The Dangers and Pleasures of Moviegoing: Black Girls in Harlem's Movie Theaters before World War II.

MOTION picture theaters; WORLD War II; PUBLIC spaces; PLEASURE; TWENTIETH century; HAZARDS

HARLEM (New York, N.Y.); NEW York (State)

In the early twentieth century, Black families, journalists, and reformers positioned movie theaters as dangerous places with potential for crime and immorality. This article takes a look into the physical space of Harlem theaters to assess these fears, investigating the semiprivate public atmosphere of the movies and the various activities other than moviegoing that took place within them. It also considers the unique ways in which Black girls and women engaged in moviegoing in New York, often ignoring the concerns of families and caretakers about theaters, to embrace a means for pleasure and independence as they navigated the urban landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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