ABSTRACT
In the preceding chapters, we discussed the spatial politics of the multiplex at a series of scales reaching from the national geography of opportunity down to the interior arrangement of specific sites. In each case, our discussion of the physical geography of the multiplex phenomenon sought correspondence with its human geography. As such, we drew attention to various aspects of this human presence. First, we recognized the role played by the formation of crowds around leisure activities in the contest over public space in India’s urban history. Second, we noted the explicit focus on the high end of the cinema market in the business model of the multiplex chains, and specifically upon the so-called ‘consuming classes’. For this reason, we have attempted to elaborate upon how the multiplex chains have sought to locate and serve this new public at the national and metropolitan levels. Whilst much of the discussion of this putative social formation has been necessarily quantitative in focus, we have taken care to emphasise that this is an imagined community that has been absolutely central to the ideological construction of India as an emerging economic power. Finally, in Chapter 6, we began to explore how the multiplex functions as an explicit device for the architectural disciplining of the body. From this perspective, the multiplex is constituted by a series of strategic spatial deployments designed not only to maximise profit, but also to instil a certain social order amongst its clientele.
