Exploration, intertwined with home-seeking, has always defined America. Corbin argues that films about significant cultural landscapes in America evoke a sense of travel for their viewers. These virtual travel experiences from the mid-1970s through the 1990s built a societal map of "popular multiculturalism" through a movie-going experience.

Amy Lynn Corbin is Assistant Professor of Media and Communication and Acting Director of Film Studies at Muhlenberg College, USA.