Open Access Edition of Main Street Movies: The History of Local Film in the United States

FAIN: DR-272609-20

Trustees of Indiana University (Bloomington, IN 47405-7000)
Allison Blair Chaplin (Project Director: March 2020 to August 2022)

This project will publish the book Main Street Movies: The History of Local Film in the United States, written by NEH Fellow Martin L. Johnson (NEH grant number FA-58514-15) in an electronic open access format under a Creative Commons license, making it available for free download and distribution. The author will be paid a royalty of at least $500 upon release of the open access ebook. The period of performance start date is September 1, 2020. We request an end date on February 28, 2022.

Associated Products

Single Publication (Open Access eBook or Collection)
Publication Type: Single Publication
Title: Main Street Movies: The History of Local Film in the United States
Year: 2021
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Author: Martin L. Johnson
Abstract: "See yourself in the movies!" Prior to the advent of the home movie camera and the ubiquitousness of the camera phone, there was the local film. This cultural phenomenon, produced across the country from the 1890s to the 1950s, gave ordinary people a chance to be on the silver screen without leaving their hometowns. Through these movies, residents could see themselves in the same theaters where they saw major Hollywood motion pictures. Traveling filmmakers plied their trade in small towns and cities, where these films were received by locals as being part of the larger cinema experience. With access to the rare film clips under discussion, Main Street Movies documents the diversity and longevity of local film production and examines how itinerant filmmakers responded to industry changes to keep sponsors and audiences satisfied. From town pride films in the 1910s to Hollywood knockoffs in the 1930s, local films captured not just images of local people and places but also ideas about the function and meaning of cinema that continue to resonate today.
Primary URL: https://publish.iupress.indiana.edu/projects/main-street-movies
Primary URL Description: Main Street Movies Open Access
Type: Single author monograph

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