From its inception, cinema emerged as a new public sphere, reflecting the important social shifts of the turn of the century, which were evident not only in screen works but also in spectator practices. University of Chicago professor Miriam Hansen’s (1949–2011) book explores the close connection between the development of the audience for early American cinema and the transformation of business and private life. In the first part of the study, the author, using the metaphor of Babylon in the title, shows how cinema, in the process of creating an “audience,” solved the problem of integrating ethnically, socially, and gender-diverse groups into a single consumer culture. The second part is devoted to a detailed analysis of Griffith’s film Intolerance, which is traditionally considered the starting point for the modern relationship between film and spectator. In the third part, the author turns to the phenomenon of the movie star using the example of Rodolfo Valentino, analyzing his cult in the context of the commercial interests of Hollywood and the new feminine subculture.