The invention of television affected filmmaking in America financially by a great decrease in audience attendance due to movie goers choosing to watch TV in their own home. Amid the 1950’s, specific elements were employed by the film industry to bring the audience back to the movie theater such as film innovations, marketing gimmicks and adult-themed movies. In order to compete with television, the production code changed as film studios began releasing films to theaters that would show films that were not approved by the Production Code Administration (PCA). American cultural and social tensions were reflected in films of this time as risqué topics were being more openly discussed instead of being swept under the carpet.
Following the demise of the studio system, the film industry became threatened by the increasing popularity of television after some film theaters became bankrupt and closed. The new medium of television meant people could enjoy entertainment in the comfort and safety of their living rooms, thereby decreasing the revenue needed to sustain the movie theater b...
How many people today watch family sitcoms to imitate or compare values with their own? Probably not as many as there were in the 1950s. In Stephanie Coontz's "What We Really Miss about the 1950s", she discusses why people feel more nostalgic towards growing up in the 1950s, and how she disagrees that 1950s wasn't the decade that we really should like or remember best. Apart from economic stability, family values played an important part then. Through television sitcoms, such as "Leave it to Beaver", "Father knows Best", families watched them to make sure they were living correctly. It was like guidance and somewhat reassurance. However, values of families have changed, and this is shown on sitcoms today. We watch sitcoms today for entertainment, and sometimes we can relate to them because the setting is realistic. In the modern sitcom, "Gilmore Girls" characters and plot are used to demonstrate family values such as gender roles, children roles, economic status, morals, ethics and general organization of a family that differ from the values shown in the 1950s sitcoms.
...s have been regaining ownership of theaters due to the reluctance of anyone filing suit against them, “new Hollywood it is just like the old days before divestiture only better” (Lewis, 2008, p. 406). In conclusion, the giant head of the studio system monster was cut off only for a bigger more powerful one of the new Hollywood to have grown back in its place. Ultimately, Hollywood studios remain more interested about making money, than making better films and “The independent producer does what a movie producer has always done: choose the right stories, directors and actors to produce quality films” (Lewis, 2008, p. 502).
In 1929, America experienced a stock market crash that led the country into what is historically known as the Great Depression. Many industries across America experienced alterations in order to fit the social and economic changes that America was undergoing as a nation. Specific industries included Hollywood and the film industry. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the movies that Americans enjoyed viewing were considered immoral at the time. This was f...
Television networks used these types of shows to protect themselves from any accusations that they were sending out “Communist messages”, but these shows subsequently influenced a generation into a new way of thinking and living. Families moved in rapid numbers to suburbia and wanted to be just like the Cleavers or the Andersons. The American public would never be the same, always reflecting on the perfection played out nightly on television and setting their goals to reach that level of traditionalism. The Hollywood Blacklisting that followed the Red Scare of the 1950’s forced the media to change in order to survive the scrutinizing committees of the HUAC and various congressional committees that pushed for the social “purging” of America in hopes of searching out the “Reds” which they believed were hiding among them. This change in media came at a time when the public had become extremely receptive to such influences due to the spread of the television and the growth of the middle class who had extra money to spend on luxuries such as going to the movie theatres.
The change in the U.S. can be said to be a social revolution. People were growing sick of the same old movies, they wanted a change and Hollywood needed to deliver or else they would lose their audience to the TV. In the early 60's, the studios were still afraid of the blacklisting so the films were still very safe. An example of this is the film Sound of Music (1965). This was a film about a musical family that needed to escape the Nazi presence. Although the movie is based on a true story, they still follow the same old idea of a nice family, who must escape from the clutches of evil. Basically, the movie is saying good guys win and bad guys always lose. Sure this how most films are made but there is no sense of change, no differences in the style or way it was made. Since there was no change, the public was not interested. The TV was much more convenient and kept the publics interested.
... middle of paper ... ... Larry Ceplair and Englund stated in the book The Inquisition in Hollywood, “The destruction of the motion picture Left not only transformed the political atmosphere in Hollywood, but also adversely affected the kind of product which the studios turned out. “ In the early 20th century Hollywood reframed from producing politically controversial films in fear of becoming a target of McCarthy or the HUAC.
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.
Films were blossoming during the “Roaring twenties.” At the beginning of the decade, films were created mostly in Hollywood and West Coast, but as well as in Arizona and New Jersey. Most people do not know that the greatest output of films was between 1920 and 1930 and was 800 films per year. Nowadays, people consider big output of 500 films per year. The film business was a huge one because the capital investments were over $2 billion. At the end of the decade there were 20 studios in Hollywood and the interest in films was greater then ever.
...creased monitoring of censorship throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Hollywood experienced a major shift in the way pictures were made. Going from depictions of a carefree lifestyle, characteristic of the California dream, to a more monitored approach to filmmaking, Hollywood make the necessary transition in order to abide by the mass request of censorship to the filmmaking process. In this, the California dream was lost, as Americans were brought back to reality, but the action offered a stepping stone to enter a new age where films were praised for decades to come. Today, censorship is still a major issue in Hollywood, and has moved not only to include movies, but all forms of mass media. This shows that the ideals of morality in media will continue to encompass a majority of issues in society, and is one that should continually be addressed in order to find harmony.
The film rating system was also sponsored by the National Association of Theatre Owners. This association is the largest exhibition trade organization in the world. It represents 26,000 movie screens in all 50 states and in more than 20 countries worldwide. The National Association of Theatre Owners’ purpose is “to preserve, enhance, and promote the magic of going to the movies.”
In the beginning of The Roaring Twenties, about fifty million people went to the movies per week, amplifying to ninety million in 1929. These huge numbers are a result of the public’s obsession with the movies’ glamour, sophistication, and sex appeal. Watching movies motivated the viewers to ea...
Thompson, K 2003, ‘The struggle for the expanding american film industry’, in Film history : an introduction, 2nd ed, McGraw-Hill, Boston, pp. 37-54
explode in popularity and the introduction of theaters specifically for film. Firstly, amid the circuses, the wild...
In 1900-1950 every movie in the world was rated before being released. The government, of the country in which the movie was made always did this. In 1956 the rules were changed. Each movie’s script was now required to go before a Film Board, before being produced. If approved the company was allowed to go on with production. In 1968 the Film Board of the Motion Picture Association of America adopted a new classification system. Instead of the scripts being read, the movies were made, rated by the Board and then put into a category. In 1968 the motion Pictures Association, the National Association of Theater Owners, and the International Film importers all gathered for a meeting about an organization called CARA (classification and rating administration). The main objective of this organization was to educate parents on the films and television that their children watch. This rarely changed any movies or television shows it just put an age limit on the people to be able to watch them. Anyone over seventeen years of age was allowed to watch anything they chose.
Movie theaters are focusing on moving from film projection systems to digital and 3D systems. With these added technological changes, ticket prices typically rise creating revenue gains for the industry. These changes are drawing more consumers into the theaters because the in-theater experience is something that they cannot get from online streaming at