ABSTRACT
The perceived threat of accessibility tends to be framed through a discourse of historical decline in which the adoption of digital technology marks the eventual death of the cult cinema phenomenon. Peter Stanfield, for example, argues that by the time a film cult comes into general view it is already dead, wrapped in a clean shroud, and being sold in the cult film section of the shopping mall’s DVD store or the Internet’s virtual simulacra of a downtown alternative store. There is an extensive history of criticism on cult cinema that highlights the perceived threat posed by films becoming accessible to a wider audience. The chapter explores to what extent digital media ‘might support new modes of subcultural distinction’, charting the myriad ways in which subcultural capital is being generated and fought over within digital spaces. It investigates the evolving meaning of cult cinema in the digital age.
