Zeitlupe: Cinematic Technique and Literary Form in the Weimar Republic

Now synonymous with slow motion, the Zeitlupe (literally, magnifying glass of time) once provided an optical metaphor with a revelatory potential for film, literature, and other time-based media. Associated with special-effects cameras like Ernemann's Zeitlupe, the cinematic apparatus was celebrated for its ability to reveal a natural world beyond the threshold of unmediated vision. This article explores the relations between cinematic techniques and literary forms through a close reading of one suggestive constellation of essays on the topic published at a crucial turning point in the Weimar Republic.