Outside Event Essay

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

In “A Century of Cinema”, Susan Sontag explains how cinema was cherished by those who enjoyed what cinema offered. Cinema was unlike anything else, it was entertainment that had the audience feeling apart of the film. However, as the years went by, the special feeling regarding cinema went away as those who admired cinema wanted to help expand the experience.

One thing that movie entertainment fulfilled was attracting people to the big screen. For example, I can introduce this quote: “In just eight years, from 1922 to 1930, weekly U.S. movie attendance soared from about forty percent to over ninety percent of the population” (americainclass). This shows how in just eight years movie popularity spiked, where as about 40 million Americans went to motion picture theatres on a weekly basis. As the brink of silent films came to society and the evolution of the industry had risen, going to the movie theatre became a weekly event. This transition in entertainment, from stand-up comedy/plays to movies, was remarkable. The huge trend and liking for going to the movies impacted America in the way it had reshaped entertainment. Movie companies like Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros made a lot of money and success. The industry became very rich. Going to the movie theatre in the 20s was classy, fashionable, and it became a

“The biggest mistake we have made is to consider that films are primarily a form of entertainment. The film is the greatest medium since the invention of movable type for exchanging ideas and information, and it is no more at its best in light entertainment than literature is at its best in the light novel.” - Orson Welles

Films are also treasures of culture, filled with clues and insights into the attitudes and perceptions of the people of the day. While documentary films obviously present a historical record of people and events, dramatic fictional movies can also reveal the same. Comparing the main characters in Hitchcock's 1934

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 extra-curricular event I attended was a lecture by Mariela Castro on transgender rights and healthy sexualities in Cuba. Mariela is the daughter of the current Cuban president, Raúl Castro. The event took place on Thursday November 19, 2015 at 7:30 pm. Before the lecture began, two student members of the University of Toronto Mississauga’s Transgender Emergency Caucus gave a 20 minute speech outlining what it is like to be a trans student at UTM. They discussed the big issues they face at school and also outside of school and how this affects them negatively. The students also emphasized to the audience, the importance of getting involved with the caucus as it increases support for the trans community. About 10 minutes later, Mariela started her lecture.

People just went and saw movies, while the actors in them had no true identity. Benjamin B. Hampton states, in his book, "History of the American Film Industry from Its Beginnings to 1931," that a star system had been prominent on the stage and theatrical productions for over a century at this point in time (Hampton 86). Actors and actresses in film remained anonymous, however. To audiences, they were just nameless faces on the world's stage. One wonders why it took the movie industry so long to capitalize on its players. Hollywood's early denial of a star system may stem from a few concerns people had around the early 1900s, discussed by Eileen Bowser's "The Transformation of Cinema, 1907-1915." Actors of the stage had frequently worked as actors in the movies. Those actors had reluctance to audience recognition in movies (Bowser 106). It may have been the ego of stage actors at work, wanting to be unrecognizable in middle class fare, like film. Perhaps this was a result of the perceived higher class and sophisticated nature of the stage. Additionally, some actors feared that recognition by name would lead to earning less money (Bowser 107). Biograph themselves, home to the most famous actors, would not adopt the practice until roughly three years after the star system emerged due to the fear of their actors leaving to other studios (Bowser 108) or increasing demands for money (Bowser

Gunning asserts the period of early cinema began in 1895 and lasted until 1906/1907, when “narrativization of cinema” became a trend. Although the mode of storytelling changed in later decades, some films retained the spectacular qualities central to early cinema. In this essay, I will discuss Gunning’s argument that early cinema was a spectacle or a tamed attraction.

Feminism is a major issue that continues to present itself in today’s society. True equality between men and women cannot be achieved without constant questioning of the gender roles assumed as normal in our culture. This rings true across all areas of modern life, specifically in the art world. Creativity and ingenuity cultivated by the female mind is an important part in rallying for the feminist objective. While legality can claim equality between the sexes, the daily facets of what we are exposed to must become equivalent as well. Theater, the visual arts, literature and such reinforce the subliminal prejudices found in the 21st century. For this reason, encouraging the representation of women artists cannot prove more vital.

The second FYOs event that I attended was a seminar about Changing your plate and diet by a man named Richard Swindle, also known as one of the fittest men alive. During the seminar Richard swindle touched on what it meant to be a vegan, as well as the benefits that come along with it. A vegan is A person who does not eat or use animal products. This program was meant to lift people up and encourage them to let them know that although they might be down, there is always a way back up. Richard himself faced these trials in college as a freshman. He drank non-stop and continuously partied. He never considered school being an important aspect in his life until he almost flunked out of school. His diet was also also pitiful. Swindle continued to eat fast food and gained wait at an abnormal

Film was also known as movies. During the depression, directors and some actors brainstormed for film to make, trying to stay off the street. Warner Brothers made self-conscious movies, which became quickly famous. Such as Heroes for Sale, and They won’t Forget. Paramount was known to have stylish witty projects, such as Cleopatra starring Cecil B. DeMilles, and the Angel starring Ernst Lubitsch and Marlene Dietrich. Another director named Metro Goldwyn Mayer was a master with writing screwball comedies and also light thrillers; they are “The Thin Man, and Frankenstein.” That people have loved so much, we still watch them today. Different varieties were coming out during this terrible time in history. So under studio-system, people distributed films from A-B movies. The A movies were big budget star studded features, but the B movies were more “cheapie” films. And every week a B film went out, it was a fifty/ fifty whether it would be a hit. They were often used though for experiments and were aimed for the smaller audiences. During this hard times like war, or for this instance the great depression people needed to be entertained. And in 1930 was no exception. The people loved several forms of entertainment, particularly if it’s inexpensively. With the addition of sound, films became extremely popular. Comedies, gangster movies, and musicals helped people to calm down and forget about their

The 1920’s was a time of vast exploration in many areas of cultural interest. With the introduction of synchronized sound with motion pictures, the film industry experienced a tremendous boom. The advancements of the movie industry during this produced a massive amount of profits. In the entirety of film history, the 1920’s was a time of great innovation and grandeur and was the beginning of many advancements to come.

Sontag's article ‘A Century of Cinema' describes cinemas cycle over the past hundred years as moving from glorious to dull and is an overall criticism of the industry now. She rightly points out that films nowadays have to really do something special, namely violate "the norms and practices which now govern movie-making everywhere in the capitalist and would-be capitalist world" in order for us to "admire" them (Sontag, S. 1997). Cinema has moved in a more commercial direction, concentrating on quantity, not quality, rather than remaining purely an art form. What this means for cinema today is that a movie is less likely to stand the test of time and leave a lasting impression in our mind because all they are good for now is their entertainment value.

Events and People have a bearing on Vanessa’s life, she is trying to understand her history and what life has to offer. Life is very open for Vanessa, she lives on the wide open grasslands, but events and people change that for her. People and events have the biggest impact on Vanessa, this is because they make her look deeper into her own meaning of life and what she can do. These people that influence are often times people outside of her own family, who give Vanessa a new values and thoughts on life. Through new people, and odd events, Vanessa changes her outlook and ultimately the way she views the present.