Visual Promises: Lobby Cards, Film Promotion and Cinema-going Experience

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Türkiye Film Araştırmaları Dergisi
Cilt: 5 Sayı: 2
Visual Promises: Lobby Cards, Film Promotion and Cinema-going Experience

Visual Promises: Lobby Cards, Film Promotion and Cinema-going Experience

Pages : 117-136

View : 51 | Download : 100

Publication Date : 2025-12-31

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Cinema related ephemera, both in academic and popular context, play an important role in our understanding cinema history. Based on literature review and randomly selected examples, this article analyzes lobby cards in terms of cinema industry, formal aspects and spectatorship practices. These historical publicity materials were used to promote films and attract potential audience. A set of lobby cards was put up in front of the movie theatres or displayed in special glass cases. At first sight they resemble posters with their 2D designs and paper-based material. However, the way they were displayed and their interaction with the audience enable us to approach these materials as an early form of trailers. As a result of digitalization and decentralization of exhibition, trailers today do not have specific or fixed space. Yet lobby cards, without leaving their actual context, generated a sequence to tell stories off the screen and became an active part of cinema-going experience. For these images, not far from the big screen, were probably seen by the spectators before and after film viewing. This is paratextually significant in spectators’ film selection, film interpretation, feeling excitement or disappointment and formation of film taste.
Keywords : Lobi kartları, film tanıtımı, sinemaya gitme deneyimi, yan metinler, efemera

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