Vadå? Kan vi inte bara kolla på film?: En studie om individualiserade upplevelser på bio

In a time characterized by individualization and changing forms of collective life, this study explores contemporary cinema as both a personal and shared experiential space. Based on interviews and participant observations conducted at two cinemas in Malmö, Sweden, the study explores how cinematic experiences are shaped through atmosphere, spatial organization, and social interaction. The analysis primarily draws on phenomenological perspectives to examine lived, bodily experiences of cinema-going, complemented by Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, cultural capital, and social fields, as well as selected Marxist perspectives on material conditions and consumption. The results show that the cinema functions not only as a site for film consumption, but as a cultural space where feelings of belonging, engagement, and identification are produced through sensory, material, and social arrangements. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that access to the cinema is shaped by both material conditions, such as pricing and scheduling, and symbolic factors related to taste, norms, and cultural capital. Keywords: Cinema experience, Atmosphere, Phenomenology, Cultural capital, Spatial practices