At the Picture Show: Small-Town Audiences and the Creation of Movie Fan Culture
Fuller's well-researched investigation of the rise of movie culture, especially in rural areas, covers the period from the early 1900s, when itinerant exhibitors brought "moving picture shows" to the hinterlands, to the 1920s, by which time "the movies" were an ingrained, if not always esteemed, influence on American culture. Fandom has not been examined as frequently as the technical and aesthetic evolution of the films themselves, yet creating fandom was necessary to build the loyal mass audience that boosted the film industry to its preeminent place in American business as well as culture. Fuller examines the crucial question of whether movie fan culture developed the same in rural areas as it did in urban centers and, in so doing, considers audience preferences, exhibitors' records, and the machinations of the movie fan magazines of the day. All in all, she makes a fascinating examination of an underappreciated aspect of American film history. Consider it must reading for popular culture and film studies aficionados.Mike Tribby--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.