Sociologia e cinema: uma análise da conformação dos gostos dos públicos do Cineteatro São Luiz e Cinema do Dragão

Abstract

The hereby research is located within the area of Sociology of Culture and consists of analyzing the development of the current tastes in the cinematographic consumption in the city of Fortaleza, Ceará, based on the audience of two venues, namely: Cineteatro São Luiz (which screens a wide range of movies, including productions acclaimed by the general audience and alternative ones) and Cinema do Dragão (which screens movies apart from the mainstream circuit). In this sense, social determinants responsible for the construction of tastes and preferences for certain film productions in the aforementioned movie theaters were examined. Therefore, general profiles are drawn between the audiences and their practices by the use of questionnaires. Subsequently, interviews and field observations on the spot served as complementary methods for understanding the differences between audiences. From this, some aspects of the viewers were taken into consideration, such as age groups, housing and educational level. The growing urbanization, the expansion of cultural industries and the formation and consolidation of movie theaters in Fortaleza were analyzed in the process of understanding these audiences and the aforementioned movie theaters. This consolidation is immersed in the consequences and transformations carried out in the contemporary world. Thus understanding how people attending the aforesaid venues develop their tastes regarding movies helps perceive possible distinctions among audiences, thereby contributing to the understanding of cultural practices related to movie theaters in Fortaleza. For this purpose, the theoretical basis of this work finds its general orientation in the Sociology of Culture and in the analyses on taste and consumption.