The Cinema Museum is housed in the building of the former Lambeth Workhouse. This is particularly appropriate as Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) was there when he was a young boy. He only stayed for a few weeks, as in that period children were kept in general workhouses for as short a time as possible. They were quickly removed to residential schools so that they would be separated from the adults who might set them a bad example of how to live. For all the stigma that still attached to workhouses, they had come a long way from the nadir of the early Victorian, Oliver Twist days. Chaplin remembered the dinners he received at Lambeth very fondly (Chaplin, 2003).
The museum is about the experience of going to the cinema, not about the history of films themselves. The collection, largely salvaged from abandoned cinemas, consists of items such as advertisements, notice-boards, projection equipment, ticket machines, programmes, uniforms worn by staff, seats, balustrades and carpets. At present much of what can be seen by the public is unsorted and largely unlabelled and placed in entrance ways and corridors. The heart of a visit (which must be pre-booked) is an illustrated talk about the collection and a chance to see some of the older short films and adverts.
Going to the cinema has been a part of many childhoods and many of us remember it as an exciting treat. Children’s cinema clubs were established in Britain the 1930s. The first was the Mickey Mouse club in the Odeon in Worthing and other cinemas and chains soon followed suit. The clubs built a sense of belonging with badges and songs and the children went regularly on Saturday mornings to see films, serial episodes and cartoons (Watson, 2009).
As is so often the case, special experiences are associated with particular foods. This is clear from any number of children’s books and television shows, where going to the cinema is almost always represented by children/child-substitute animal characters holding an outsize box of popcorn – as in Maisy Goes to the Cinema by Lucy Cousins, for example. In the days of the cinema clubs, such food would be sold by the usherette from a tray at the interval. Today, intervals are no more but there are certainly opportunities to make purchases in the foyers.
What is striking is the strong association with eating in the cinema and particular branded products. At the talk in the cinema museum, the speaker name-checked Kia Oro (drinks), Sun Pat (nuts), Butterkist (popcorn) and Dairy Maid (ice-cream). We saw cinema adverts from the 1970s or 1980s for these companies – powerful marketing, promoting products that were the only items available for purchase at just the point when the potential customer might be wishing to consume them. Needless to say, many cinema foods were and remain both unhealthy and over-priced. There is a conversation to be had about making this better – certainly around portion control. Nonetheless, we should not underestimate the importance of carving out spaces for children to have fun and enjoy cultural experiences, including enjoyable food experiences. A little of what you fancy now and then is important.
References
Chaplin, C. (2003) My Autobiography, London: Penguin Books
Cousins, L. (2015) Maisy Goes to the Cinema, London: Walker Books
Watson, C. (2009) “Babies, Kids, Cartoons and Comedies: Children and Pathéscope’s 9.5mm Home Cinema in Britain” in Craven, I. (ed) Movies on Home Ground: Explorations in Amateur Cinema, Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, pp. 65-92.
The Cinema Museum’s website is http://www.cinemamuseum.org.uk/
Picture credits
Cinema Museum (London), Edward Hands, March 7th 2015, Wikimedia Commons
Cover of Maisy Goes to the Cinema https://blackwells.co.uk/
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