Cinema, cidade e arquitetura: Pelotas/RS

Abstract

The end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century represented an important period in the consolidation of the advent of modern science, technology, and means of production. During this period, cinema emerged as a significant milestone in the consolidation of this modernity. The city of Pelotas, in this context, was active in the international flows of capital circulation. In the film industry, the city had an impact both in film production and in the opening of movie theaters. Thus, this research raised some questions about the relationship between the implementation of the movie theater program and the social and urban modernization of the city, as well as the typological changes that this specific – and until then emerging – program underwent throughout the 20th century. Therefore, the general objective of this research was to analyze the integration of movie theaters in the urban space of the city and conduct a typological study of this architecture, in order to investigate their role in the urban evolution of Pelotas, which despite being located far from the capital, appeared cosmopolitan and aimed to modernize itself. As methodological procedures, the steps of constructing a theoretical framework about the relationship between cinema and modernity, collecting materials and technical drawings on movie theaters, and conducting an architectural analysis of these buildings. Finally, this information was collectively grouped and interpreted. The investigation of this architecture became an important testimony of a society that sought to modernize itself in the last century and of an architecture that is no longer produced today.