Archive | 2021
Visualizing the Occult: Nosferatu (1922)
Abstract
Public enthusiasm for occult themes was rife in the decades around 1900\n and many German filmmakers and intellectuals were occupied with\n esoteric concepts. Constitutive of occultist thought is a belief in secret\n realities beyond our perceptual abilities. The vampire tale Nosferatu\n does not advocate for specific doctrines, but many of the film’s idiosyncratic\n aspects, particularly the appearance, behaviour, and powers of\n the vampire, become intelligible in novel ways when examined from an\n occultist perspective. The film externalizes the vampire’s nature through\n cinematic devices and most notably special effects. The materialization\n of the intangible by means of technology constitutes an essentially\n techno-romantic project. In Nosferatu, it served to consolidate objectives\n of occultists and cinephiles for the purpose of film art.