1950's Theater, Film, And Television

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

The advent of television also caused a great impact in the American society that brought huge changes in the economy. American families during the 1950s started to replace radios, newspapers, and magazines as the leading media entertainment with televisions. They became common for families to unite and watch TV shows at noon. “Television as a product itself influenced the economy, creating what quickly became an essential household item. By 1957, over 40 million TVs were in American households”. Fundamentally, television altered how Americans utilize their free time, but economically there was even a major impact. Businesses around the country started to use the TV for advertising and marketing to sell their products easier. TV commercials

Television shows would not be as accomplished as they are today without the power of mass media. After the second world war ended in 1945, television set sales boomed. Because of this, the 1950s was known as the “Golden Age of Television.”

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)

People had very little money, but many people still went to the movies. 90,000,000 Americans went to a movie weekly, which is about three times the amount that went in the 1920s (“Good” 1). From 1930 to 1948, Hollywood was in its Golden Age. More than that, however, the color and sound industry of movies was becoming more advanced than ever before (Dirks part 1). Some very popular movies today are actually from the 1930s, such as The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, and

Television in the 1960s brought Americans closer through the stories and tragedies they experienced. As televisions became more mainstream and affordable, more people invested in them. The time was right for the industry to flourish. “Between 1959 and 1970, the percentage of households in the U.S. with at least one TV went from 88% to 96%” (Ganzel). More people buying TVs meant that the industry grew and the technology could improve.

In the 1950s the most popular products was the TV. At the starting the TV owner

Television has changed though years and years of researching and now all those have paid off but no one actually could understand what the trouble of the old TV’s were like. Back when Tv’s were rare and very expensive they were extremely popular for the rich because usually they were the only ones who could afford these sets. In the 1930’s Tv’s were large sets and were usually around 12 inches and costed about $300 to $400 dollars per set. Now we have smaller sets with much larger screens and they range from the cheapest $200 to up to $3000 dollars. The first TV was a large black box and would reflect the image off a reflective glass and the image would shine off that to watch. There were very few channels such as sporting events and news broadcasts

The biggest game in the world is the movie business but television is the complete opposite. TV had to draw your attention quickly and keep the audience attention. In 1936, Hollywood never thought that small box with a screen only inches in size could ever compete with a movie screen over 30 Ft wide, but in 1951, movie thea-ters were closing in waves and a TV set was in 2/3 of American households. This was due to the fact that Hollywood lost its monopoly over the film industry and now independent producers could compete with the “Big 5”. Hollywood reacted in a way that had movie plot feel. At first they were in denial that TV could even compete with them. They soon turned threatened then encouraged fierce competition but fi-nally embraced and

The 1950s has been a great time for most people. It has been full of new trends, fads, and stars. Overall this is a very happy time in the 1900s. It is full of new beginnings and a lot of fun!

During the 1920s, movies grew in popularity in the United States due to their affordability and availability. This led to a general curiosity about the actors’ lives themselves and gave Hollywood a harsh reputation due to all of the scandals that occurred. In the 1950s, movies declined in their popularity and the American public turned their attention toward television. As a result, television became an American staple and TV shows were more convenient than movies, seeing as they could be watched without leaving the house. Now Americans can watch both movies and TV shows at home via DVDs, and are still interested in the personal affairs of the actors and actresses involved. In general, Americans lead

“In 1938, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences requested its research council to study the film industry's preparation for the inevitable introduction of television, while numerous articles appeared that discussed the subject.” One of the findings from the Academy was for the industry to pursue the idea of theatre television. Finally, television gave film a another avenue by which it could access the american public. Public television had the ability to provide viewers a form of entertainment that they could enjoy from the comfort of their own

In the Post-World War II era of the late 1940’s into the 1950’s, Hollywood’s motion picture industry went through a rapid unexpected transition. During this time frame, weekly motion picture attendance dropped off tremendously from 90 million immediate post-war in 1945-1948 to 46 million in 1953. Many observers tend to attribute this downturn to the rise of the television, which surged to popularity during the same time period. Opposite to the declining trend of motion picture attendance, the trend of televisions in homes skyrocketed from only 940,000 in 1949 to upwards of 52 million by the end of 1950’s.2 Although it’s easy to point the finger at television for the decrease of moviegoers, there were other economic and social trends that played a major role as well. While analyzing these various factors along with television’s impact on the shift in motion picture attendance, this paper will also carefully outline

According to Jon Lewis in his book “American Cinema” “By 1960 there were 50 million TV sets in homes across the United States” (American Film, Lewis, P.235). This sudden boom in television in homes caused movie goers to drop by over 50% with profits plummeting accordingly. This sudden dive in profits caused studios to go bankrupt and in the late fifty’s early sixty’s buyouts and mergers of film companies was frequent (American Film, Lewis, P.235-238). Studios were desperate for ideas on how to bring people back to the movies. Hollywood tried to jump on the TV bandwagon, but it was

What role do audiences play in creating popular culture? Explain how Hollywood both manipulated and reflected the popular culture of the 1950's and 60's.