adorno; Cinema; Alexander Kluge; Aesthetics; Image