Research Article Open Access

Cinema Talkies of Kozhikode district: An exploration into the rural single-screen cinema theatres

Abstract

Cinema theatres, aka “cinema talkies”, are the primary spaces for people to watch a film. However, literature shows that cinema theatres and the cinema exhibition sector are less explored in cinema studies. Following an exploratory approach using multiple methods to collect the data, this study maps the closed rural single-screen cinema theatres of Kozhikode district in Kerala. The present research addresses the spatial and technological cultural shifts that happened to single-screen cinemas in Kozhikode. Drawing upon the ethnographic turn in reception studies and mapping the rural cinema theatres, this study explains the mutual influences of the rural cinema experience and cinema reception among cinemagoers in Kozhikode district. The collected data helped the researcher to create a rural cinema theatre map of Kozhikode district. The study shows a dearth of cinema exhibition spaces in two among the four taluks in the district. The study points out that the overall change in the cinema exhibition industry due to digital cinema, the changes in Kerala’s socio-economic aspects and the emergence of other modes of entertainment affected the rural cinema talkies and changes in cinema going practices in rural Kozhikode

Sreesanth K

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