The Film Industry : The Golden Age Of Hollywood

Even though a vast majority of us wish that it was possible to turn back the hands of time and change or rewrite history. However, the truth of the matter is that we simply cannot. Everything happens for a reason, and we should learn to accept it. Accept it for what it is, rather than what we would like it to be.

During the early 1900s, the film industry had just gained popularity but the films during this era were drastically different from films today. Films during this time were done in white and black, were much shorter, and were without sound. In this silent film era, no star shined brighter than that of Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin is without a doubt the biggest name of film during this or possibly any era. In fact, Chaplin should be considered the greatest influence of the film industry in the 1920s because of his fame in silent film, his career as a director, his controversial satire, and the popularity of The Tramp.

The Golden Age of Hollywood was a time when Hollywood hit its peak successfully and economically, starting with the late 1920s, and met its decline due to corruption in the late 1950s. One would ask the question: “Where did the name Hollywood come from?” The name came from Harvey Henderson Wilcox and his wife, Daeida, who were owners of a small ranch west of Los Angeles. According to u-s-history.com, “Daeida, who, while on a train trip east met a woman that described her country home in Ohio, that had been named for the Dutch settlement of Hollywood. Liking the name, Daeida christened their ranch 'Hollywood,' upon her return.” (History of Hollywood, California) Movies during this time period became a vital form of entertainment for all Americans during this time period. By the 1910s, Hollywood was combined into its neighboring city Los Angeles, and many motion-picture studios began to open. Moviemakers rushed to Hollywood, and competition started to become widespread between directors and producers. By 1910, the first motion picture was made in Hollywood, titled In Old California, and soon enough, Los Angeles became second to New York in producing films also because of it’s quintessential weather for movies to be made in all year long during this time. As Hollywood began to industrialize, filmmakers began to work on the image of a “star”; they would continuously use these highly-paid actors in order to achieve a form of comfort for the general audience of the movies. Seeing

The issue of female representation in Hollywood is one of the biggest issues in the film industry. Sexism, discrimination, and a lack of jobs for female filmmakers has been a problem in Hollywood since its early days, and recently this problem has been analyzed using many different genres. The Women of Hollywood Speak Out is an editorial written by Maureen Dowd of the New York Times. It is about difficulty for female filmmakers to break out and direct big budget films for Hollywood. Celluloid Ceilings: Women Directors Speak Out is a video created by Bloomberg about the issues with sexism and discrimination that female filmmakers have faced. These two pieces will be compared to discover how this topic can be discussed using different genres

The Australian film industry is currently in a point of crisis due to the lack of audiences attending Australian films, hence creating a decline in the revenue received towards our national industry. However, this is not due to the lack of creative talent, it is rather the many underlying issues that don?t allow the Australian public with the awareness and accessibility of these films. These problems are within the distribution, marketing and funding of these Australian films, allowing the national Australian community to not seek for films made by people within their nation due to negative pre-conceived notions and the convenience of going to see a Hollywood Blockbuster. These issues are seen through the poor release of both critically received films, Jennifer Kent?s The Babadook (2014) and Hugh Sullivan?s The Infinite Man (2014), both not gaining a wide audience. Through these issues within the industry, Australian filmmakers have not been able to create the revenue needed for these films to branch out to be easily attained by the public.

The "star system" was a method of developing and advancing the popularity of Hollywood movie stars. The system, which began during the height of the Hollywood studio system era, emphasized the image of the actor instead on the actual acting. The movie studio's profits were driven by the popularity of the stars that appeared in their films. According to Rocco, the stars had long term contracts with the movie studios that paid them a weekly salary, and the stars were identified with specific types of characters that would often be repeated in many movies. Belton stated that "the star provides the studio with a tangible attraction, an image that can be advertized and marketed, offsetting the less tangible qualities of the story, directing,

The transition from silent film to the “talkies” in the mid 1920s transformed the face of the American film industry and of mass entertainment. “Going to the picture show” was a wondrous experience that for 25 cents, gave Americans in large cities an escape from their tedious lives and offered an evening of “crystal chandeliers, marble fountains, gilt inlay and richly upholstered seats” (Miller n.d.). They went to enjoy the “silent” film, which is not an entirely accurate statement considering that all silent films were accompanied by live music, and were therefore not silent at all. Full symphonic orchestras accompanied some silent films, while others had sound effects added by organ, and smaller movie houses used the piano to add sound. Without

We all know some good movies from some of the big movie studios. Whether they be from Warner Bros and Disney; or from 20th Century Fox and MGM. These studios made it big during the Great Depression. During this time these studios knew just what people needed. The film industry really made it big during the great depression, a few of the contributing factors were the talkies, the rise of studios, and the golden age of Hollywood.

Prohibition, flappers, and jazz music may come to the minds of many when they hear the words “the Roaring ‘20s” and this is expected as this decade was full of drinking, partying, and entertainment for people of the United States. Others, though may think of Hollywood when discussing one of the most infamous eras of the nation. At a time when the economy of the United States was at a perhaps all time high, people had more money and more free time to spend on doing things they enjoyed. This growth in the popularity of leisure activities as entertainment thrived led to the rise of Hollywood in the ‘20s. Movies may have just been another means of enjoying oneself, but Hollywood played a role in the views of society as its popularity grew and the

The studio system was an arrangement of craft services and talent that made movies dictated by contractual terms. Through this system, studios could easily move from project to project, producing like that of a factory. Creating movies in this arrangement eliminated the need to raise money or finances; directors usually created movies in the style of the studio which lessened artistic creativity (Lewis, p 104). The studio system was dominant in Hollywood through the 1920’s well into the 1950’s.

In 1853, one adobe hut stood in Nopalera (Nopal field), named for the Mexican Nopal cactus indigenous to the area. By 1870, an agricultural community flourished. The area was known as the Cahuenga Valley, after the pass in the Santa Monica Mountains immediately to the north.

The 1930’s began with depression, and ended with the war. Surprisingly, despite a difficult economic situation in the United States, the one industry that remained quite stable was fashion. One of the factors of such state was the impact of Hollywood-style luxury. The thirties are known as Hollywood’s Golden Age, with screen idols becoming role models for the masses. There were also Hollywood costume designers that played a crucial role in dictating fashion trends (gingham dress, a cotton fabric dress featuring a checked or striped pattern). Fashion trends that featured in the movies were quickly copied by retailers. Women, who found a dress or a gown in a movie appealing, were able to purchase a lower priced version of it in a nearby department

In order to get the best possible answers to the questions we asked, we used various sources such as a TED talk on the topic of sexism (TEDtalksDirector). It is of relevance, due to its knowledge of the data behind Hollywood’s sexism.

Life in Hollywood, for some female actresses, may not be as glamourous as it seems the viewers. With all the talk about the lack of diversity in Hollywood, actresses should be seeing changes happen, right? Sadly, this is incorrect. Many actresses have spoken out on the disparity; such as Jennifer Lawrence, Kerry Washington, Charlize Theron, and many more actresses. Actresses of older ages have to “fight” with their male counterpart and the new, younger face, and it is the same for younger actresses who have to compete wit actresses with more experience. Older actresses are struggling to stay known, while younger actresses are trying to become known. Trying to maintain their careers, female actresses have to deal with sexism, ageism, unequal pay, and misrepresentation., while working in Hollywood.

In Karen Ward Mahar’s reading, she explains that Hollywood has always been favourable to men over women for power roles such as a film director. While women were employed in Hollywood, they were ‘designated’ to roles that were appropriate for them in this fraternity like environment. This was reinforced when Wall Street invested in the industry around 1921 which brought in their cultural ideals regarding men and women to the film industry. Conversely, Douglas Kellner talks about genre films reproducing cultural norms that legitimizes this representation of women. This was evident as women were pushed to do melodrama’s, comedy, rom-coms, etc. Therefore, it pushed this atmosphere where women can only “fit in” while not being in direct control