I mean- that’s not actually a “new” thing- the phrase “country girl dreaming of a big city life” pre dates even me by quite a bit and the concept goes even further back.
Let’s look at a few factors:
1. This is a basic narrative mechanic. Luke Skywalker lived a peaceful life on a rural planet farming and had friends etc- dreamed of big cities and epic battles, we can name countless works far older than Star Wars that use this device. A story about someone leading an idyllic life with no conflict doesn’t really give us a story- “the heroes journey” is one of the oldest known story structures- the hero is called to action, may take the call or resist it, ends up taking the call, goes through trials and the rest of the story, and depending on the version and genre a non Tragedy generally finds what they wanted/needed or discovers they had it all along and returns to the start.
1a. Continuing on mechanics- not always but often, especially in da stash etc. where the world isn’t OUR world it identical to it- the story uses an “outsider” as a character which is often the main character. This “outsider” isn’t savvy to the “ways of the larger world”
The same way is the audience aren’t. This allows them both to sort of be our “avatar” but also gives a method through which the author can explain the works or uncover its wonders to the audience in a “natural” and unobtrusive way. So the “outsider” who is often the MC or a primary character, is usually a “fish out of water.” Taking a character from the big city and moving them to the country/small town is a classic device (Doc Hollywood, hope floats, under the Tuscan Sun, Ground Hogs Day l, Field of Dreams, etc.) and so is country to city as well. The two settings are vastly different which gives contrast and the set up for why our character, even an otherwise capable character, might be “out of their depth”
1b. There are some other little ones I won’t go too far into. In a visual media like film the visual contrast in setting and backdrop like clothing etc. can be used to create spectacle. In visual or text media etc. the fact that country and city ways of life, politics, philosophies, values etc. are often different can be explored. It’s an easy set up for all sorts of stories and presides and messages because you’ve set up a situation where these two very seemingly or superficially different cultures meet so you can explore any number of things, make statements on capitalism, heritage, progress vs. slower pace, etc etc.
2. It’s accurate and generally relatable through much of history which is why we see variations on the theme through much of history and especially modern history. That is to say that not every person from a rural place dreams of the big city- or even most; and the same is true that not every city person freaks of the country- but the concept has long stood, at the very least since the Industrial Age, that those crowded into dirty cities full of corruption and suffering and immorality and cut throat competition and faced paced stressful living and urban blight and danger can “get away” to the “slower, simpler, kinder, cleaner, ethical, beautiful” country free of big city crime and exploitation. And that those from the country where life can be boring, opportunity sparce, views provincial or small, wealth limited, luxuries limited etc. could run to the city and fine wealth or fame or excitement etc. now these things aren’t inherently the truth of either place- but common perceptions and
Stereotypes.
And it does hold true- many from the big city fantasize of the “simple” country life and aesthetic, lower cost of living, no traffic, close communities or what not. Those with wealth from the big city have often owned homes “in the country” to “get away to” and things like renting air BnB in the “country” just for the “air and views” have been popular. In the pandemic we saw mass migration of “city folk” to more rural areas where prices were cheaper and they felt the quality of life was better (especially when work from home allowed them to take their often much higher than average salaries with them…) and vice versa. Since forever- with works in film dating AT LEAST to the 1830’s and books going back to antiquity- the fantasy of many, especially younger people, in rural life has been to go to the big cities with their “culture” and “fashion” and all the “fancy” jobs and such. Hollywood is full of kids from the Midwest and all over rural America and rural California who
headed out west to make it as stars or artists. The tech centers often find those from all over who seek to become tech workers or the “next innovator” who turns an idea into a billion dollar empire etc. and while it is possible- in modern historical context your odds of becoming a star or making a huge fortune from nothing tend to be higher in these urban centers than in a corn field. Marilyn Monroe herself came from a rural farming town and after some notoriety for pageantry was scouted and brought to the “big city.”
3. It isn’t that you can’t make stories that are only set in one place or you can’t make good stories that are only set in a rural setting. The list of films and books that take place entirely in rural settings is incalculable (at least for me.. lol.) without going back to antiquity (which we could) we have classics like “What’s eating Gilbert Grape” “Where the Red Fern Grows” “Oh Brother Where Art Thou” “October Sky” “Second Hand Lions” “Wind River” “Broke Back Mountain,” I mean… when we start adding “historical” including westerns and crime as well as other films it starts to get really long but those were just off the top of my head in like 10 seconds. If we include films that mostly take place in rural settings or which have protagonists from rural settings that don’t seek to leave them or seek to return the list gets even longer.
4. These stories aren’t always kind to the places or people. Wether the writer or primary world shapers and story shapers behind a book or film have any first hand experience in the settings or with the people they wrote about is it’s own issue. It’s also the case that people tend to be most interested in certain aspects of a place or group and this can change with time or stay the same. So of course a lot of films and works focusing on rural stories in rural settings tend to focus on things like racism or prejudice, poverty or disparity, and related elements.
The fiction is most often shaped by both the author and their experiences and views as well as the intended audience and theirs. Books can often be much more open in that sense as in the modern age a popular book can be written from almost any wage te by almost anyone.
Films, or at least large production mainstream films, tend to largely be centered around specific highly populated areas and so you are likely to find people from those areas and when you find people living and working in those areas who are from rural areas- they USUALLY aren’t people who were totally happy there and loved the life and the people because if they were they maybe wouldn’t have left right? So that’s a big thing- the people who leave these rural places because they feel like they aren’t welcomed or don’t fit in etc. and seek places where there are more people so better chances of finding people “like them” etc. so there certainly can be some bias on the back end of the story but there’s also often bias at the front because….
Rural America isn’t always the primary audience to target if you want to make huge returns on a film. I mean- it wouldnt be rural if all the people lived there right? So where do most people live? Large urban and suburban centers. So when a story is being made to make money- or lots of things really- there can be a focus on urban and suburban markets because there are more people. Now, when you add up ALL the people living spaced out in “rural” areas there are ALOT- and a lot of money. So it also is generally unwise to forget the market entirely- but think of it this way- if you sell hot dogs on a random corner in New York City 10,000 potential customers may walk by each day. Do that in rural America and get what.. 0-30 maybe 100 or so potential customers a day?
So that one seems self evident. It’s easier and faster to put a film in 3 theaters and sell 1000 tickets each and make a profit than put it into 30 theaters and sell 100 tickets each and do the same.
If the buzz after opening is good, in Dallas you sell 1000 tickets the first day and maybe 2000 the next. If the buzz is good in Yellowknife you sell maybe 15 tickets the first day and maybe 50 the second?
Simple numbers. You have the theater capacity to seat 60,000 people for the opening show of your movie in Chicago and 60,000 new customers could come every day for months if it was a well liked film.
In many rural towns 60,000 is the population of the entire town, or more than the population. So sure- there is some bias in these things when it comes to rural markets often because of factors like those and of course that’s without getting into political generalities which I will leave alone.
5. So in conclusion- there isn’t some sort of sudden trend in Hollywood. Not only in Hollywood but in the history of fiction the trope of small town X thrown into the big city has been abundant and has countless variations and examples. LOTR is technically an example- Frodo lives in an idyllic rural town and doesn’t even want to leave. He’s thrust by destiny into an adventure that will take him to the “big cities” of middle earth and the industrial centers like Mordor. So sometimes the rural hero wants to leave and sometimes they are forced. Luke Skywalker fantasized about leaving his rural farm life but was forced to leave when his family and farm were killed and it was implied if he stayed he would be too. Maximus in Gladiator dreamed about returning to his farm- he was a farmer who was in the military- and when it was all taken from him he had to enter the big city with its politics and intrigue in a fight for his life and revenge. Etc etc. some films are very “pro” rural life-
Gladiator and the Hobbit both have strong messages that the “heroes” and the “good guys” are the “simple” rural folks who are all about family and settling in and living largely peaceful and happy lives while the urban types tend to be treacherous and selfish and twisted and evil with their way of life encroaching on and polluting and destroying everything around them. Many films are somewhat ambiguous or perhaps not overly flattering- those like “Friday Night Lights” or films often centered around racial issues and such with tend to highlight the darker and less idyllic aspects that can exist in rural life (not that they can’t exist anywhere else…) which is part of the earlier point- that to appeal to the widest audience, a film centered around rural settings or characters often needs to carry some concepts that are relatable to people who live other places too.
Let’s look at a few factors:
1. This is a basic narrative mechanic. Luke Skywalker lived a peaceful life on a rural planet farming and had friends etc- dreamed of big cities and epic battles, we can name countless works far older than Star Wars that use this device. A story about someone leading an idyllic life with no conflict doesn’t really give us a story- “the heroes journey” is one of the oldest known story structures- the hero is called to action, may take the call or resist it, ends up taking the call, goes through trials and the rest of the story, and depending on the version and genre a non Tragedy generally finds what they wanted/needed or discovers they had it all along and returns to the start.
The same way is the audience aren’t. This allows them both to sort of be our “avatar” but also gives a method through which the author can explain the works or uncover its wonders to the audience in a “natural” and unobtrusive way. So the “outsider” who is often the MC or a primary character, is usually a “fish out of water.” Taking a character from the big city and moving them to the country/small town is a classic device (Doc Hollywood, hope floats, under the Tuscan Sun, Ground Hogs Day l, Field of Dreams, etc.) and so is country to city as well. The two settings are vastly different which gives contrast and the set up for why our character, even an otherwise capable character, might be “out of their depth”
And it does hold true- many from the big city fantasize of the “simple” country life and aesthetic, lower cost of living, no traffic, close communities or what not. Those with wealth from the big city have often owned homes “in the country” to “get away to” and things like renting air BnB in the “country” just for the “air and views” have been popular. In the pandemic we saw mass migration of “city folk” to more rural areas where prices were cheaper and they felt the quality of life was better (especially when work from home allowed them to take their often much higher than average salaries with them…) and vice versa. Since forever- with works in film dating AT LEAST to the 1830’s and books going back to antiquity- the fantasy of many, especially younger people, in rural life has been to go to the big cities with their “culture” and “fashion” and all the “fancy” jobs and such. Hollywood is full of kids from the Midwest and all over rural America and rural California who
The fiction is most often shaped by both the author and their experiences and views as well as the intended audience and theirs. Books can often be much more open in that sense as in the modern age a popular book can be written from almost any wage te by almost anyone.
So that one seems self evident. It’s easier and faster to put a film in 3 theaters and sell 1000 tickets each and make a profit than put it into 30 theaters and sell 100 tickets each and do the same.
Simple numbers. You have the theater capacity to seat 60,000 people for the opening show of your movie in Chicago and 60,000 new customers could come every day for months if it was a well liked film.
In many rural towns 60,000 is the population of the entire town, or more than the population. So sure- there is some bias in these things when it comes to rural markets often because of factors like those and of course that’s without getting into political generalities which I will leave alone.