Where Houston Met Hollywood

Abstract

In trying to understand why one of the United States’ biggest cities has been overlooked in scholarship, this article argues that the mass media has helped to obscure Houstonians’ own narratives of their city. This article looks closely at the opening of the Shamrock Hotel in Houston in 1949 and the release of the film Giant (1956), which fictionalizes that event. This case study shows how Giant constructed the city as an anti-modern space, overshadowing the discourse proposed by Glenn McCarthy and the Shamrock, which promoted Houston as a modern city. This article also analyzes Houstonians’ responses to Giant: Reviews were largely enthusiastic, but the perspective from Houston also allowed viewers to see some of the film’s weaknesses more clearly.