Frankfurt pisze dla Hollywood. O genezie scenariuszy filmowych Jacques Offenbach i Below the Surface
Frankfurt writes for Hollywood: The Genesis of the Screenplays for Jacques Offenbach and Below the Surface

Summary/Abstract: This article discusses attempts by members of the Frankfurt School to establish collaborations with the American film industry. Kracauer’s screenplay for the film Jacques Offenbach as well as Horkheimer and Adorno’s screenplay for Below the Surface have both been preserved. They shed light on the processes of institutional negotiation, which lead to theory’s critical position with respect to the cultural industry. Horkheimer and Adorno’s idea for a film was rooted in their research on anti-Semitism. Their colleagues in Hollywood reworked this idea, and although their film was never produced, its premises inspired other productions about racial prejudice, such as Gentelmen’s Agreement (1947). This case study reveals that contingency is a crucial factor for theoretical production, which suggests the possibility of a symmetrical relationship between theory and its ‘passive’ subject.

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