Hello and Welcome
For this week’s blog I plan to create a photo post (of sorts) on a process which characterized cities during both the nineteenth and twentieth century.
*Drum roll*
I will be examining the theme of cinema-going in the twentieth century, with a particular emphasis on the city of Pittsburgh which is located in the southwest of Pennsylvania. (CityTownInfo, 2014).
Katie McKay | 112417258
To start us off, the establishment of the cinema was an urban phenomenon. The cinema served as a multi-functional monument within society at the time; it became part of the landscape of the city. It provided a place of relaxation for all classes; ranging from labourers to the women of the house. While also serving as a learning medium for immigrants (Charney & Schwartz, 1995, p.5). It became a practice of modernity, an enhancer of your status and created a medium for forward thinking.
Image 1.1: The Opening of the Oaks Theater in 1938. 1938; Oakmont Carnegie Library Archives; Source here.
In the words of Susan Sontag “a society becomes “modern” when one of its chief activities is producing and consuming images” (1977).
The opening of a cinema was a symbol that modernity had met the city and the above image (see image 1.1) illustrates the modernization which took place in Pittsburgh during the twentieth century (Linehan, 2014).
Image 1.2: Marquee of the Oaks Theater. 1945; Oaks Theater Image Collection; Source here.
Similarly, the dynamics of the cinema followed that of the original exhibition buildings, i.e. the culture of the threshold door disappeared as everyone was welcomed to come to the cinema, a place where class and status remained firmly at the door. The disappearance of the threshold door can be seen in the image above (image 1.2), there is no step that one has to take to enter the Oaks Theater, this symbolizes that this venue was not just a place where the middle and upper classes could go but a place where the working class were welcome too (Linehan, 2014).
Image 1.3: School Children Outside of the Oaks Theater in 1949; Oaks Theater Image Collection; Source here. This image illustrates the importance of the cinema in the education system as it shows a group of school children on a trip to the cinema.
In the twentieth century, the cinema was a very important social space, with film seen as a very powerful educational tool (Swain, 2013: Linehan, 2014). The above image (see image 1.3) illustrates the importance of film in education, film was seen as a learning medium for children as it taught them both how to behave and be civil in society and of the lands of far away places. (Linehan, 2014).
Image 1.4: The Audience at the Oaks Theater. This image depicts the excitement and popularity of the opening of the cinema here in Pittsburgh, created in people’s lives. The room is filled with people of all ages both young and old showing the diversity and acceptance these picture houses created. November 18, 1938; Oaks Theater Image Collection; Source here.
Before the establishment of the cinema, people often felt trapped in the world they lived in. The cinema brought with it a sense of freedom for people – an escape from the world which they lived in (Linehan, 2014). The cinema brought pleasure to people’s lives, the happiness which it brought can be seen in the image above; see Image 1.4 (Mulvey, 1975). This image is from the opening night at the Oaks Theater and the excitement which the opening of a cinema in Pittsburgh created can be seen through the smiles on the audience’s faces.
Image 1.5: Opening Night at the Oaks Theater November 18th 1938; this image shows the lavish interior design of the Oaks Theater; art deco style flooring, advertisements illuminated on the walls. Oaks Theater Image Collection; Source here.
The final image captures the modernity which greeted people when they walked through the doors of the Oaks Theater in Pittsburgh. The cinemas and picture houses of the 19th and 20th century were palaces for the everyday man and women and a home of excitement and wonderment. The lasting effect of the cinema has survived all the way through to the 21st century; for us they are still places of action, romance and wonderment just like they were for the viewers at the Oaks Theater in Pittsburgh.
I hope you have enjoyed this week’s blog post.
Until next time,
Bibliography:
Charney, L. and Schwartz, V.R. (Eds). (1995) Cinema and the Invention of Modern Life. California: University of California Press.
CityTownInfo, (2014) CityTownInfo. Available at: http://www.citytowninfo.com/places/pennsylvania/pittsburgh [Accessed 6 November 2014]
Linehan, D. (2014) ‘The Apparatus of Desire: Cinema, Social Space and the Human Geographies of Modernity’. GG3043: Historical Geographies of the City. University College Cork. 6 November.
Mulvey, L. (1975) Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. Available at: http://imlportfolio.usc.edu/ctcs505/mulveyVisualPleasureNarrativeCinema.pdf [Accessed 7 November 2014]
Oakmont Carnegie Library Archives. (1938) The Opening of The Oaks Theater. Available at: http://images.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/i/image/image-idx?rgn1=ic_all;xc=1;g=imls;sort=dc_da;q1=cinema;size=20;c=hpicasc;c=hpicchatham;c=hpiccma;c=hpiccmnh;c=hpichswp;c=hpicmonroeville;c=hpicnpl;c=hpicoakmont;c=hpicphlf;c=hpicpitcairn;c=hpicpointpark;c=hpicpso;c=hpicrsc;c=hpicusc;back=back1415296131;subview=detail;resnum=2;view=entry;lastview=thumbnail;cc=hpicoakmont;entryid=x-20100512-ocl-0892;viewid=20100512-OCL-0892ED.TIF [Accessed 4 November 2014]
Oaks Theater Image Collection. (1938) The Audience at the Oaks Theater. Available at: http://images.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/i/image/image-idx?rgn1=ic_all;xc=1;g=imls;sort=dc_da;q1=cinema;size=20;c=hpicasc;c=hpicchatham;c=hpiccma;c=hpiccmnh;c=hpichswp;c=hpicmonroeville;c=hpicnpl;c=hpicoakmont;c=hpicphlf;c=hpicpitcairn;c=hpicpointpark;c=hpicpso;c=hpicrsc;c=hpicusc;back=back1415296131;subview=detail;resnum=4;view=entry;lastview=thumbnail;cc=hpicoakmont;entryid=x-20091215-ocl-0178;viewid=20091215-OCL-0178ED.TIF [Accessed 4 November 2014]
Oaks Theater Image Collection. (1938) Opening Night at the Oaks Theater. Available at: http://images.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/i/image/image-idx?rgn1=ic_all;xc=1;g=imls;sort=dc_da;q1=cinema;size=20;c=hpicasc;c=hpicchatham;c=hpiccma;c=hpiccmnh;c=hpichswp;c=hpicmonroeville;c=hpicnpl;c=hpicoakmont;c=hpicphlf;c=hpicpitcairn;c=hpicpointpark;c=hpicpso;c=hpicrsc;c=hpicusc;back=back1415296131;subview=detail;resnum=3;view=entry;lastview=thumbnail;cc=hpicoakmont;entryid=x-20091215-ocl-0177;viewid=20091215-OCL-0177ED.TIF [Accessed 4 November 2014]
Oaks Theater Image Collection. (1945) Marquee of the Oaks Theater. Available at: http://images.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/i/image/image-idx?rgn1=ic_all;xc=1;g=imls;sort=dc_da;q1=cinema;size=20;c=hpicasc;c=hpicchatham;c=hpiccma;c=hpiccmnh;c=hpichswp;c=hpicmonroeville;c=hpicnpl;c=hpicoakmont;c=hpicphlf;c=hpicpitcairn;c=hpicpointpark;c=hpicpso;c=hpicrsc;c=hpicusc;back=back1415385643;subview=detail;resnum=7;view=entry;lastview=thumbnail;cc=hpicoakmont;entryid=x-20091215-ocl-0181;viewid=20091215-OCL-0181ED.TIF [Accessed 7 November 2014]
Oaks Theater Image Collection. (1949) Schoolchildren Outside of the Oaks Theater. Available at: http://images.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/i/image/image-idx?rgn1=ic_all;xc=1;g=imls;sort=dc_da;q1=cinema;size=20;c=hpicasc;c=hpicchatham;c=hpiccma;c=hpiccmnh;c=hpichswp;c=hpicmonroeville;c=hpicnpl;c=hpicoakmont;c=hpicphlf;c=hpicpitcairn;c=hpicpointpark;c=hpicpso;c=hpicrsc;c=hpicusc;back=back1415296131;subview=detail;resnum=8;view=entry;lastview=thumbnail;cc=hpicoakmont;entryid=x-20091215-ocl-0180;viewid=20091215-OCL-0180ED.TIF [Accessed 4 November 2014]
Sontag, S. (1977) ‘Photography Unlimited’, The New York Review of Books, 23 June. Available at http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1977/jun/23/photography-unlimited/ [Accessed 6 November 2014]
Swain, H. (2013) ‘Film can have a leading role in education’, The Guardian, 19 November. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2013/nov/19/film-education-learning-tool-inclusion [Accessed 7 November 2014]
Drawing From The Archives 