Movies on a Mission: American Protestants and the Foreign Missionary Film, 1906-1956

Mission-oriented films played a significant role in American visual culture, educating congregants about evangelization efforts and providing a detailed look at mission stations in far-flung lands. From early foreign views to interwar films to Cold War productions, the genre evolved and developed, with some films serving as propaganda tools.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 277 pages
Publication date: 30 September 2023
Publisher: McFarland & Co Inc

Mission-oriented films, a lesser-known genre, have been explored in this study to reveal how Protestant missionaries abroad sought to acquire motion picture footage from remote regions of the world. Within the broader religious community, mission films played a crucial role in educating congregants back home about evangelization efforts worldwide. However, this book underscores the significant impact of mission films on American visual culture. The evolution and development of the genre are traced, beginning with an early emphasis on foreign views in the 1910s, followed by interwar films that provided a more detailed glimpse into the functioning of mission stations in distant lands, and culminating in Cold War productions that occasionally served as propaganda tools, echoing anti-communist rhetoric from the CIA.

Weight: 272g
Dimension: 254 x 178 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781476685397