Synopses & Reviews
A nickelodeon screening a Charlie Chaplin silent classic, the downtown arthouse cinemas that made Antonioni and Cassavetes household names, the modern suburban megaplex and its sold-out Friday night blockbuster: how American and global audiences have viewed movies is as rich a part of cinematic history as what weve seen on the silver screen. Going to the Movies considers the implications of this social and cultural history through an analysis of the diverse historical and geographical circumstances in which audiences have viewed American cinema. Featuring a distinguished group of film scholars—including Richard Abel, Annette Kuhn, Jane Gaines, and Thomas Doherty—whose interests range broadly across time and place, this volume analyzes the role of movie theatres in local communities, the links between film and other entertainment media, non-theatrical exhibition, and trends arising from the globalization of audiences. Emphasizing moviegoing outside of the northeastern United States, as well as the complexities of race in relation to cinema attendance, Going to the Movies appeals to the global citizen of cinema—locating the moviegoing experience in its appeal to the heart and mind of the audience, whether its located in a South African shanty town or the screening room of a Hollywood production lot.
Synopsis
This book analyses the diverse historical and geographical circumstances in which audiences have viewed American cinema. It looks at cinema audiences ranging from Manhattan nickelodeons to the modern suburban megaplex, and from provincial, small-town or rural America to the shanty towns of South Africa. Going to the Movies studies the social and cultural history of movie audiences. Ranging broadly across historical time and geographical place, it analyses the role of movie theatres in local communities, the links between film and other entertainment media, non-theatrical exhibition and trends arising from the globalisation of audiences. There is an emphasis on movie-going outside the American North-East, and several chapters analyse the complexities of race and race formation in relation to cinema attendance
About the Author
Richard Maltby is professor of screen studies at Flinders University, South Australia and series editor for Exeter Studies in Film History. Melvyn Stokes teaches at University College, London. Robert C. Allen is professor of American studies, history, and communications at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Notes on Contributors
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Richard Maltby and Melvyn Stokes
Part I: Studies of Local Cinema Exhibition
Robert C. Allen
Christopher J. McKenna
Jane M. Gaines
Terry Lindvall
Richard Abel
Judith Thissen
Jeffrey Klenotic
Mark Glancy and John Sedgwick
Thomas Doherty
Part II: Other Cinema: Alternatives to Theatrical Exhibition
Haidee Wasson
Anne Morey
Gregory A. Waller
Barbara Klinger
Part III: Hollywood Movies in Broader Perspective: Audiences at Home and Abroad
Richard Butsch
Daniel Biltereyst
Annette Kuhn
Ahmet Gürata
Charles Ambler
Charles R. Acland
Mark Jancovich
Notes
Index