Hauser Arnold és a film társadalomtörténete
Arnold Hauser and the Social History of Film

Summary/Abstract: Arnold Hauser has become well known with the publication of The Social History of Art in London in 1951. The book analyzes the social context of cultural productions from the ancient times until the mid-20th century. The last chapter, dealing with the times of the author, is entitled “Under the sign of the film”, and also the entire work shows a remarkable interest for viewing cultural phenomena from a filmic perspective. Taking a closer look at Hauser’s activities as an immigrant intellectual in Austria in the 1920s and 1930s, it becomes clear that his interest in film has developed from his general preoccupations in two steps. First, he was the representative of the US production company United Artists, and later he started to lecture and publish in the field of film studies. He brought along that interest and practical knowledge into his second exile in England in 1938. The insights into the emergence of a new art form, into the mechanisms of cultural production and distribution, and into the sociology of the film audience enabled him to not only understand how culture worked, but also shaped his work, which finally brought his breakthrough as a Marxist cultural historian.

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