Now playing
Subtitle: early moviegoing and the regulation of fun
By: Paul S. Moore.
Series: The SUNY series, horizons of cinema
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Published: 2008
Place of publication: Albany
Language: eng
Number of pages: 250
ISBN-13: 9780791474174; 9780791474181
Subjects: Motion picture audiences -- Canada; Motion picture audiences -- United States; Motion pictures -- Social aspects -- Canada; Motion pictures -- Social aspects -- United States; Motion picture theaters -- Canada; Motion picture theaters -- United States
Description: "Using Toronto as a case study, and focusing on a period from the opening of the first theaters showcasing moving pictures in 1906 to the end of World War I, Now Playing locates the origins of our present-day mass audience in the culture of cities. Paul S. Moore examines the emergence of everyday moviegoing and its regulation through neglected details like fire safety, newspaper ads, serial films, and amusement taxes, connecting them to more familiar themes of studio ownership of theaters, censorship, and journalism. In Toronto - a foreign city inside the American mass market - patriotism ultimately comes to the fore as civic forms of showmanship turn the simple act of "going to the movies" into a form of citizenship."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 225-237) and index.