Page 327 . Volume 8, Issue 2 November 2011 Superman vs Shrödinger’s Cat: Taste, Etiquette and Independent Cinema Audiences as Indirect Communities Elizabeth Jane Evans University of Nottingham, UK Abstract This article uses empirical audieŶĐe ƌeseaƌĐh gatheƌed at thƌee East MidlaŶds iŶdepeŶdeŶt aƌt ĐiŶeŵas to edžaŵiŶe the Đultuƌal aŶd soĐial ǀalue of speĐifiĐ ĐiŶeŵa spaĐes. It ǁill aƌgue that the ǀalue of aƌt ǀeŶues lies iŶ a seŶse of ĐolleĐtiǀe ideŶtitLJ that paƌtiĐipaŶts see as lacking at commercial multiplexes. This collective identity is formed around a number of factors including taste, class, age, ideology and etiquette. As such, these audience members foƌŵ iŶdiƌeĐt ĐoŵŵuŶities that laĐk the faĐe-to-face interaction of traditional community structures, but maintain a strong collective identity that distinguishes them from other ĐiŶeŵa audieŶĐe. Foƌ these audieŶĐes, aƌt ĐiŶeŵa is Ŷot just aďout the filŵ oŶsĐƌeeŶ, ďut also about who you are watching it with. Keywords: Cinema audiences, art cinema, independent cinema, taste, class, age, etiquette Introduction EaĐh HalloǁeeŶ, the BƌoadǁaLJ CiŶeŵa aŶd Media CeŶtƌe, a puďliĐallLJ suďsidised aƌt cinema in Nottingham, hosts the Mayhem Horror Festival. As part of the festival, the cineŵas ďaƌ ďeĐoŵes the site of a faŶĐLJ dƌess paƌtLJ, ďƌiŶgiŶg togetheƌ festiǀal audieŶĐes into a specific space for social interaction that is independent from watching a film. At the 2009 event costumes included traditional (cinematic) Halloween fare such as witches and vampires, a gang of superheroes (including Superman) and, perhaps more unusually, soŵeoŶe dƌessed as “hƌödiŶgeƌs Cat. Whilst this aŶeĐdote ŵaLJ seeŵ soŵeǁhat aƌďitƌaƌLJ, it in fact encapsulates a number of issues concerning the value of art cinema spaces and the nature of art cinema audiences. The forms of knowledge epitomised by the images of “upeƌŵaŶ aŶd “hƌödiŶgeƌs Cat seeŵ at odds; oŶe is ŵass populaƌ eŶteƌtaiŶŵeŶt, the otheƌ is a thought experiment for quantum physics. Metaphorically, they represent the mass commercial chains and blockbusters that dominate UK cinema culture and the ostensibly