Tinsel and Rust

Abstract Tinsel and Rust tells the story of Hollywood’s role in the making (and the remaking) of the Rust Belt in the United States. Since the 1970s, filmic representations of shuttered auto plants, furloughed millworkers, and decaying downtowns in the industrial heartland have contributed to pervasive narratives of American malaise and decline. In more recent years, cities like Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Cleveland have all attempted to remake their public image and revitalize their economies through film and media production. Hollywood has played a central role in teaching us how to look at the Rust Belt, and the images and narratives that films have circulated have had immense power in our politics and our culture. Across five chapters, each focusing on a different city in the Rust Belt, Tinsel and Rust examines how the region has become one of our culture’s most powerful symbols for America’s mythic past, degraded present, and potential futures.