Hollywood, a metonym for the American film and television industry is located in the West-northeast of Los Angeles Downtown. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and stars, the word “Hollywood” stands an influential venue internationally. Many historic Hollywood theaters are used as venues to premiere major theatrical releases, and host the famous Academy Awards. It is a popular destination for nightlife and tourism, and home to the Walk of Fame. Except the film and television industry, Hollywood is famous of its editing effects, post-production, and lighting companies as well. However, the icon of “Hollywood” changes from day to day, but the position remains throughout the world. Because of the moderate, dry climate and natural sunlight, the motion picture production companies from the East of the United States started moving to California. At that time, Thomas Edision was the biggest force to control the industry in the East, so it was a great development for motion picture to start in Hollywood because it was far from Thomas Edision’s enforcement. They could work unencumbered by Edison’s control. They were feared of failure and they were weak to face difficulties at the time. But still they hope to get a better life in California and seek for jobs that could provide them the better life and ease of doing business without the powerful Edison Company. In addition during the early 1910, Director D.W. Griffith was sent by the Biolgraph Company to the west coast with his acting troop. The company decided to explore new territories and traveled around to search for places that was friendly and enjoyed the movie company filming there. D.W.Griffith then filmed the first movie ever shot ... ... middle of paper ... ... something for contribution to the society. The academy awards provided the chance for giving compliments to those who contributed to the industry. However the awards nowadays became a commercial show on television. Hollywood has also lobbied the US very effectively over decades to ensure cultural exports are classed as just another form of trade in international agreements, and to help it gain control over distribution networks abroad. From the view of entertainment, most of the people would admire and wish to step into Hollywood industry ad they think they would be famous after and increase their position world-wide. If they got a chance to participate in one of the Hollywood movie, they will get high pay and everyone knows them after. It provides people with hope and changes their life, it is one way of international connections without the nationality issue.
The stars, particularly Hollywood stars, made a huge contribution to attracting vast numbers of people to the cinema.
Hollywood is not simply a point on a map; it is a representation of the human experience. As with any other location, though, Hollywood’s history can be traced and analyzed up to present day. In 1887, Harvey Henderson Wilcox established a 120-acre ranch in an area northwest of Los Angeles, naming it “Hollywood” (Basinger 15). From then on, Hollywood grew from one man’s family to over 5,000 people in 1910. By then, residents around the ranch incorporated it as a municipality, using the name Hollywood for their village. While they voted to become part of the Los Angeles district, their village was also attracting motion-picture companies drawn in by the diverse geography of the mountains and oceanside (15). The Los Angeles area continues to flourish, now containing over nine million people, an overwhelming statistic compared to Wilcox’s original, family unit (U.S. Census Bureau 1). However, these facts only s...
Beginning the mid 1920s, Hollywood’s ostensibly all-powerful film studios controlled the American film industry, creating a period of film history now recognized as “Classical Hollywood”. Distinguished by a practical, workmanlike, “invisible” method of filmmaking- whose purpose was to demand as little attention to the camera as possible, Classical Hollywood cinema supported undeviating storylines (with the occasional flashback being an exception), an observance of a the three act structure, frontality, and visibly identified goals for the “hero” to work toward and well-defined conflict/story resolution, most commonly illustrated with the employment of the “happy ending”. Studios understood precisely what an audience desired, and accommodated their wants and needs, resulting in films that were generally all the same, starring similar (sometimes the same) actors, crafted in a similar manner. It became the principal style throughout the western world against which all other styles were judged. While there have been some deviations and experiments with the format in the past 50 plus ye...
The American film industry’s early attempts at the narrative Western were limited and in the early years were produced mainly in the east. During this early time in the film industry the...
As cinematography was aimed for its peak in the 1920’s, opportunity was great as the film industry was subsidized, whic...
...enshoff et al. (2009), it is important to mention that films that are produced by Hollywood are first and foremost strictly business. To Asian viewers, it may be easier to detect these faulty portrayals, but whether Hollywood casts a Korean to play a Japanese role, or a Chinese to play a Korean, it is all the same because Hollywood uses what works to sell its product well.
In the late 30s, two beloved films, The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Gone with the Wind (1939), were expensively produced with Technicolor - what would the Wizard of Oz (with ruby slippers and a yellow brick road) be without color? And the trend would continue into the next decade in classic MGM musicals such as Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) and Easter Parade (1948). Special-effects processes were advanced by the late 1930s, making it possible for many more films to be shot on sets rather than on-location (e.g., The Hurricane (1937) and Captains Courageous (1937).) In 1937, the Disney-produced Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) was the first feature-length animated film - a milestone.
K’Jawn Colin Section 3 Dir. William Wyler / Greer Garson Dir. William Wyler was born July 1, 1902, in Muhlhausen, Alsace-Lorraine. In 1920, the creator of the Universal Film Manufacturing Company, Carl Laemmle, offered Wyler a job in New York City.
Recognize that the "Culture of Hollywood" is based on motion pictures as big business as well as entertainment.
Hutchinson co-founded The American Film Manufacturing Company (AFMC) with John R. Freuler in Chicago, IL during the Fall of 1910 and quickly expanded to La Mesa, CA. This studio expansion in La Mesa lasted from 1911 until 1912 when the studio relocated its west coast branch to Santa Barbara, CA in 1912 (“The American Studio,” 1915). The goal of AFMC west coast expansion was to capitalize on the growing popularity of western films and Santa Barbara was the perfect setting for the western genre because of its lighting, climate and geography (Ramsaye 643). The film industry in California was growing fast and the studio took advantage by producing quality films that were shipped back to the central film developing plant in
Thus, we see the movie industry is a powerful form of mass media in our society that provide the perception of what American culture looks like and how we treat each other in the society. The Hollywood movie industry is driven by the box office profit and glamour. There is virtually no track record for financially successful films starring an Asian American or any other minority group. The filmmakers do not even consider minorities as potential customers. Even now, most of the time, big corporations are reluctant to investment or promote any movies where they are not making significant amount of return investment. Making money is the underlining theme of these industries.
Although the film industry first began in New York, Hollywood caught the attention of producers because of its various locations for shooting films and ideal weather for year-round production. The climate and scenery were not the only reasons filmmakers moved to Hollywood. Thomas Edison, along with other individuals, owned patents over the process of filmmaking, and moving to Hollywood was used by producers as a way to avoid lawsuits (Digital History, 2/12/11).
Thompson, K 2003, ‘The struggle for the expanding american film industry’, in Film history : an introduction, 2nd ed, McGraw-Hill, Boston, pp. 37-54
Sunset Boulevard directed by Billy Wilder in 1950 is based on how Norma Desmond, a huge Hollywood star, deals with her fall from fame. The film explores the fantasy world in which Norma is living in and the complex relationship between her and small time writer Joe Gillis, which leads to his death. Sunset Boulevard is seen as lifting the ‘face’ of the Hollywood Studio System to reveal the truth behind the organisation. During the time the film was released in the 1950s and 60s, audiences started to see the demise of Hollywood as cinema going began to decline and the fierce competition of television almost proved too much for the well established system. Throughout this essay I will discuss how Sunset Boulevard represents the Hollywood Studio System, as well as exploring post war literature giving reasons as to why the system began to crumble.
Hollywood Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard have one thing in common, stars. What is so special about the five corners in a copper frame and salmon colored with famous person’s name written in the middle embedded in the sidewalks? The iconic location portrays the American way of life, independence, individualism, and progress. It also reflects an economic statement on how the businesses use every single opportunity to make money out of it. People have come from all over the world to visit the historical landmark, creating an exciting atmosphere for first-comers but it has some downside at the Walk of Fame. What really happens in the political and socioeconomic issues of Hollywood being a public place?