Beyond the Screen: Institutions, Networks, and Publics of Early Cinema

This scholarly anthology presents a new framework for understanding early cinema through its usage outside the realm of entertainment.

From its earliest origins until the beginning of the twentieth century, cinema provided widespread access to remote parts of the globe and immediate reports on important events. Reaching beyond the nickelodeon theatres, cinema became part of numerous institutions, from churches and schools to department stores and charitable organizations.

Then, in 1915, the Supreme Court declared moviemaking a “busines, pure and simple,” entrenching the film industry’s role as a producer of “harmless entertainment.” In Beyond the Screen, contributors shed light on how pre-1915 cinema defined itself through institutional interconnections and publics interested in science, education, religious uplift, labor organizing, and more.

© 2012 John Libbey Publishing (E-bog): 9780861969135

Release date

E-bog: 22. august 2012