i SPLIT SCREEN NATION ii iii SPLIT SCREEN NATION Moving Images of the American West and South Susan Courtney 1 iv 1 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America. © Oxford University Press 2017 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Names: Courtney, Susan, 1967– author. Title: Split screen nation : moving images of the American West and South / Susan Courtney. Description: New York : Oxford University Press, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016033952 (print) | LCCN 2016049603 (ebook) | ISBN 9780190459963 (cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780190459970 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780190459987 (updf) Subjects: LCSH: Motion pictures—Social aspects—United States—History—20th century. | Motion pictures—Political aspects—United States—History—20th century. | West (U.S.)—In motion pictures. | Southern States—In motion pictures. Classification: LCC PN1995.9.S6 C68 2017 (print) | LCC PN1995.9.S6 (ebook) | DDC 302.23/4309730904—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016033952 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Paperback printed by WebCom, Inc., Canada Hardback printed by Bridgeport National Bindery, Inc., United States of America v In memory of Robbins Barstow, whose film, Family Camping through Forty- Eight States, transformed my thinking about mid-t wentieth- century screen culture. And for Bob, Chloe, and Mia—m y own exceptional road trip family, and so much more. vi vii CONTENTS List of Illustrations  ix Preface  xiii Acknowledgments  xv About the Companion Website  xix PART 1: PROJECTING REGION, IMAGINING NATION Teaser (Hollywood): Easy Rider Calls for a Genealogy  3 Introduction: Split Screen Nation 7 PART 2: REMAPPING THE NATION ON MULTIPLE SCREENS Teaser (16mm and Archive.org): Camera Road Trip 39 1. Screen Maps for Model Citizen- Spectators  41 2. Frontier Vistas and Plantation Sutures: Hollywood Forms of the American Paradox  81 INTERSTITIAL TEASER (Multimedia): “John Wayne” versus “Tennessee Williams”  115 PART 3: THE LEAKY SOUTH Teaser (TV): Enjoying the “Southern Decadence Blues” with Hugh Hefner  123 3. How the South Became Sexually Perverse in the Civil Rights Era  127 vii viii viii // CONTENTS PART 4: THE EMPTY WEST Teaser (Media Saturation): Robert Frank’s Postcards from the Edge 187 4. Expanding Views of a Filmic Proving Ground  191 Epilogue: Walking/ Looking into the Toxic Cloud 255 Notes  267 Index  301 ix ILLUSTRATIONS In addition to the 85 black-a nd- white illustrations in this book, listed below, the complete set of all figures (over 400, the majority in color) referenced throughout the text are easily accessed at the companion website: . Figures viewable only on the website are indicated in the text by the symbol . T1.1 Poster for Easy Rider (1969) T2.1– T2.3 Family Camping through Forty- Eight States: Travel Experiences by the Barstow Family of Wethersfield, Connecticut, USA, 1954–1961 (2000) DIRECTOR: Robbins Barstow. ACCESS: Library of Congress; Internet Archive (in two parts), https:// archive.org/ details/ barstow_ americas_ history, and https:// archive.org/ details/ barstow_ americas_ wonderlands  1.3, 1.7, and 1.8 How to Go Places (1957) SPONSOR:  Chevrolet Division, General Motors. PRODUCTION:  Jam Handy Organization. ACCESS: Library of Congress/ Prelinger Collection; Internet Archive, https:// archive.org/ details/ HowtoGoP1954  1.22, 1.30, and 1.31 America for Me (1953) SPONSOR:  Greyhound Lines. PRODUCTION:  Jerry Fairbanks Productions. ACCESS: Library of Congress/ Prelinger Collection; Internet Archive, https:// archive. org/ details/ 0655_ America_ For_ Me  1.53– 1.55, 1.62, 1.63, 1.68, 1.69, 1.71, 1.76, 1.82, and 1.83 Family Camping through Forty- Eight States: Travel Experiences by the Barstow Family of Wethersfield, Connecticut, USA, 1954– 1961 (2000) DIRECTOR: Robbins Barstow. ACCESS: Library of Congress; Internet Archive (in two parts), https:// archive.org/ details/ barstow_ americas_ history and https:// archive.org/ details/ barstow_ americas_ wonderlands  ix