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The role of mass media in society
Mass media effects on modern societies
Mass media effects on modern societies
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Films have always reflected the society we live in or one we wish we could live in. Throughout the 1940’s, America was not only facing pivotal moments that was reflected through films, but film itself was evolving as well. The 40’s was an era of change and challenge for entertainment. The film industry was not at its peak until it rebounded when the nation responded to World War II, thus creating many war movies that would become classics. Many films included themes of patriotism, sacrifice, and heroism which was all meant to be propaganda. Films like Casablanca and Hollywood Canteen reflect this genre trend that occurred during the 1940’s. Films during this decade also elicited the racism in America by using predominately white actors, while …show more content…
actors who weren’t white played lesser stereotypical roles: maids, gangs, and such. Above all, it was a new beginning for the film industry and studios to evolve. There are several different film genres and styles. Dr. Palmer mentioned how different directors use multiple cinema techniques to create a specific mood and look in order to evoke emotions and a certain thought process from it’s audience. A popular film style that arose during the 1940’s was film noir that was heavily influenced by german expression. Many films that used this style were usually thrillers and or about crime solving. Throughout the lecture Dr.Palmer states that in order to recognize this specific style, one must understand the nature of the different character types and the dialogue. The technicality while creating these films used distinctive looks by using low key lighting, hard shadows, and mist to create an eerie yet mysterious setting. The Maltese Falcon and Citizen Kaine are both classic testaments to the style of film noir because both include a femme fatale and a hard-boiled detective as Dr. Palmer mentioned. During this era, film wasn’t only about the emergence of new styles or focusing on a popular genre.
At the time, Dr Palmer explains how independent studios had a hard time succeeding while major studios such as 20 Century Fox and Paramount were dominating the HollyWood film industry. Dr. Palmer also dived into how prior to the U.S. vs. Paramount, major studios owned every aspect of production, distribution, contracts with actors, and the way films were exhibited. However, In the late 1940’s the supreme court established the decision to dismantle Hollywood’s system within major studios.. The vertical integration system was not the best but it was booming business when films were doing well. However, this all came to an end and rightfully so because it separated theater chains and block booking. Block booking itself was illegal and forced theater owners to purchase films in groups despite not having any indication of how it would do at the box office. Therefore, the big five productions at the time underwent a massive blow when this all came to a full stop. However, this became the beginning for television to blossom because people weren’t attending movie theaters as much …show more content…
anymore. Personally, learning about Us.
vs. Paramount and block booking was the most intriguing for me because I was unaware of it. Not only was film changing in terms of it’s style but also in the way it was being produced and shown to the masses by major studios. I wholeheartedly understand the Supreme Court’s decision to make movie theaters and studios separate from each other. As far as movie theaters go, it wasn’t fair for owners to purchase movies in bundles despite not being able to see the movie itself beforehand because that isn’t be fair business. Owners would have to deal with the effects of films that were lower than average in order to purchase a movie that would become a blockbuster. The practice itself was unethical and understandable in regards to independent studios who had major trouble selling their movies to
theaters. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Palmer’s lecture. I have always loved film and but never informed myself about the history of how it was produced throughout different studios. I learned a lot of things I didn’t know before and because of that I will look at film differently from now on.
However, after the dust settled, it was widely accepted that the blacklist was unjust, which enabled many film workers to pursue the movie studios in civil courts through the 1950’s for unpaid contracts and wages (Lewis, 2008). While the studios were initially impacted by the Paramount decision, the breadth of competition and independent successes of smaller studios gave rise to the advancement of innovative filmmaking that may not have been possible if it were not for the Paramount decision. Filmmaking is one of the riskiest and most profitable ventures in modern day society, and without these events, the studios and the film workers may not share the successes that they do
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.
The entire movie is littered with anxiety. The movie makes you anxious as to what may happen next. This primary example is the scene where Skeeter ask Aibileen to tell her personal stories for the book Skeeter is writing. This rose a very serious anxiety in both women. Skeeter also found other maids to also share their personal stories. This scenario caused extreme anxiety because in that day and time if you were to publish or talk about what the maids have to endure, you could be prosecuted or maybe even killed.
...ons as to why the studio system collapsed and how Hollywood tried to prevent this from happening. The Hollywood we see today is a reformed version of the old studio system, yet is still seen as the most dominant film industry in the world, despite its earlier collapse.
In Hollywood political conflict was also paving the way for what would later occur in Hollywood as the HUAC would attack the industry. Big business controlled the lucrative industry and the companies that controlled the market were eight major studios in Hollywood. The Metro-Goldw...
Racist characteristics in films and stories are something that can be perceived in this generation, but was something that was normal and expected in the 1930’s. Sexuality and raciness were items that made films a commodity in the 30’s and King Kong uses both of these to attract a wide audience. These qualities are also a factor as to why King Kong remains a classic throughout the generations.
The roaring twenties would be nothing without the roar of the MGM Lion. “If Hollywood had no other studio than Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the town still would have been the movie capital of the world” (Fricke para 1). MGM enchanted audiences with its high-budgeted films and glamorous list of stars (Hanson para 1). Three failing movie companies came together in 1924 in hopes to make it big in the motion picture industry, and it did (Fricke para 3). Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer created spectacles of movies after its merging which made MGM one of the most prosperous motion picture companies in the 1920’s (Hanson para 2).
In the documentary “Fed Up,” sugar is responsible for Americas rising obesity rate, which is happening even with the great stress that is set on exercise and portion control for those who are overweight. Fed Up is a film directed by Stephanie Soechtig, with Executive Producers Katie Couric and Laurie David. The filmmaker’s intent is mainly to inform people of the dangers of too much sugar, but it also talks about the fat’s in our diets and the food corporation shadiness. The filmmaker wants to educate the country on the effects of a poor diet and to open eyes to the obesity catastrophe in the United States. The main debate used is that sugar is the direct matter of obesity. Overall, I don’t believe the filmmaker’s debate was successful.
Released September 29, 1950, Sunset Boulevard is a film noir of a forgotten silent film star, Norma Desmond, that dreams of a comeback and an unsuccessful screenwriter, Joe Gillis, working together. Ultimately an uncomfortable relationship evolves between Norma and Joe that Joe does not want a part of. Sunset Boulevard starts off with an establishing shot from a high angle shot with a narrative leading to a crime scene from a long shot (a dead body is found floating in a pool), this narrative throughout the film establishes a formalist film.
Classic film noir originated after World War II. This is the time where post World War II pessimism, anxiety, and suspicion was taking the world by storm. Many films that were released in the U.S. Between 1939s and 1940s were considered propaganda films that were designed for entertainment during the Depression and World War II. During the 1930s many German and Europeans immigrated to the U.S. and helped the American film industry with powerf...
Before the Second World War began Hollywood’s purpose lied within entertainment for the American people. After the war started, the main focus shifted to wartime propaganda. Film was used to display the war in a way that did not show its true colors—including the censorship of soldier causalities and other negative connotations that are a simple fact of war. There was even a time in which some actors became better known to America than politians. Through films, Hollywood began to make a statement of their anti-Nazi beliefs. They began to make motion pictures for American recruitment into the Army as well as many that supported the war effort, and intended to make other Americans more aware of the war’s effect on the United States, and how people can get involved. Many European countries banned these Hollywood films, as they began to affect not only America but many other countries that were involved in the war as well.
The Studio System Key point about the studio system could be: Despite being one of the biggest industries in the United States, indeed the World, the internal workings of the 'dream factory' that is Hollywood is little understood outside the business. The Hollywood Studio System: A History is the first book to describe and analyse the complete development, classic operation, and reinvention of the global corporate entities which produce and distribute most of the films we watch. Starting in 1920, Adolph Zukor, head of Paramount Pictures, over the decade of the 1920s helped to fashion Hollywood into a vertically integrated system, a set of economic innovations which was firmly in place by 1930.
...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.
Thompson, K 2003, ‘The struggle for the expanding american film industry’, in Film history : an introduction, 2nd ed, McGraw-Hill, Boston, pp. 37-54
It is amazing that the movie industry started out so plain, either the film was accepted, or not. Therefore, how did they go from that to what it is today? In 1952, the U.S. Supreme court to step in to guarantee the film industry the right to freedom of speech. (Lucia, pg. 1) In the 1960’s, MPAA Chairman, Jack Valenti was faced with a few controversy films; where the filmmakers tested the limits that was once unacceptable. With the times changing, Jack knew he had to come up with something. Late 1968, the movie rating system was created; after reaching out to a couple of organization for feedback. All parties agreed to enforce the system to ensure the films was seen by the appropriate ages. (2011)