A cultural melting pot in Cendrillon, by Georges Méliès

Abstract

This article is based on a case study of the 1899 film Cendrillon (Cinderella) by French director Georges Méliès, who, throughout his career, developed a distinctive aesthetic closely tied to his early work as a magician. Through a dialogue between film history, the history of modern society, and film analysis, we seek to investigate the film’s form and relate its language to cultural references that were flourishing at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century. Cinema of that era was characterized by the convergence of variety theater, photography, operetta, classical theater, literature, and current events reported in newspapers. Drawing on a theoretical framework that analyzes the historical context, beginning with Ben Singer and continuing through the history of cinema in the writings of André Gaudreault and Charles Musser, we examine how the transformations in society at that time impacted the way films were made. In contrast to the 1899 film, we analyze its 1912 remake—also by Méliès—which presents formal and production aspects reflecting a period in which the French film industry was more developed. When considering this work within its historical context and its potential influences on the film’s style, we take into account the analysis of a document used to publicize the film in the press. It is through the dialogue between cinema and history that we trace the transformations that both this art form and society have undergone, understanding that its form is shaped by its historicity.