Film and Soviet Bloc Nations Essay

In chapter two of The Cultures of American Film, the main focus is the establishment of studios. As demand for films rose in the early 1900’s, production companies needed to expand; this lead to the creation of large scale studios.

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

1960s cinema reflected the tremendous social changes, transitional cultural values, fun, fashion, and rock ‘n’ roll of the

By the 1960s the studio system was all but over. Many cinemas were closed down and several of the production back lots sold. Society had changed dramatically particularly with the rise of youth and the youth market, and the old Hollywood product seemed stale to the rising youth audience. Times were changing and the industry had to change with it. The studio system had declined rapidly in the 1950s and by the late 1960s was all but over. The audience had segmented into different social groups with increased leisure options rather than the mass habit audience of the golden age. Many of the films the studios produced to compete with television seemed to many people old fashioned and part of a different world which led to a significant drop in

The censorship conflicts in the 1900s were extremely intriguing and intense. Around the end of the 1920s, individuals possessed immense moral shifts powered by religious groups during the Great Depression, which resulted in decisions that created a new revolution that dealt particularly with the regulation of content of films. Consequently, in 1934, at the same time that the “Golden Age of Hollywood” began, the Hollywood Production code was formally implemented. The film

Out of necessity the studios began to focus on making genre pictures during world war two. One type was the woman picture. At first glance it would seem that these films were made to get more woman into the movie theaters, the genre soon began to explore the consequences of war (Lewis, 169). By using the backdrop of war, the movies were able to explore fear, loneliness, and grief while also showcasing a new type of acceptable independence (169). Because of this independence, noir films became popular,

Informative Speech Outline: Coms 1030 Title of Speech: Movies Throughout the Decades Specific Purpose: My audience will be informed of the most popular movies in each decade starting in 1960 until the present. My audience will also be informed of the changes within the film industry during this time period.

In the Paramount decision of 1948 this was the outcome of the United States vs. Paramount Pictures. This was a monumental case in the right of production companies to own theatres and holding exclusive rights on which theatres could show there movies.it would also change the way Hollywood movies were made, distributed, and exhibited in theatres and other places. The court held that this distributing technique was in violation of the antitrust law that was put in place years before. This case is used in vertical integration cases and is later known as the first nail in the coffin of the old Hollywood studio system.

Movies made during and after World War II evoke images of a country unified against a common foe in a world with Nazis, war, and espionage. That unity did not exist behind the scenes where another war was brewing. Aimed at the largest Hollywood studios of the era, the U.S. Department of Justice “initiated its first antitrust challenge in 1938” (Lewis, 2008, p. 195) to break up their “monopoly control over the industry” (Lewis, 2008, p. 194). This antitrust challenge would find a decade long hiatus. However, shortly after the end of the war, the “United States v. Paramount Pictures, et al.” (Lewis, 2008, p. 194) decision provided the spark that changed the Hollywood system and the fuel that fed the Hollywood blacklist.

United States v. Paramount Pictures (1948) was a landmark United States Supreme Court case that changed the way filmmakers, producers and theaters would operate forever. It was seen as the proverbial first nail in the coffin of the old Hollywood studio system. Under this system, film studios also owner the theaters where their pictures were shown. Therefore, specific theater chains would only show the films that were produced by the studio that owned them. Further, the studios that created the film also had the directors, writers, actors, set designers, etc. under contract. To take it even further, the studios also owned the development laboratories and distribution channels. Basically, the studios were vertically integrated and created a de facto oligopoly. The federal government had no choice but to step in.

Classic Hollywood had its successful ways of operating for many years, but ultimately would not last forever. The Supreme Court case United States vs. Paramount Pictures, Inc. caused drastic change in the entire system, leading to a completely new Hollywood. The Paramount Decision in 1948 incited a chain reaction of effects, including the fall of the studio system and a change in censorship, which gave directors more leverage in the making of their movies, ultimately developing into the self-conscious “auteur” directing that is characteristic of New Hollywood.

Just as the studio system did not appear from nowhere in 1930 it did not suddenly end in 1948. However, it’s a convenient date to signal the end of the golden age because of the Paramount decision. In 1948 the US supreme court ordered that the oligopolistic control of the majors was uncompetitive. The major studios were ordered to sell all their cinemas to allow fairer competition for films and to stop the system of block booking to allow other cinemas to negotiate for films. This of course meant that profits were reduced for the majors. However, this may have actually helped them as audiences began to decline in the 1950s for three major reasons: Competition from TV, Increasing affluence and Suburban living. During this period several stars

The Paramount decision that occurred in the spring of 1948 was a landmark United States Supreme Court Decision (National Constitution Center May 3,1948) in which led to the downfall of the studio system. The case known as the U.S Supreme Court v. Paramount Pictures (Paramount was just the first studio named in the suit according to Lewis “American Films” the others named were RKO, Warner Bros., 20th Century-Fox, Loew’s-MGM, Columbia, Universal and United Artist.) After ten years of avoiding a showdown with the Justice Department, the studios faced their day in court. The decision decided on May 3, 1948 ruled against the studios’ interest. According to Lewis “American Films” Justice William O. Douglas who wrote the majority opinion in the Paramount

The most dramatic event in Hollywood did not take place on screen. The decision in the United States vs. Paramount Pictures case, colloquially called the Paramount decision, and the Hollywood blacklist created a great upheaval in the film industry. These events resulted in major changes in the direction of American filmmaking. The most major results of these incidents were the switch to the goal of producing a single show stopping film, later called blockbusters, and the shift to intentionally perpetuating so called “American Ideals” to prevent being accused of being a communist and subsequently blacklisted. Overall, the Paramount decision and Hollywood blacklist altered the filmmaking business by changing the type of movies being made and the themes within them.

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.