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American society changes after World War 2
Impact of American popular culture
American popular culture impact
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Recommended: American society changes after World War 2
How did the invention of television affect filmmaking in America?
There were 3 main reasons which brought about a vertical disintegration of the film industry. Firstly the SC forced studios to get rid of owned cinema chains during 1948. Secondly there were changes to social-demographic structures in U.S. which triggered shifts to entertainment within homes & many of the young couples started living in new suburbs & wanted to remain home for their entertainment needs. In the beginning they mostly used the radio later switching to TV. Thirdly TV broadcasting by itself constituted new distribution channels for all kinds of audiovisual entertainment and this decreased scarcity in distribution capacities. The result was TV took over focus from
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And secondly, relations were established with televisions getting huge profits from the sale and rental rights issuance of old films.
What specific elements were employed by the film industry to bring the audience back to the movie theater?
1928 to 1948 was the Golden Age for American cinema. Attendance went up steadily and some of the greatest movies were produced. Movies steered away from controversy and avoided depressing themes and realism by becoming the dream factory. TV was functional at-home, equivalents for movies. Americans found going to movies were a lot of effort TV programs improved with inclusion of professional sports, theater & even opera.
The film industry tried wooing viewers with sophisticated techniques including wide screen (Cinerama) in 1952 on (using 3 projectors & curved screens, enhancing illusions of depth). The 3-D films like Bwana Devil, 1952 were surprising hits & Aromarama (the smells were released from chairs corresponding to the scenes shown in the screens like smells of the jungle, incense, etc. Another innovations was drive in movies which reflected American love for movies and their cars (Christopherson,
Eventually television began to grow and advertising started taking over and that is where people started to turn to get their news. A new variety of shows began demonstrating real life family situations and comedies. People began to relate and also see life from a different perspective and that impacted peoples values and morals.
The overall appeal of the cinema to the masses was particularly evident during the interwar era. Audiences worldwide wanted to watch the variety of films, particularly American produced films, and they always went back. The visibly attractive and glamorous Hollywood movies often depicted the success of the underdog over unjust authority. Values of cash over culture were often a theme in the early American films and societies with restricted social mobility, such as those in Europe, could dream of such a triumph. The working class and unemployed could fantasise about wealth, fame and freedom which America as a country was portrayed as offering.
Lewis, J. (2008). American Film: A History. New York, NY. W.W. Norton and Co. Inc. (p. 405,406,502).
American film and radio changed dramatically because of the 1940s and everything that came with the time. Theatre got darker after the war, also bringing propaganda into radio and film. The radio was the way Americans connected to the world because it offered on the spot information. Everyone was tuned into the radio for news, entertainment and music.... ... middle of paper ...
Similar to businesses standardizing in making and advertising consumers goods, the practice of mass-producing culture standardized and sped up in the 1920s. Radio became a national obsession. What started out as only a few independent stations soon evolved into huge networks and sponsored programming became popular. Movies during this time became accepted by all social classes with the expansion from rowdy nickelodeons to uptown theaters. With audiences nearing 80 million people a week, the corporate giants Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Warner Brothers, and Columbia made the ...
The fifties was a learning year and the 60's became the time to express everything that they learned. The 60's was a time for new and innovative ways to entertain the people. Since the blacklisting continued in Hollywood, the making or films became very difficult to express. The restrictions, such as the production codes, kept the big corporations to produce films that had no interesting subjects. These films also had to be films that show no signs of communistic values. The film industry was failing to bring in the audience to the theaters. With the TV making a big wave all over, the U.S. the film industry was losing it is money. Then in 1961 something big happened, 20th Century Fox took apart its lot. This act was one that led to a chain reaction. Studios were assuming the role of distributors. This would allow the independent companies to come in and add a new flavor to the silver screen. During this time films changed it's traditional film making ideas. Things started to get graphic, more violent, sexual and more expressive. Movies had found a new look and with the production codes now gone and the blacklisting ending, there was an explosion of ideas that would be presented to the United States.
During this decade, the film industry went through massive changes that would completely change what movies were or stood for. After the Great War, more people began considering movies as a form of entertainment. This increased attention caused change in the industry, allowing the experience of the movie goer to massively change for the better. Many new genres, ideas and technologies emerged in the 1920s that would later dominate the industry. The 1920s saw massive changes happening in the movie industry that would help it to get one step closer to what it is today.
In fact, 1946 is one of Hollywood’s most successful years. This was due to the massive influx of people returning from World War II, that had ended in 1945. There was a shift from manufacturing items needed for the war towards common household items. During this time period, the Great Depression and wartime air were slowly fading out (Quart and Auster 17). “The film industry changed radically after World War II, and this change altered the style and content of the films made in Hollywood” (“Post-War Hollywood”). Filmmakers started entertaining the technique of using more color and sound in their films to attract more people. At the time, American films embodied the themes of victory and national triumph. Within a time span of two years, 1942-1944, Hollywood produced 440 films in total (Quart and Auster 17). Although there was a positive boom of Hollywood and films, there would be a time of decline that followed
Largely influenced by the French New Wave and other international film movements, many American filmmakers in the late 1960s to 1970s sought to revolutionize Hollywood cinema in a similar way. The New Hollywood movement, also referred to as the “American New Wave” and the “Hollywood Renaissance,” defied traditional Hollywood standards and practices in countless ways, creating a more innovative and artistic style of filmmaking. Due to the advent and popularity of television, significant decrease in movie theater attendance, rising production costs, and changing tastes of American audiences, particularly in the younger generation, Hollywood studios were in a state of financial disaster. Many studios thus hired a host of young filmmakers to revitalize the business, and let them experiment and have almost complete creative control over their films. In addition, the abandonment of the restrictive Motion Picture Production Code in 1967 and the subsequent adoption of the MPAA’s rating system in 1968 opened the door to an era of increased artistic freedom and expression.
Paul S. Boyer. "Television." The Oxford Companion to United States History. 2001. Retrieved November 24, 2011 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O119-Television.html
With improvements to broadcasting technologies and greater access by more families, television was now in more homes in the 1960’s, bringing news, advertising, and family comedy shows to the nation. Moreover, the influence on social aspects of people’s live was apparent when it came to depicting women and their gender roles through acting. Consequently, television played another role regarding social dynamics thus, showing the realities of civil rights and the horrors of war. Additionally, television brought the political candidates to the forefront and had a strong influence on the American people’s political ideologies, as the first ever presidential debate aired on television. Finally, television aided the economy by waging advertising campaigns that convinced consumers to purchase their products. Coupled with consumer’s extra income contributing to a strong economy, despite the slightly high unemployment rates. As can be seen, television played a key role in the social, political, and economic culture in the 1950’s and
Watching a movie in the 1920s was a cheap and easy way to be transported into a world of glitz and glamour, a world of crime, or a world of magic and mystery. Some of these worlds included aspects of current events, like war, crime, and advances in technology; while others were completely fictional mysteries, romances, and comedies. Heartbreakers, heartthrobs, comedians and beautiful women dominated movie screens across the country in theaters, called Nickelodeons. Nickelodeons were very basic and small theaters which later transformed into opulent and monumental palaces. When sound was introduced into film by Warner Bros. Pictures, “talkies” took top rank over silent films. “Movies were an art form that had universal appeal. Their essence was entertainment; their success, financial and otherwise, was huge” (1920-30, 3/19/11). Films offered an escape from the troubles of everyday life in the 20s, and moviegoers across the country all shared a universal language: watching movies.
Thompson, K 2003, ‘The struggle for the expanding american film industry’, in Film history : an introduction, 2nd ed, McGraw-Hill, Boston, pp. 37-54
Film was not always as it is today due to the digital sounds and graphic picture enhancements of George Lucas's THX digital sound in the late 1970s to enhance the audience's perceptions. Sound was first discovered in 1928 and the first films before that were silent. There is a social need to heighten an audience's film going experience and it allows each person to color their own views of what they see and presents either directly or indirectly society's moral values.
During the mid and late 1970’s, the mood of American films shifted sharply. People needed to get away from such negative memories as the Vietnam War, long gas lines, the resignation of President Nixon, and ...