Cinema and Society in the British Empire, 1895-1940 (Britain and the World) - Hardcover

“Cinema and Society in the British Empire is ... a thoroughly fascinating book. ... It reveals the complexity and nuance of British colonial rule in the tropical empire while exploring cinema’s crucial role within it. ... This is an accessibly written, broad-ranging and impeccably researched book that is certain to be a key point of reference for future scholars of cinema-going in the British Empire. It is sure to attract a wide readership.” (Robert James, The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, Vol. 42 (3), 2014)

This is the first study of the social history of the movies in Britain's tropical empire. Drawing on a wide array of sources, it reconstructs the emergence of movie-going as a form of public leisure in British territories from Singapore to Guiana. The book demonstrates that, by the eve of the Second World War, movies had become woven into the fabric of urban life, and were infiltrating into the most remote corners of the countryside. As the movies grew in prominence, their popularity sparked debates about empire and identity that resonated across the globe.