# Why is Maine always portrayed on movies and TV as nothing but coast? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 7, 2015, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maine-always-portrayed-on-movies-and-tv-as-nothing-but-coast/727240 "2015-08-07T15:31:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maine-always-portrayed-on-movies-and-tv-as-nothing-but-coast/727240/21 "2015-08-08T02:06:10Z")
> **[Category:Television shows set in Maine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Television_shows_set_in_Maine)** > > This category is for television series set in Maine. > This category has only the following subcategory. > The following 30 pages are in this category, out of 30 total. This list may not reflect recent changes. > **[Category:Films set in Maine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Films_set_in_Maine)** > > The following 117 pages are in this category, out of 117 total. This list may not reflect recent changes. Here are some lists - it looks like there are many of each set away from the coast but I don’t recognize many of the titles. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maine-always-portrayed-on-movies-and-tv-as-nothing-but-coast/727240/22 "2015-08-08T05:13:01Z")
I haven’t seen most of those either, but (maybe it’s just chance) all those I have were set on the coast. I call BS on _Under the Dome_ as it is never said to be Maine, and it was filmed in North Carolina which does not look at all like Maine–as I say, I would know because I grew up living in NC and spent a lot of time at our cabin in Maine. ---
**Author:** ![davida03801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@davida03801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davida03801)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maine-always-portrayed-on-movies-and-tv-as-nothing-but-coast/727240/23 "2015-08-08T10:05:03Z")
Maine has two parts. The Gold Coast which is the coast line and then perhaps inwards 5-10 miles but no more. Then the rest of the interior of the state. The Gold Coast is where all the elites see Maine. They come for the coast line, the small picturesque harbor villages , beaches, sailing, eat lobster and clam chowdar. It is where all the money is also. The coast is littered with very expensive 2nd homes. The interior is mostly a blue collar playground. Hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, and the like. So the elites who go on to produce movies, write novels, etc will portray what they know. The coast. A few exceptions to that, but not many. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maine-always-portrayed-on-movies-and-tv-as-nothing-but-coast/727240/24 "2015-08-08T10:16:51Z")
Good point, **David**. There are blue collar areas of the country that get portrayed in fiction, but often very stereotypically/shallowly, so maybe it’s just as well. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maine-always-portrayed-on-movies-and-tv-as-nothing-but-coast/727240/25 "2015-08-08T17:56:16Z")
The same could be said for California. When was the last time there was a movie or TV show located in Riverside? ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maine-always-portrayed-on-movies-and-tv-as-nothing-but-coast/727240/26 "2015-08-09T04:29:37Z")
But they do from time to time show the California desert, mountains, etc. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maine-always-portrayed-on-movies-and-tv-as-nothing-but-coast/727240/27 "2015-08-09T04:40:53Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > But they do from time to time show the California desert, mountains, etc. It does have some diversity, but usually the trip to the mountains and the desert will start in LA. Similarly there’s a lot to France that occasionally gets shown in a movie, but apparently you can’t get there without stopping in Paris to see the Eiffel Tower first. There’s no place in Egypt you can get to without passing by the Pyramids, or in England the road to every location passes by Big Ben. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maine-always-portrayed-on-movies-and-tv-as-nothing-but-coast/727240/28 "2015-08-09T05:09:43Z")
Inland Maine is very similar to the South. Poor, agricultural, working class, failing economies, country music (in the day). It’s probably preferable to set your movie in the South for that. It’s also not sexy like the West coast for wilderness. The Bears are bigger, and the mountains are taller there, and its close to Hollywood. Then there’s Alaska. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maine-always-portrayed-on-movies-and-tv-as-nothing-but-coast/727240/29 "2015-08-09T05:13:42Z")
I forgot, besides coast and pine trees, Maine has moose. You can’t go anywhere inland without seeing a moose. ETA: I also forgot about Welcome to Mooseport. I don’t remember much about the movie (I wonder why?) but I do recall a lot of pine trees and a moose. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maine-always-portrayed-on-movies-and-tv-as-nothing-but-coast/727240/30 "2015-08-09T07:07:22Z")
**Why is Maine always portrayed on movies and TV as nothing but coast?** 1. Maine has a lot of coast. Gobsmackingly long coastline. 2. Maine’s coast is something else. Outstandingly impressive (and NOT even remotely like other states’ coasts – sorry, **Slacker** ). 3. The rest of Maine is dull by comparison. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maine-always-portrayed-on-movies-and-tv-as-nothing-but-coast/727240/31 "2015-08-09T10:11:49Z")
So how do you explain my family driving a couple thousand miles round trip from Chapel Hill to Greenville every year, sometimes twice a year, on most occasions not even spending a single day or hour at the coast? We were just the stupidest vacationers of all time, or what? It sure seemed like there were lots of other nonresidents there:tourists, as well as people with second homes. And why did they have resorts and steam ships on Moosehead Lake in Thoreau’s time if it was so dull? He even wrote a book about it. P.S. Can you be more specific about what is so impressive about Mane’s coast? I admittedly did not spend much time there, but other than Acadia National Park (which is not where all these fictional settings show), the coast did seem similar to me to Long Island or Massachusetts. Docks and fishing boats and buoys, big whoop. ---
**Author:** ![Bones\_Daley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@Bones\_Daley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bones_Daley)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maine-always-portrayed-on-movies-and-tv-as-nothing-but-coast/727240/32 "2015-08-09T10:41:38Z")
Someone once described Maine to me as being just like Arkansas, except with Yankee accents. I was forcefully reminded of this when I lived in the States many years ago, when returning to Massachusetts from a visit to Canada, and I stopped to make a long and leisurely examination of a covered bridge, which is one of the things Maine is famous for. I had been standing for a couple of minutes at the end of the bridge, taking pictures, and turned round to find myself practically nose to nose with a dungaree-clad gentleman cradling a long barreled rifle, with a hunting dog of some description at this side. When he spoke, he revealed a serious aversion to basic (and advanced) dental care. Scenes from “Deliverance” kept flashing through my mind, but he actually turned out to be very friendly, although I couldn’t understand a word of what he was saying. Nonetheless when I turned around to walk back to my car, I was still apprehensive that Cletus might change his mind and demonstrate his marksmanship skills. Needless to say, that did not happen. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maine-always-portrayed-on-movies-and-tv-as-nothing-but-coast/727240/33 "2015-08-09T10:52:17Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > So how do you explain my family driving a couple thousand miles round trip from Chapel Hill to Greenville every year, sometimes twice a year, on most occasions not even spending a single day or hour at the coast? We were just the stupidest vacationers of all time, or what? It sure seemed like there were lots of other nonresidents there:tourists, as well as people with second homes. > > And why did they have resorts and steam ships on Moosehead Lake in Thoreau’s time if it was so dull? He even wrote a book about it. > > P.S. Can you be more specific about what is so impressive about Mane’s coast? I admittedly did not spend much time there, but other than Acadia National Park (which is not where all these fictional settings show), the coast did seem similar to me to Long Island or Massachusetts. Docks and fishing boats and buoys, big whoop. Sigh. Family vacation dull and movie storytelling dull are not comparable. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maine-always-portrayed-on-movies-and-tv-as-nothing-but-coast/727240/34 "2015-08-09T11:20:15Z")
Try being from Kansas where it looks like everyone lives on a farm. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maine-always-portrayed-on-movies-and-tv-as-nothing-but-coast/727240/35 "2015-08-09T12:17:41Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Maine has moose. You can’t go anywhere inland without seeing a moose. I haven’t seen a moose in years, but yeah they’re lurking about in the shadows… ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maine-always-portrayed-on-movies-and-tv-as-nothing-but-coast/727240/36 "2015-08-09T12:28:52Z")
> [@davida03801](#): > > The Gold Coast is where all the elites see Maine. They come for the coast line, the small picturesque harbor villages , beaches, sailing, eat lobster and clam chowdar. It is where all the money is also. The coast is littered with very expensive 2nd homes. Elites? Damn, my savings account has dust on it, but I vacation there annually. 🙂 (In the wintah, it’s off to the blue collar playground, so you know.) ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maine-always-portrayed-on-movies-and-tv-as-nothing-but-coast/727240/37 "2015-08-09T15:47:47Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > P.S. Can you be more specific about what is so impressive about Mane’s coast? I admittedly did not spend much time there, but other than Acadia National Park (which is not where all these fictional settings show), the coast did seem similar to me to Long Island or Massachusetts. Docks and fishing boats and buoys, big whoop. Maine is famous for its [rocky](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/60869032437322867/) [coast](http://www.maineproject.com/rocky-coast/). Of its 3,478 miles of shoreline (longer than California’s), probably two of those miles are sand beach. 😉 I’m surprised this wasn’t evident at Acadia. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maine-always-portrayed-on-movies-and-tv-as-nothing-but-coast/727240/38 "2015-08-09T18:05:51Z")
Maine is portrayed in a clichéd way in movies and TV because everything is portrayed in a cliché manner in movies and TV. By everything I don’t just mean places. I mean people, professions, human emotions, human institutions, etc. Most movies and TV shows are big clumps of clichés. I looked to see if TV Tropes has a webpage on Maine clichés. They don’t, but they have a page on New England clichés: > **[Hollywood New England - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HollywoodNewEngland)** > > Ah, New England: Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Cradle of The American Revolution. Home of Plymouth Rock, Walden Pond, Harvard, Yale, Dunkin' Donuts, Ben and Jerry's, the Red Sox, the Patriots, the … ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maine-always-portrayed-on-movies-and-tv-as-nothing-but-coast/727240/39 "2015-08-09T18:19:05Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I didn’t know Maine was ever portrayed at all. 🙂 At least unless you’re talking [Stephen King](http://stephenking.com/images/map_of_maine.jpg). > [@fiddlesticks](#): > > _Murder She Wrote_ was set in Cabot Cove, Maine (on the coast, obviously). Pretty King-like for the amount of crime that went down there. As for movies, _Kujo_ and _MSW_ were both filmed in Mendocino, CA. For the latter, it’s the opening, if not the actual show. > [@madsircool](#): > > The same could be said for California. When was the last time there was a movie or TV show located in Riverside? _American Graffiti_, _Grapes of Wrath_, _The Big Valley_. Not Riverside, but not the coast. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2015, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maine-always-portrayed-on-movies-and-tv-as-nothing-but-coast/727240/40 "2015-08-10T01:25:28Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > As for movies, _Kujo_ and _MSW_ were both filmed in Mendocino, CA. But…but…the OCEAN would be on the WRONG SIDE! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maine-always-portrayed-on-movies-and-tv-as-nothing-but-coast/727240.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maine-always-portrayed-on-movies-and-tv-as-nothing-but-coast/727240.md?page=3)