Abstract
The concept of cultural series makes it possible to consider alternative outlooks and discourses on the historical circumstances out of which cinema emerged. This approach bringing into light the institutional and cultural "polyphony" defining early cinema, in which the praxinoscope, the magic lantern and the Edison kinetoscope cross paths, leads the author to posit that the "animation" cultural series provided the main framework of the res cinematografica. While the capturing-restoring paradigm associated with the Lumière Cinématographe appeared to be dominant within both the output of pioneering filmmakers and the institution of the early years of moving pictures, a return to the animation of images as the founding principle of cinema brings a new understanding of its real differential force. This shift further sheds light on cinema's ability to evolve and adapt during the multiple identity crisis it has lived through, up to and including the current trend towards hybridity brought about by digital technology, as well as by the heightened porosity associated with new digital platforms and media convergence.
Keywords
cinema; cinématographe; cultural series; animation; digital
