Comment on In the 1930s, ‘movie queens’ were the Facebook Live of small-town Maine

In 2018, taking a selfie or filming yourself for social media is as banal as brushing your teeth. Eighty years ago, however, seeing yourself on film was a rare treat — so much so that, in the years before home movies became a regular part of American life, a small cottage industry for itinerant filmmakers sprang up in small towns nationwide. In the late 1930s, towns all over Maine signed up to be part of a “movie queen” film: a scripted half-hour movie directed by a traveling filmmaker that showcased the town’s businesses, landmarks and people.