From its beginning in spring of 2009, the University of South Carolina's course in Film and Media History (then FILM 300, after fall 2016 FAMS 300) included a research exercise asking students to use a relatively small number of primary sources of…
During the 1910s, films as a source of entertainment became more prevalent. Gone were the days of having sideshow films at carnivals or accompanying a minstrel performance. The film industry had strayed from the montage stylings of newsreels and…
Columbia experienced two separate histories of movie exhibition. This excerpt from the 1920 City Directory shows an example of how theaters were listed. Colored businesses including theaters were indicated with an asterisk. Other editions of the…
When films first started being shown to the public in the early 20th century, the way people thought about the movies was very different from today. At first, the newspapers seemed to regard them as barely noteworthy, relegating news about them to…
Between 1910 and 1919 there was a distinct and measurable change from monstrative attractions to more familiar types of narrative-driven films in Columbia. Monstrative films told simple, often well known fictions and documented or recreated current…
Early movie going in Columbia involved not only coming to grips with a new technology and but also learning proper behavior inside the theaters. Take a look at the article “Silence and Fun at the Movies” which appeared in The State newspaper in…
In their "Note on the Shift from Live Acts to Filmed Entertainment," Daniel Brunjes and Evelyn Simental point out that from 1904 to 1920, films rose from being overshadowed by minstrel shows and plays to becoming the primary source of commercial…
A critical review of Columbia newspapers and city directory materials dated from 1904 to 1922 brings to light the development of stardom, especially among actresses. At the turn of twentieth century, there was only one theater in downtown Columbia…
As the "Note on Black Theaters” suggests, fire insurance maps can indeed illuminate the vastly different experiences of Black and white moviegoers in Columbia during the early 1900’s. “Colored” businesses such as theaters were indicated with…
The development of film culture in Columbia from 1904 to 1919 witnessed an increasing interest in film as something different from live performances. Once a novelty overshadowed by forms of entertainment like minstrel shows and plays, films rose to…