Street movie theaters along the Tijucas River Valley (Santa Catarina, Brazil): expressions of culture and markers of regional development

Abstract

This article is based in an investigation about the exhibition circuit of street movie theaters along the Tijucas River’s valley, in Santa Catarina’s state, located in the northern center portion of the coast, questioning about how opening, operational and closing aspects of this spaces connects with the regional development process in this territory in between 1920’s and 1970’s. Six street movie theaters have worked beside the Tijucas River’s Valley during the 20th century, being the Cine Manoel Cruz (1926/193-) and Cine Lohse (195-/19--), in Tijucas; the Cine Canelinha (1956/19--) and Cine Astória (1953/19--), in Canelinha; the Cine São João (196-/1979) in São João Batista; and the Cine Lindoia (1954-19--), in Nova Trento. The hypothesis exposed here is that the implantation of this movie theater’s circuit becomes society’s cultural manifestations, and these spaces can be used to mark different stages in the development of the region. The growth analysis of this exhibition’s circuit reveals a complex deployment of the regional development, with continuities and breaks throughout history, resulting in multiple statements about regional conformation. Methodologically, this research has started by the historical analysis of the singularities shown by each one of the street movie theaters, then, these results have drowned up a higher question: the development and growth of the territory. These initial conclusions were improved with the help of historical and theorical research, based in three different areas: the Santa Catarina’s regional development, the cinema’s geography, and the discussion about the relation between cinema, culture, and development.