ABSTRACT
In the spring of 1927, the Frankfurter Zeitung published a series of essays by cultural critic Siegfried Kracauer exploring the ways mass society consumed the growing body of spectacular entertainment that characterized contemporary cinema. Beginning his first essay with the proclamation that “films are the mirror of the prevailing society,” Kracauer expressed the sentiment that however revolutionary or subversive the intentions of the particular filmmaker were, the product and reception of her or his work would undoubtedly be rendered ineffectual from a political standpoint because of the structural realities informing its production: “either such rebels are simply tools of society, unwittingly manipulated yet all the while believing they are voices of protest, or they are forced to make compromises in their drive to survive.” 1
