THE CINEMA PARK

Abstract

In Singapore, movie-going is generally perceived as a place of introverted entertainment, where we are shunted into a room with a screen, shown the movie and shunted out to make way for the next group. Interaction between the film and the people and between audiences are completely lacking as cinema operators try to maximise profit. Unlike watching movies in United States, what we are getting in Singapore is "assembly line" movie-going at its worst. It is with this issue in mind that prompted me to engage on the Cinema Park. The proposed Cinema Park seeks to transgress the movie-going experience to a more interactive experience, hoping eventually to contribute to the cultivation of film culture in Singapore. "The question of educating the public to a more critical appreciation of the films is a question of the mental health of nations. " Bela Balazs, THEORY OF FILM The Cinema Park is an attempt to 1. explore a new image of cinema architecture 2. create a new environment in a cinema place 3. transgress the present form of movie-going experience to a more interactive one. The cinema generally present a make-believed world on the screen to the viewer. Movie-goers visit these movie theatres to escape from their mundane worlds for a few hours to live other people lives presented on the screen. Presently cinema places in Singapore is still mainly commercialised as an entertaining place. As the cinema goers in Singapore are getting more mature and their tastes are becoming more varied, the cinema place should take on a new dimension to become a place to be entertained as well as to be learnt and educated. The Cinema Park is a cinema place where cinema halls are integrated with open public spaces. Rather than the present scenario of the cinema theatre as a place for viewing a motion picture with an anonymous crowd, the cinema park will be a place for people to meet, gather, exchange, learn and observe. It basically adopts the concept of the multiplex to attract the crowd with the integration of informal exhibition and interactive spaces within the complex to promote film appreciation. A parklike setting further enhance the informality, thereby making it the more accessible public part of cinema.