The Uncertain Future of the Camera Cinemas
Nestled in the center of downtown San Jose sits one of the cities few cultural landmarks worth saving. The Camera Cinemas have been an institution since 1975. They serve as the unofficial home to San Jose’s small, but popular independent movie following. Unfortunately, they are at risk of being shut down for good if a new home can not be found in the next few years. This paper discusses the historical fight the Camera Cinemas have had to endure and what they must do to survive into the next century. They may be saving their best performance for last.
Prior to 1975, there were no art movie houses in San Jose. The South of First Area (SOFA) Camera One currently resides in, was a red light district, home to prostitutes, porno theatres, and drug pushers. So what in the world was an art movie house doing in area like this? You could say the Cameras were ahead of their time, paving the way for what soon would be recognized as one of most culturally intellectual areas in the world. Because the closest art movie houses were 50 miles away, independent film fans looked to the Cameras as a source for entertainment in their own backyard. The Camera chain would expand in 1984 adding the Camera 3 theatres to their small but soon-to-be growing chain. It was during this time that the Cameras would start to receive top quality art and foreign films with the likes of those seen in San Francisco. The Cameras would eventually expand to four movie houses adding the Towne and Los Gatos Theatres. The relationship seemed like a match made in heaven; a small independent movie chain showing first run foreign and art films in the large and growing Silicon Valley. What could possibly go wrong? Much like everything else, too much of a good thing hardly ever goes unnoticed.
The Camera Cinemas served as the only theatres downtown for nearly twenty years. So when the area started to flourish, big business started to open its eyes and take notice. With the opening of the brand new Pavilion Shops in downtown, AMC movie theatres looked to capitalize on an untapped market. In many situations, such as with department stores and supermarkets, competition can sometimes help to generate business. However, due to film zoning laws and the sheer commercial power of a chain like AMC, the Cameras stood to be jeopardized and ran out of business.
Hollywood is not simply a point on a map; it is a representation of the human experience. As with any other location, though, Hollywood’s history can be traced and analyzed up to present day. In 1887, Harvey Henderson Wilcox established a 120-acre ranch in an area northwest of Los Angeles, naming it “Hollywood” (Basinger 15). From then on, Hollywood grew from one man’s family to over 5,000 people in 1910. By then, residents around the ranch incorporated it as a municipality, using the name Hollywood for their village. While they voted to become part of the Los Angeles district, their village was also attracting motion-picture companies drawn in by the diverse geography of the mountains and oceanside (15). The Los Angeles area continues to flourish, now containing over nine million people, an overwhelming statistic compared to Wilcox’s original, family unit (U.S. Census Bureau 1). However, these facts only s...
“When the Movies Moved to the Suburbs.” The New York Times. Janet Maslin, 29 Oct. 2011.
...still did a booming business and it was feasible to do all your shopping within a short walking distance. Small businesses flourished at the intersection of Joy and Grand River at this time. Delicatessens, drug stores, dimes stores, barbers, butchers and grocers all set up shop in this district that was growing denser by the day. The neighborhood was becoming so packed that it even had its own hook and ladder company the XXX at 8xxxx Grande River...192X would see the opening of the magnificent Riviera movie palace that could seat 2xxxx patrons per show. So great was the demand that the Rivera Annex was built just one block away to handle the overflow. To put this into context the first talking motion picture, The Jazz Singer was released in October 1927. These were boom times in America’s third largest city and the masses were looking to be entertained.
...She had lost her father and her lover while her brother was away for school, and she was no longer useful as a puppet in a greater scheme. Ophelia was displaced, an Elizabethan woman without the men on whom she had been taught to depend. Therein lies the problem - she lacked independence so much that she could not continue living without Polonius, Laertes, and Hamlet. Ophelia's aloneness led to her insanity and death. The form of her death was the only fitting end for her - she drowned in a nearby river, falling beneath the gentle waters. She finally found peace in her mad world. That is how Ophelia is so useful as a classic feminist study - she evokes imagery of the fragile beauty women are expected to become, but shows what happens to women when they submit as such.
Small, Pauline. (2005) New Cinemas: journal of Contemporary Film Volume 3, Queen Mary, University of London
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is set in the late middle ages, in Denmark. A time in history when women were not respected and thought of as the inferior sex. There are two women characters in Hamlet; Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, and Ophelia, Hamlet’s love interest. Magda Romanska the writer of “Ontology and Eroticism: Two Bodies Of Ophelia”, argues that Ophelia represents the typical idea of women in the nineteenth century. I agree with this, but argue that it is not the only aspect of Ophelia’s character. Ophelia becomes the bearer of Hamlet’s hatred toward the world, and is also the character of lowest status because she is an average women. Ophelia surrenders herself to the cruelty of those around her, and sacrifices her sanctity to please and conform
Culturally, women have been expected to be soft spoken, gentle, delicate flowers. They should not question a man's opinion or go against their will. Ophelia, in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is an example of a young naive girl who faces the dangers that come from only following what others want, and not thinking for herself. The men in this play use her for their own benefit and she suffers the repercussions, which leads her to madness and “accidental” death.
An example in the film that highlights the demise of the studio system is when Joe pitches a script idea to a producer of Paramount. Joe is quick to say that the film only needs one main character, has many outdoor locations and can be made ‘for under a million dollars’ (Joe Gillis, Sunset Boulevard, 1950), which highlights the idea of saving money on a s...
It is no doubt that Martin Scorsese has heavily influenced the emulating of American film making from European influences. He is a prime example of a ‘New Hollywood Cinema’ director, not only from his ethnicity and background, but from his sheer interest in this form
Stanley, Robert H. The Movie Idiom: Film as a Popular Art Form. Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc. 2011. Print
In Hollywood today, most films can be categorized according to the genre system. There are action films, horror flicks, Westerns, comedies and the likes. On a broader scope, films are often separated into two categories: Hollywood films, and independent or foreign ‘art house’ films. Yet, this outlook, albeit superficial, was how many viewed films. Celebrity-packed blockbusters filled with action and drama, with the use of seamless top-of-the-line digital editing and special effects were considered ‘Hollywood films’. Films where unconventional themes like existentialism or paranoia, often with excessive violence or sex or a combination of both, with obvious attempts to displace its audiences from the film were often attributed with the generic label of ‘foreign’ or ‘art house’ cinema.
Ophelia, in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, represents a self-confident and aware female character. She analyzes the world around her and recognizes the multitude of male figures attempting to control her life. Her actions display not only this awareness, but also maturity in her non-confrontational discussions. Though she is demeaned by Laertes, Polonius, and Hamlet, Ophelia exhibits intelligence and independence and ultimately resorts to suicide in order to free herself from the power of the men around her.
Movie theaters are conglomerates in the film industry. Only a few competing firms. Offer the same ticket prices and provide the same products and roughly the same services to customers.
Literature claimed Ophelia as the “tragic heroine” of Hamlet. “To overcome the adversities inflicted upon her -- but she instead crumbles into insanity, becoming merely tragic.” (Mabillard) How did such a delicate a maiden as Ophelia become so tragic? One student’s published analysis claims Ophelia’s situation is much like the one in John Tucker Must Die: A girl falls for a boy at the worst possible moment. Ophelia’s feelings for Hamlet grew without control. It was the wrong time but she did not know it. (Robins)
Full Service Cinema: The South Korean Cinema Success Story (So Far). Fifteen years ago, South Korean cinema was in precipitous decline. It was facing deadly competition from Hollywood as import barriers were dismantled, and there was almost no export market. Today, South Korean cinema is widely considered the most successful and significant non-Hollywood cinema anywhere in the world today.