1050's Film Industry Analysis

Prior to the 1920’s, the film industry consisted of the occasional silent movie and the very beginnings of jazz. People would mostly go to orchestra halls in the nearest city to view orchestras from around the world. Once the “Roarin’ Twenties” rolled around, the entertainment industry as a whole changed drastically. The capital of the entertainment industry was moved from New York City’s bustle and hustle to the quiet developing suburbs of Los Angeles, California, in a quiet area dubbed “Hollywoodland” (Digital History 2016). The silent movie made its big rise here and the first talking movies, also known as “talkies”, were introduced in 1927 (Digital History 2016). The film industry grew rapidly, becoming the fifth largest industry in the

This paper was prepared for Introduction to Film History, Module 1 Homework Assignment, taught by Professor Stephanie Sandifer.

years ago, people all over the world take for granted what it is today. Starting in 1927, the television

To begin with, some background information on movies and Hollywood in the 1920’s. In the 1920’s, movie attendance soared (The Rise of Hollywood par. 4). As stated in the introduction, with the influx of money in the American economic system, the average person also had an influx of time on their hands. The normal solution was to spend that time on entertainment and movies were the perfect way to do that. By the mid-decade, movie attendance rose to fifty million and only increased from then. The five main movie studios were Warner Brothers, Paramount, MGM, RKO Radio Pictures, and 20th Century Fox (Dirks 1). Before these studios were formed, every aspect of making movies was separated into different companies. The aspects may include filming, editing, or distributing. With the spark of interest in movies, these five companies took it upon

Based on Filmsite.org, a website that interprets and explains the history of cinemas, mentions that cinemas in the 1960s had more daring films with darker themes, horror, violence, rock ‘n’ roll and crime. There were also an influx of foreign movies and british movies. This decade in film history, was a period struggling to stay afloat as there was a decline in movies. There was a spike in reinvention of cinemas - change of styles to keep up with television and social changes.

than all the films that have came in prior to it in several ways. An

Ever since Thomas Edison invented the Kinetiscope in 1894, films have been reaching its way to the heart of American culture. Since the roaring twenties, where the United States began to see the first movie theaters to the 1960’s, where films are officially a source of leisure and escape from reality. Films influenced American culture between the 1920’s through 1960’s by becoming an increasingly popular form of leisure for years to come while causing scandals, riots, and movements about films or about the idea of films in general by displaying issues in society such as racism, forming a need for censorship laws. Films have also provided a fantasy world for their audiences by showing a film about someone in their perfect life using ethical

Most of these television shows would have a specific weekly schedule like they are today. Many people would get together with their families or a group of friends and watch a certain show on the same day, at the same time, every week (“Everyday Life in the 1950s” 1). This phenomenon led to people rescheduling meetings, doctor’s appointments, and other important events just for their favorite television show (Mussari 61). Once people started giving television shows a priority in their schedule instead of more important uses of their time, it showed how the United States’ population’s schedules were affected by the average home television in the 1950’s.

Their cultural literature was based on what they felt during that decade. Authors wrote about gender, race, feminism and war, and they criticized society.

The 1930’s decade has been nostalgically labeled “The Golden Age of Hollywood.” (Dirks, Tim) There were many innovations that established the foundation of modern film. The 30s was the decade of the sound and color revolutions and the advance of the 'talkies’. (Dirks Tim)

The invention of the TV was the late 1920’s. By the 1930’s Television signals were in use, and it became available. It was believed that its official introduction was at the 1939 World’s Fair. This was a success and the first real commercial televisions became widely available and the TV`s available then were about 12 inch screens. In that time, this was a big thing and it was very costly. However, there were only 1,000 sets. In the 1930s the cost was around $400 to $500 and the average household income was about $1300 a year. We can see that it was a big chunk out of people’s salaries.

Nothing stays the same, and change never comes easy, especially for Americans. With the rise of popular culture in the 1940s and 50s, Hollywood film studios, music, television, and magazines became of great significance, considering that they were a key role in encouraging society to embrace changes and overcome our uncertainties.

All of a sudden movies were beginning to come crashing down with the CHICKEN POCKS, Everybody was freaking out about how the movies were getting worse and more worse, the posters for movies started ripping

but as time progresses, plays became less popular and films became more popular. In 1968,

people were willing to pay $85 to buy Hollywood videos. Cable TV existed, but most people