Abstract
Abstract Although Popular Science Monthly focused on applied scientific research, including advances in photographic and communication technologies, this magazine paid surprisingly little attention to motion pictures after the end of the nineteenth century, beyond occasionally bemoaning the effect of “picture shows.” Yet once this periodical was transformed in 1915 into a heavily illustrated magazine aimed at a mass market, coverage of motion pictures became a regular feature. The new Popular Science Monthly highlighted non-commercial uses of the medium and inventive modifications of the motion picture apparatus, while celebrating the bravado of stunt performers and camera operators as well as the logistical challenges of creating thrilling spectacle through special effects and set construction. A close look at Popular Science Monthly from 1897 through 1916 offers a revealing historical vantage point on American cinema’s particular version of mediated modernity and on the discourse of useful cinema in the early twentieth century.
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