"From the kinetoscope to the Movie Palaces of Hollywood's golden age, to today's multiplexes, the experience of watching films has varied enormously across film history. Exhibition, The Film Reader traces the emergence of a culture of movie going, exploring the range of venues in which films have been shown, and following the fluctuating fortunes of film and its continuing struggle to win audiences. Contributors explore the meanings conveyed to spectators through different exhibition sites and practices, raises key questions of distribution, access and consumption, and examines the shifting ethnic, gender and economic make-up of audiences."--BOOK JACKET.