The Place Of The Audience: Cultural Geographies Of Film Consumption (bfi Modern Classics)

"Offers the best review of the state of the study of cinema going I have ever read and. . . a mapping of how to think about a central problem of what it meant to live in the 20th century. . . . It examines not only the different meanings of all the different sites of film exhibition and distribution but also the authors bring a whole new context to how meanings are generated in the activity of film consumption. This is a marvelous book, wholly original, and will make a major contribution to the literature and understanding of film and television during the 20th century. Masterful!"--Douglas Gomery, author of "Shared Pleasures: A History of Movie Presentation in the United States"

It has been a recurring complaint both within, and against, Film Studies that it has largely ignored the activities of audiences. This book addresses this absence and explains its cause. The authors argue that there is a social context in which the consumption of film can be understood or studied historically and demonstrate that a concentration on the place of film consumption within the changing cultural politics of the city can offer a compelling and productive focus of analysis.