Is There Anyone Out There?: Exhibition and the Formation of Silent Film Audiences in South India

286 Pages·1996·34.532 MB·English

by  Stephen Putnam Hughes

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE?
EXHIBITION AND THE FORMATION OF
SILENT FILM AUDIENCES IN SOUTH INDIA
A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO
THE FACULTY OF THE DIVISION OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY
BY
STEPHEN PUTNAHJQGHES
,/
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
DECEMBER 1996
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Copyright O 1996 by Stephen Putnam Hughes
All rights reserved
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACANOWLEDGME:NTS-----------------·---
V
•
ABSTRACT----------------------
l.X
Chapters
I. CULTURAL FORMATIONS OF
SILENT FILM-GOING IN SOUTH INDIA.._ __,,,_ ,_,_,,,_,_,
1
II. BEGINNINGS OF CINEMA IN
THE MADRAS:
EUROPEAN ENTERTAINMENT AND TOURING CINEMAS,_ 26
III. MARKETING PERMANENT CINEMA IN
MADRAS, ____ 53
IV. POLICING FRONTIERS OF SILENT FILM:
THE
EXHIBITION SPACES AND THE FORMATION
OF OFFICIAL CINEMA POLICIES--------- 107
V. CORRELATING SILENT FILMS
WITH SOUTH INDIAN AUDIENCE$, _________
150
VI. INVESTIGATING THE CINEMA MENACE
BY COMMITT'TTEEE.-----------·----- 198
VII. CONVENTIONS OF FILM-GOING·- - - - - - - - 241
THE
BIBLIOGRAPH"/. _________________,, _ _,, _,... ___ --·-·-· 2 61
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many people over the years helped me at different
stages of my work on this dissertation. Foremost among them
are K. Paramasivam, A. K. Ramanujan and Roja Huthiah, who
each in their own ways as teachers and through one brief
encounter profoundly shaped the course of my research even
though they did not live to see its completion. P. G.
Sundararajan was also especially generous with sharing his
time, ideas and life which provided me with a continual
source of great inspiration and lively discussion during my
research in India.
In India I received great hospitality and support from
many institutions, teachers, colleagues and friends without
whom my research would not have been possible. I was
provided various institutional help from the University of
Madras, Madurai Kamaraj University, the Tamil Nadu State
Archives, the National Film Archive of India, the Nehru
Memorial Library, the Madras Institute of Development
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