This document discusses using cinematic depictions of space from early films as a valuable resource for historical research. Specifically, it analyzes scenes from George Méliès' 1904 film "Le Voyage à travers l’Impossible" to understand spatial perceptions during a time of technological change. The film shows researchers using new technologies to rapidly traverse different spaces, from an urban modern center to the Alps to the sun to underwater. This emphasized how technology was dramatically reducing the effort and time to cross geographic, social, and cultural spaces in the early 20th century. Analyzing these early cinematic portrayals of space provides important insights into societal perceptions of space during periods of transformation.

1. Titel: Cinematic Spaces – A Practical Example Of Their Application To
Historical Inquiries
Speaker: Joerg Hartmann
Institution: Departement of Literature/Media; Karlsruhe Institute of Technology,
Karlsruhe, Germany.
Topics: - Mobility, territory and community
- The history of science and technology
- The production and erosion of particular spaces.
Abstract:
Cinematic Spaces – A Practical Example Of Their Application To Historical Inquiries
Recent discussions in the historical sciences focus on the question, if fictional writing, film,
and other media are valid resources for academic objectives. I will combine approaches from
constructive film theory with historico-cultural research findings to prove that portrayals of
space in cinematic fiction are a valuable source for numerous historical research activities. As
opposed to the mainly theoretically lead discussions, the central component of my
contribution will be a showcase analysis of several paradigmatic scenes from the 1904 space
travel film, “Le Voyage à travers l’Impossible” (“The Impossible Voyage”), by the French
film pioneer George Méliès. Since the invention of cinema it has been delivering medial
representations of spaces. In many ways, these spatial visualizations are product of the social,
political, and technical conditions of their times. They reflect and in turn influence
contemporary perception of space.
Méliès’ early masterpiece shows the journey of a group of researchers through a multitude of
spaces with the help of various hypermodern technical means. Their journey begins with the
crossing of a futuristic bridge by train, abruptly transporting the party from a center of urban
modernity to the rural sites of the Swiss Alps. This real-life contrast soon escalates when their
train turns into a spaceship, taking them towards the sun and later on leads them to the bottom
of the sea in a submarine. The exaggeration into the science-fictional realm allows Méliès to
emphasize the addition of the third dimension to human travel, while at the same time
reducing the effort and time required to move through two-dimensional space. The film thus
demonstrates the drastically changing possibilities of bridging geographic, social and cultural
spaces at yet unknown speeds in the early 20th century. My analysis will demonstrate the
importance of the information surrounding the spatial perceptions of a society in times of
change that are contained in groundbreaking films. The historic parallel to our time, in which
the internet and its offerings once again change the perception of space and time is evident.
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