Spatial-temporal comparison of local cinema histories : Applying geographical and network visualization in comparative research on local film exhibition with a case study of Ghent and Brno in 1952
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| Year of publication | 2019 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | In recent years, spatial digital tools have become an important part of new cinema history research. The use of spatial visualization methods is, however, not consistent and the ground norms have not been established yet, especially in a comparative approach (Hallam and Roberts 2014). As a part of a broader research project, this paper proposes possibilities of working with spatial visualization: what is the benefit of its use and what new perspectives on a given problem can this approach reveal? Drawing on a quantitative analysis of cinema programmes, the method incorporates geospatial as well as temporal aspects of film trajectories. There are several studies on film circulation available (Verhoeven and Morris 2014, Biltereyst and Meers 2014), but the contribution of this case study lies in the incorporation of the geospatial visualization in a comparative research design. In this paper, we explore to what extent the communication between cinemas and their strategies of programming can be explained through the geospatial perspective. By visualizing the film circulation within two mid-sized cities (Ghent in Belgium and Brno in the Czech Republic) in 1952, the method reveals patterns in film trajectories, and relations between the cinemas. The proposed spatial methodology not only adds to the field of new cinema history, but also broadens the possibilities of how to approach comparative research of local cinema histories. |
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