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The grand opening of the movie theatre in the second birth of cinema

2013; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 11; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/17460654.2013.783148

1746-0662

Paul S. Moore,

Shakespeare, Adaptation, and Literary Criticism

This article brings Gaudreault and Marion's framework for the 'second birth' of cinema into the realm of film exhibition. From the perspective of an ordinary person in the mass public, the experience of cinema is reborn daily through feature films shown at the movie theatre. Asking 'What is a cinema?' rather than 'What is cinema?', I propose that cinema's second birth comes with the grand opening of the first moving picture theatres. For its first decade, the cinématographe was a supplement to other entertainments and social institutions. Evidence of rebirth, however, comes with the first advertised cinemas in the nickelodeon boom. I draw upon a wide survey of newspaper publicity from Ontario, Canada, including metropolitan Toronto along with smaller cities, towns, and villages. The date of the 'second birth' of the movie theatre varies widely across Ontario from 1906 to 1909 depending upon the size of its locality and the frequency its local newspaper was printed.