Producing the places: Cinematographic industry and spatial imaginary

Abstract

Geography and cinematography are two disciplines little related in spite of possessing some common elements. This work tries to approach the treatment of place - an eminently geographical category - on the part of the cinematography. After a brief reference to the theories that from the economic and social geography or from the new cultural geography concern the notion of place, the article analyzes its integration as one more input in the production system of movies. Under this context the study will approach the way in which the cinematographic industry has considered the geographical place for the production of its movies, giving a special attention to the factors that determine his choice as a shooting location and, therefore, his incorporation to the category of movie place. Along the whole article a decisive importance is granted to the cinematographic industry as a producer, distributer and inciter to the consumption of the movie places; this the motive by which, in the last epigraph, differences are established between the above mentioned places and the geographical ones, and simultaneously carries out a critical analysis of his consumption.