Post-War Cinema-Going and Working-Class Communities: A Case Study of the Holyland, Belfast, 1945–1962

Abstract

This article utilizes oral history testimony to investigate cinema-going practices in the Holyland, a largely Protestant working-class community in post-war Belfast. It investigates the place-specific nature of cinema attendance, assesses the social practices of cinema-going and examines the reasons for the post-war decline in attendance and consequent cinema closures. Oral history testimony demonstrates the close link between the nature of cinema attendance, changes in the life cycle and urban mobility. By linking the recollections of post-war cinema-goers to broader social and economic developments in Belfast, and assessing Northern Ireland's relationship to the rest of the United Kingdom, this article investigates the reasons for the closure of the Apollo, the local neighbourhood cinema for residents of the Holyland.