Wiley-Blackwell Explorations in New Cinema History: Approaches and Case Studies

Explorations in New Cinema History brings together cutting-edge research by the leading scholars in the field to identify new approaches to writing and understanding the social and cultural history of cinema, focusing on cinema’s audiences, the experience of cinema, and the cinema as a site of social and cultural exchange. Includes contributions from Robert Allen, Annette Kuhn, John Sedwick, Mark Jancovich, Peter Sanfield, and Kathryn Fuller-Seeley among othersDevelops the original argument that the social history of cinema-going and of the experience of cinema should take precedence over production- and text-based analysesExplores the cinema as a site of social and cultural exchange, including patterns of popularity and taste, the role of individual movie theatres in creating and sustaining their audiences, and the commercial, political and legal aspects of film exhibition and distributionPrompts readers to reassess their understanding of key periods of cinema history, opening up cinema studies to long-overdue conversations with other disciplines in the humanities and social sciencesPresents rigorous empirical research, drawing on digital technology and geospatial information systems to provide illuminating insights in to the uses of cinema Review "Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty." (Choice, 1 November 2011) Review "Explorations in New Cinema History is one book well deserving of it title.  Richard Maltby and his colleagues and contributors not only lay out what this new style of social cinema history means, but add case studies from the Netherlands to Australia to small town USA.  A major must-read for all scholars of cinema history."   Douglas Gomery, author of Shared Pleasures "This exciting collection adds further dimensions to the study of film circulation and consumption and of cinema as a site of social and cultural exchange. In doing so it establishes the "new cinema history" as a major new force in the field of Film Studies"Stephen Neale, University of Exeter "An indispensable compendium documenting the rich body of work produced over the last decade on the social history of the experience of moviegoing."Frank Kessler, Universiteit Utrecht From the Inside Flap Explorations in New Cinema History presents an original approach to writing and understanding the social and cultural history of cinema, focusing on cinema's audiences, the commercial activities of film exhibition and distribution, and the cinema as a site of social and cultural exchange. If cinema history is to engage with broader social histories, this pioneering collection argues, it must concern itself not with the production of individual films, but with audiences, cinemagoing, and the role that cinema plays in culture at large. Bringing together a collection of essays written by scholars working on the leading edge of the field, this volume prompts us to question and revise our understanding of key periods of cinema history, and opens up cinema studies to long-overdue conversations with other disciplines in the humanities and social sciences.Contributors describe the very different forms of cinema and the experiences they offer their audiences, from the luxurious first-run movie palaces and downmarket "grind houses" of the major metropolitan centres to the altogether different theatres in small-town and remote rural communities. Their essays employ empirical research methods such as the use of geographical information systems to provide illuminating insights into the uses of cinema, making this an engaging read for all students of film history and cinema studies. From the Back Cover Explorations in New Cinema History presents an original approach to writing and understanding the social and cultural history of cinema, focusing on cinema's audiences, the commercial activities of film exhibition and distribution, and the cinema as a site of social and cultural excha