Homo cinematicus

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In the early twentieth century, two significant changes began to shape German society. The German film industry emerged in the aftermath of World War I, filling the cultural void left by political and social upheaval. Concurrently, human sciences—such as psychiatry, neurology, sexology, eugenics, industrial psychology, and psychoanalysis—gained prominence in analyzing Germany's challenges stemming from its authoritarian past and the impacts of modernization and war. These disciplines increasingly relied on motion pictures to advance their professional goals. Situated at the crossroads of film studies, the history of science and medicine, and modern German history, this work connects the rise of cinema as a social institution with the evolution of knowledge production in the human sciences. The title references a term coined in 1919 by commentator Wilhelm Stapel, identifying a new social type shaped by cinema. The author explores how experts in these fields centered the "homo cinematicus" in major narratives and social policies of the time. The book examines the use of film as a tool for producing and disseminating new knowledge, while also highlighting the challenges posed by popular films that questioned the veracity of modern science and scientific cinema. Ultimately, it seeks to bridge the divide between scientific and popular film, investigating their historical coexistence and coevolution.