The Nexus of the Empire: Early Actuality Films of London at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

The study of early cinema has often focused on the modernity of the medium and seldom on the imperial forces which shaped and were represented in films. By bringing together the domains of urban sociology and imperial history, this article aims at discussing experiences of urban modernity and of Empire as they are reflected in early actuality films of London. By making the urban experience visible, early films of the London contribute to a topographical understanding of the modern urban space and create a visual map of the city. This article illustrates the ways in which the city was unavoidably rooted in the culture of the Empire and represented by a new medium expressing both its formal novelty – and insofar a break from exisitng modes of representation – and themes and images that had already emerged from pre-existing media.