Quo Vadis Book Culture? The German Publishing Industry and the Emergence of Film

By:
Jasmin Melanie Adam
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In 1912 the first feature film "Quo Vadis", directed by the Italian Enrico Guazzoni, drew the masses into cinemas all over Germany. The monumental epic on the early church at the time of Nero was a milestone for the development of the new medium film. Despite its artistic achievements the screen adaptation of Henryk Sienkiewcz’ bestseller produced a heated debate among publishers and booksellers. Traditionalists interpreted the success of the film "Quo Vadis" as a sign of cultural decline and urged the industry to prevent future literary adaptations. At the same time booksellers pragmatically pointed out that the release of the film had a positive effect on the sales figures of the original book. Book culture seemed to be at a crossroads: Should book industry close its mind to modernity or participate at the success of the supposedly hostile medium? The measures that were taken as a result of the cinema debate indicate that not only innovative groups within the book industry but also traditional publishers were seeking for a fruitful cooperation between book and film.


Keywords: Germany, Empire, Publishing, Film, Media Competition
Stream: Publishing
Presentation Type: 30 minute Paper Presentation in English
Paper: A paper has not yet been submitted.

Jasmin Melanie Adam

Ph.D. candidate, Insitute of Book and Media Studies, Johannes Gutenberg-University
Mainz, Rheinland-Pfalz, GERMANY

Jasmin Adam is a Ph.D. candidate at the Institute for Book and Media Studies at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany. She holds an M.A. in Book History and Comparative Literature (Gutenberg University Mainz, 2005) and B.A. in Business Management (FH Pforzheim and Haagse Hogeschool, The Hague, 2003). Her research focuses on the economic history of the German publishing industry during the Empire, the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich. She has worked for several media companies like Ernst Klett Publishers in Stuttgart, Pearson Education Benelux in Amsterdam and Arte Television in Mainz.

Ref: B06P0226