Just heard on NPR about this fascinating sounding book: Cartographia -- a collection of maps by Vincent Virga, which illustrates how maps "reveal as much about the society that created them as they do about the geography of the places they describe."

I think my favourite example he draws is of North by Northwest, where there's a scene in an office in DC, which places the Capitol outside the window, which would imply the office itself was on the Mall -- an impossibility. But rather than sneer at the stupidity of Hitchcock, Virga points out that this 'remapping' if you will, is a plot point, to show the looming presence of the government in this scene. (confession: though of course I have seen North by Northwest, I cannot remember this scene for the life of me, so take his word for it. When I think of NbN, I only see crop dusters and Mt Rushmore...)