(Re)Creating Nature: The Finley-Pack Films, "Camera Hunting," and the Wilderness Culture Industry (1925-1935)
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Date
2021-09-13
Authors
Duncan, Phillip
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Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
In 1920s and 1930s, filmmakers William L. Finley and Arthur N. Pack produced a number of short-subject nature documentary films notable for their early use of the narrative techniques that are now considered rote in the genre—including the anthropomorphism, characterization, and staging of wildlife. These “camera hunting” films were financed by Pack’s Nature Magazine, shown on tours across the United States, and used in advertising campaigns for commodities ranging from 16mm moving picture cameras to organized tours of the burgeoning U.S. National Parks. Drawing from the theoretical approaches of critical media industries studies and ecocriticism and using the methods of document, historiographical, and textual analysis, this dissertation examines the production culture, political economy, and representations of the natural world in the Finley-Pack films, while also attempting to situate their place—and possible influence—in the creation of the modern American “wilderness culture industry” still witnessed today.
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Keywords
16mm film, media industries studies, National Parks Service, nature documentary, production studies, wildlife film