The community of cinema : how cinema and spectacle transformed the American downtown / James Forsher.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Forsher, James, 1953-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Motion pictures--Social aspects--United States.

Motion pictures.

Motion pictures--Social aspects.

Motion picture theaters.

History.

United States.

Motion picture theaters--United States--History.

United States--Social life and customs--20th century.

Manners and customs.

Physical Description:

viii, 155 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Westport, Conn. : Praeger, 2003.

Summary:

Examines the ways in which the movie theater fostered its own sense of place and community, one with its own architectural styles, its own neighborhood districts, and its own cultural rules of behavior.

Contents:

Part 1 From Storefront to Palace 7

Chapter 1 The Community of Cinema 9

Chapter 2 It Started with a Nickel 13

Chapter 3 Entertainment Districts and the New American Downtown 19

Chapter 4 Queen Elizabeth and the Feature Film 29

Chapter 5 Palaces on Main Street 35

Chapter 6 Roxy 39

Part 2 The Theater as a Mirror of Society 45

Chapter 7 Colored Theaters 47

Chapter 8 The Church Takes up the Fight against the Movies 55

Chapter 9 Crisis at the Box Office 61

Chapter 10 Propaganda Wars 69

Part 3 Social Upheaval 77

Chapter 11 Cinema Goes to the Suburbs 79

Chapter 12 The Los Angeles Theater District 87

Chapter 13 Integration: One Town's Story 95

Part 4 The Return of Spectacle 103

Chapter 14 Preserving Spectacle 105

Chapter 15 The Megaplex and Beyond 119

Chapter 16 Cinema and the City 129.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [141]-148) and index.

ISBN:

0275973557

OCLC:

50243105