In 'The Secret Genie of the Spyglass (Kikkertens Hemmelighedsfulde Aand)', disturbing, suggestive, and demanding images result from the expansive repertoire of visual operations set in motion. However, this complexity is not associated with unfounded intellectual scaffolding, but rather arises from the cumulative weight of the visual cues that make up the narratives and arguments posted, suggested in a passage in one of the letters that Søren Kierkegaard wrote to Regina Olsen and which is the central reference for this film: "Thus, in the midst of a friendly chat about the view of the ships, one sees or thinks that one sees, or hopes to see, or wishes to see, or despairs of seeing that which the secret genie of the spyglass reveals to him who understands how to use it correctly. Only in the proper hands and for the proper eye is it a divine telegraph; for everybody else it is a useless contrivance." (Søren Kierkegaard, Letters, no.17)