Hollywood & History Essay

Looking at the socially or culturally history of the United States, many historians use Hollywood films as a primary source. I also used many films such as Easy Rider (1969) or Dance, Girl, Dance (1941) to support my historical thesis paper and to make the topic more vivid by using the images of the film. Even though, some people think that films are accurate and authentic in its depiction, it is important to mention that films are still fictional. Directors and actors are responsible to make us believe their story, but this story does not have to be necessarily true. In that way, fictional films cannot be used as historical evidence in terms of how things looked like during that specific

Glory is a movie about the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the first official all black units in the United States during the Civil War. It’s an inspirational story of how a young Union soldier, Robert Gould Shaw, is offered the chance to lead an army unit that will change not only his life, but the lives of many other Americans.

For my arcival project I chose to research the Hollywood Ten, I chose this because I am fascinated by the events of that occurred around this time and group. The Hollywood Ten was a group of writers, directors, and other artists who bravely refused to answer questions in front of the House of Un-American Activities and were therefore sentenced to jail time and banned from working in Hollywood. The actions of that the House of Un-American Activities and the resistance of the Hollywood Ten raised attention and a debate across the country about the actions that the government was taking against Hollywood artists.

Movies consistently distort the facts so that they can entertain a mass audience. Time and time again, consumers have

Robert A. Rosenstone certainly has a critical eye for films based on historic people and events. He captures the spirit of various discussions we’ve had in our Film As Social History class over the course of the semester. In an excerpt from his book, Visions of the Past, he critically examines historical film, and how its dramatic representations of the past shape our own perceptions. Some points of particular interest included exaggerated history films being more engaging than factually based ones, films can focus on groups as opposed to individuals, and sensory and emotional emphasis in films, “...altering our very sense of the past,” (Rosenstone, Excerpt Pg. 2). Inherit the Wind, Norma Rae, and Good Night, and Good Luck all provide evidence for and against Rosenstone’s perspective.

Historical films are always popular because they tell real stories about us, but for some reason the media changes the stories, casting white people play historical figures like having Elizabeth Taylor playing Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt. This creates a misconception of our own history. White actors get cast as the lead roles, regardless of the intended race, and actors of the correct race receive ensemble or secondary roles so the producers can say, “We’re not whitewashing! Look, there 's one black guy in the background!”. There is no reason to skew our own history, but Chris Rock put it bluntly in his

Since the times of silent films, movies have been used to depict American society and history. As advancements in technology have been created, films have become more accurate but have also added more dramatizations to certain eras of history. Movies are made for entertainment, but how far will Hollywood go in order to appeal to the public? One era that has been portrayed a great deal in films is drug trafficking in the 1970’s. This era signified the beginning of America’s ongoing war with drugs. The scandalous lives of smugglers inspired Hollywood directors to revisit the era many times in various films. Movies like Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas, Ted Bemme’s Blow, and Ridley Scott’s American Gangster are all based on the

The opportunity to attend the Hollywood Semester is a huge stepping stone for me to achieving my dream and reaching my many goals. Academically I believe that this experience will exceedingly further and boost my knowledge and understanding of the industry and will help me assess what knowledge I need to gain before graduation. Professionally, The Hollywood Semester would help me gather more experience to make myself more distinguishable than other applicants after graduation. The internships that I am hoping to obtain will add valuable items to my resume along with allowing me to gain experience in a corporate studio setting. I am excited to participate in the creation of something far bigger than I have created here at Bradley University.

Hollywood v. History. Many believe that films concerning historical events and figures can accurately present the past. How trustworthy are these glamorous depictions of yesteryear? Oftentimes, filmmakers crave the action of past times, but tend to leave out some of the facts.

This Blog will be focused on a collective response to my classmates’ post on the “Re-viewing the past” assignment. What did you learn from reading your classmates' posts to "Blog #1: Re-Viewing the Past"? I learned that a majority of the student’s felt that the inaccuracies in the movies would more than likely have a negative impact on the truth of American history. However, many also felt that the historical inaccuracies where necessary for entertainment purposes in order to keep the audience’s attention. Seldom did someone completely disagree with the director’s interpretation of the past; however, they felt that the inaccuracies did harm our knowledge of the past. Overall I learned from my classmates’ that we share similar opinions on this matter, and that the audiences should not take movies at face value, but instead research the historical event being directed to gather the most facts possible to learn the truth.

The kind of impression Hollywood always tries to portray in its films based on actual events is to incorporate a combination of the story itself and the fictional work, making sure the film does not resemble a sort of documentary. We can say that in terms of world history, even though it involves a lot of drama already, Hollywood never fails to add a little of fantasy to the psyche and entertainment of its audience.

Throughout American history, film and filmmakers have turned to society for insight to new ideas on films. Huge movements and monumental points in history, such as The Great Depression, race movements, women’s rights and other points in time are often portrayed through creative films and cinematography. The gangster film was deeply embraced at a time in history where capitalism appeared to be failing, and the traditional concept of the “American Dream” appeared to be far out of reach. Throughout the great depression era, the gangster film genre was heavily relied upon by studios in the 1930’s, as profits slid and it became increasingly difficult to convince moviegoers to spend their hard-earned nickels on a trip to the theater ( ). The fact that the movie industry intended to rely upon increased sex and violence in its features is a striking example of just how perverted the “American Dream” had become.

My life goals include working on my screenplays and getting them to the industry standards. Through Hollywood Career Launce Program it will help me achieve these goals by working on my craft. Through the use of reading and evaluating scripts. As well as, production assistance, video editing, and administrative tasks. This program does more most internships, it has the intern get hands on experience in the film industry. Attending master educational classes and networking with established employees. This program is more than an internship it could completely change a person’s future if they devote all their time and work into this program.

Hollywood, and the acting industry as a whole is entirely made up of networking and interpersonal experiences. Acting, despite being a form of art anyone of any age can participate in, can be be best when started at a younger age due to some chances you may not receive if you were to start when you're older.

Pundits' aversion of Hollywood movies' is because of the straight-line plots of the movies in which nothing is left misty, unsettling or unexplained and each shot is supported by a connection to strictest circumstances and end results. Hollywood movies are frequently seen as dulling the brain. In this nation individuals for the most part view movies for simple amusement. Numerous late movies bolster this generalization of American society. Enhancements, viciousness, and performers' names (in spite of level of ability) are frequently real topics that convey Americans to the films. While most Hollywood movies are made only for amusement esteem, numerous remote movies are enthralling and additionally constraining the viewer think and question their surroundings in the meantime. This is valid for some outside movies I have