The average American child can not even comprehend what institutions provide cultural enhancement. Is that too bold a statement? I don't think so. Primarily because American culture probably doesn't exist in any real form. The closest we get to art is in our cinema. Art as a practiced form is lost. Literacy rates are abominable, museums are underfunded in response to the lack of public interest in viewing their wares, and art classes are practically non-existent as more and more schools have cut those programs in response to budgetary concerns. Art is a learned appreciation. And we are not teaching it. But good cinema can incite conversation, can entertain, and can act as an artistic base for our children. And even good cinema is disappearing . . . sacrificed to the gods of the commercial movie.
It is this commercial movie industry that the city leaders of San Jose seem most intent on protecting. Our city has experienced profound growing pains as we've made the transition from agricultural area, to bedroom community and finally to the bustling metropolis known as Silicon Valley. How cherry orchards birthed Pentium chips is a story for another day . . . but in the process they have brought disparate social classes together in a way that leaves everyone struggling for some sort of cultural base. In the 90's we've seen downtown San Jose develop into a thriving urban area. But in the twenty years of redevelopment San Jose has been forced to deal with urban decay that has jeopardized the city and many of its core institutions. Urban anthropologist, Bob Beauregard, paints a bleak picture of the American city in his book, Voices of Decline, saying America's cities, large and small, are standing on the verge of catastrophe, "Deteriorated and outmoded buildings were prevalent . . . The first concern became the issue of blight, the second of slums. The bifurcation was reinforced by a corresponding appropriation of different parts of the city." San Jose's redevelopment agency has faced the same prospects in their attempts to create a beautiful downtown area that would attract the business community. But even as they put up buildings for high tech companies on newly appropriated redevelopment turf the dickering continues over what to do with the lingering abandoned landmarks. Culture and business are often at the core of any downtown. Rich cultural venues, like theater, cinema, and art galleries attract those people who would be patrons. But the proximity of business anchors them to the area. And that is one of the functions the Camera Cinema's initially provided to a struggling downtown San Jose.
In the early years of redevelopment, the downtown had no soul. Any draw it did have amidst the closed shops and construction came from the enterprising theaters that brought variety to the cultural film life of the growing community. Even today with all the success Frank Taylor's agency can claim many of the area's small businesses, the shops and boutiques that bring charm and character, are boarded up, awaiting new occupants San Jose is struggling to find. Facing these problems city leaders decided a commercial theater could attract people to the downtown area, where they might enjoy the city's nightlife and return to visit its shops. The people knew better, they knew they already had a film institution, one in need of their protection.
The profile of the average art film patron is someone who is willing to spend some money. They will attend dinner or get drinks before or after. They are generally well-educated, middle class people. These people are looking to spend an evening out and they want to be stimulated not merely entertained. These groups also stand a better chance of owning businesses or working in industries that could be moved to the downtown area. But only if downtown San Jose has something to offer. In the early 80's there were few restaurants or bars that anyone would want to frequent. What could possibly move these groups to encourage their customers to come to the downtown area to utilize their services? The Camera Cinema's offered at least some of this ambiance. They were artistic, they were connected to downtown's major university, and they had a following. But the city of San Jose in its zeal to increase the number of businesses in the downtown area was fast on its way to pushing one business out in favor of another.
They were on the verge of approving a 16-screen AMC multiplex that would be forced to draw on art films to fill all of the screens in the massive theater. Effectively competing with the Camera's on their own turf. A 16-screen plex was guaranteed to drive the Camera's out of business, effectively, "replacing one viable business with another" (Camera Cinemas Patron Survey, 1993). This couldn't possibly be the redevelopment agency's goal, they wanted to increase the flow of cash into the area . . . not level it off. In the survey, conducted by the theaters to determine their importance to the people of the community, they discovered that more people - 275,000 - attended their screenings every year than visited the San Jose Repertory Theater. The Camera's owners were not unrealistic in their position. They recognized that commercial theater would bring a larger group downtown, people that would be more inclined to visit the city's nightclubs and bars. But they knew, they as a cultural institution also needed protection. Now, years later, they remain while even the commercial film venue that was finally agreed upon for the downtown area departs the scene.
