Hollywood in the Hinterland: Newspapers, itinerant films and community identity in the 1920s

Abstract

Itinerant films represented a substantial media and cultural phenomenon during the first half of the 20th century, and provided a localized form of a mass culture product. Through an analysis of archival materials and newspaper accounts related to the production of 11 itinerant movies filmed in the Midwestern United States in the 1920s, this article examines the relationship between the itinerant films and community newspapers. By supporting these productions, these newspapers used a relatively new communication technology as a way to solidify their civic position. They helped create an intensely local product featuring recognizable landmarks, businesses and people that offered readers a way to combat the loss of community and place in an increasingly networked society.