Cinema in Context



How To Do

How many French films were screened in Rotterdam in each year between 1922 and 1925?


By transferring the data from Cinema Context to a database, we can create a listing of the films screened over a number of years. For this question we will work with the saved data set in My Data and also with a database, MS Access. The entire procedure will consist of three steps: searching the Programmes collection, searching the Films collection, and transferring the data to a pre-existing query in MS Access. The results are then to be evaluated.

Method

Step 1

We will first search all programmes in which French films were screened.

  • Open Cinema Context in a new window.
  • Click on Programmes at the top of the page.
  • Enter ‘Rotterdam’ in the first search field and select City from the pull-down menu behind it.
  • Go to the second search field, click on the pull-down menu to the right of the field, and select Country of film origin. An Index button will appear to the right of the pull-down menu.
  • Click on the Index button and select France. An F will appear in the search field on the left.
  • Enter ‘01-01-1922’ and ‘31-12-1925’ in the search fields marked active between.
  • Click on . You will now see the number of programmes in which French films were screened.
  • Click on add all to my data.

Step 2

We will now add the French films to My Data. This is necessary because films that were not from France were also included in the programmes.

  • Click on Films at the top of the page.
  • Enter ‘Rotterdam’ in the first search field and select City of screening from the pull-down menu behind the field.
  • Click on the pull-down menu behind the second search field and select Country. An Index button will appear to the right of the pull-down menu.
  • Click on the Index button and select France. An F will appear in the search field.
  • Enter ‘’01-01-1922’ and ‘’31-12-1925’ in the search field marked active between.
  • Select both under ‘Limit search query to’.
  • Click on . You will now see the number of French films that were screened in Rotterdam between 1922 and 1925.
  • Click on add all to my data. You will see that the data about the films has been added to the data from Programmes.
  • Go to My Data and click on download contents. Save the file in a folder you can access easily.

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Step 3

As a complicated database query is necessary for this question, we will provide it for you. You can find it in the database FilmsInCity.mdb under Downloads. Save this database in a folder that is easily accessible. You will need it again later. This database can be used for all questions that look like this: How many films from country X were screened in city Y in each year from xxxx to xxxx?

If you do not have the file HowToDoInAccess.xslt on your computer, you will have to download it first. You will find it under Downloads. Save the file in a folder on your computer that is easily accessible.

  • Double-click the recently saved file FilmsInCity.mdb to start Access. Ignore any warnings you may encounter.
  • On the left-hand side, click on Query under Objects. You will see that three queries are ready. Only the data is still missing. That is what we will now add.
  • Click on File > Get External data > Import.
  • Select XML from the pull-down menu Files of type.
  • Select the previously saved contents of your My Data set.
  • Click on Options > Transform.
  • Select HowToDoInAccess (or click Add to add the file HowToDoInAccess.xslt from the folder in which you have just saved this file) and click on OK. Then click on OK once more. The query is now complete.
  • If you double-click on qryPrograms, you will see a table with an overview of the years with the number of French films screened in Rotterdam listed behind them. If you wish to display the results in a bar diagram, then double-click on qryProgramspivot and then on View > Pivot Chart View.

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Discussion

  • Not all film programmes are known to Cinema Context. The programmes for some cinemas are not available in Cinema Context at all. There are also cinemas about which we know nothing at all, for instance because they never advertised. What influence would this have on the result? Discuss the extent to which your data is a representative sample.
  • Which cinemas are missing in your analysis? Make a comparison between the cinemas you have found in this question and the question: How many cinemas were active in Rotterdam in each year between 1921 and 1940?
  • If the absolute numbers in your research data cannot possibly be complete (which is often the case), it might be preferable to use a relative number such as a percentage: t. The films on releasesupply consist of xx percent of French films and xx percent of German films.
  • Not all screenings took place in a ‘regular’ cinema. Films were sometimes screened at fairgrounds by travelling cinemas. Clubs and societies would sometimes screen films for their members in private venues. Find out whether this has occurred in Rotterdam during this period.
  • The next question is an expansion of further complexity: How many French films were screened in Utrecht and Groningen in each year between 1922 and 1925?