The Foreign New Wave

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.

This new period created the films to become more realistic. The Movie Brats have created biggest blockbusters in American history, from Star Wars, The Godfather and Jaws.

When the wars were happening newspapers weren’t the only things that started to improve. Films played a big role in this time. “At the time of the wars outbreak, film was a new medium, and the conflict became a popular topic. Short films showed such scenes as servicemen exercising, Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders on their horses, and funeral processions of dead soldiers.

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

World War 2 had a powerful impact on America. This included Hollywood as well. Hollywood benefitted from the war, but was also under a lot of pressure cause of the responsibility that fell on its shoulders. Days after Pearl Harbor, the President of the United States gave Hollywood the task to bring the issues of the war to the American people. To inform them of the struggles that lied ahead. Doing what Hollywood does best, which was making and selling films. However the way they were making films required them to change every aspect of how the film industry operated. Hollywood transformed immensely from top to bottom.

One of the many industries that were radically changed by World War II was the film industry. This change altered the content and style of films that were produced in Hollywood. A long period of decline was seen after experiencing boom years from 1939 to 1946. Within several years, attendance and box receipts fell. This was partly caused by reasons that were external to the industry. Veterans returning from the war got married, started families, attended college ( Due to the GI Bill), and bought homes in suburban areas. A toll was taken on box office receipts due to these activities. It was preferable for families that had children to listen to the radio rather than going to the

The Production Code Administration emerged in 1934. It was the organic outgrowth of a backlash to immorality in film perceived since the 1920’s (Gomery & Pafort-Overduin, 2011). As an entertainment medium, film was revolutionary: all of the sudden, vivid snippets of life could reach a mass audience. Not long after motion pictures enthralled the country, producers began to recognize the opportunity to attract larger audiences – and increase profits – by filming stories involving provocative subjects and thus stimulating the people’s sense of wonder (Gomery & Pafort-Overduin, 2011). A natural outgrowth of this trend was the increasingly transgressive nature of motion pictures. In an age characterized by both economic and social progress, a backlash against new ideas

World War II was a period in which movie's depicted a sense of patriotism from propaganda to training videos. The Germans invaded Poland and the World fell into frenzy. Americans, with the help of France, Russia, Great Britain and later on Italy, crushed the fronts of the Germans and stopped the Nazis from taking control of the world. With the mess of Japanese forces attacking Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 the United States entered World War II. One of the most famous movies to date came out of the Warner Bros. editor's room. Casablanca emerged out of World War II and showed a great sense of what it was like to have been a refugee and a runaway, seeking shelter from the Germans.

The Cinema has became one of America’s favorite past times. The artistry and the technology has captured American audiences, giving films influence over our culture. The film industry can easily change people’s opinions, without much work Hollywood can make us hate the villains and love the heroes. Through this we see the power that the cinema industry has grown to have, and the influence it has in our society. However it is also our society who possess even greater influence over the film industry.

Throughout the history of filmmaking, many different genres have thrived such as the romantic comedy, giving us such classics as Bringing up Baby and His Girl Friday. The war film gave us All Quiet on the Western Front and Paths of

This research paper will cover the topic of the American film industry, globalisation and how globalisation has impacted on the change of the American film industry. I will also continue on to how the American film industry and its producers can integrate successfully internationally.

To fully comprehend why and how this cinematic motion took place, it is valuable here to establish the wider social climate of France at the time, and the active forces which heavily shaped New Wave cinema. Between the years of 1945 and 1975, France would undergo “thirty glorious years” of economic growth, urbanization, and a considerable baby boom, all of which came to expand and radically alter the parameters of French culture (Haine 33). Beneath the surface affluence however, France was in a state of deep self-evaluation and consciousness. Following WW11, the

The decline of Classical Hollywood films came after the Hollywood Antitrust Case of 1948 as television audiences dwindled in the wave of television popularity and accessibility and the taste and interests of viewers which in turn ended the monopoly of Hollywood Studios. To combat this Hollywood Studios turned it’s back on the origins of its creation and headed in a new direction. An era of film-school educated, liberal filmmakers began in Hollywood where the directors of the films began to express their personal view and creative insights. These directors and new age film-makers were heavily influence by the work of the Italian Neo Realism and French New Wave this saw American film change drastically from its previous eras of filming techniques and saw a whole new era take over. Many changes happened following the 1948 lawsuit. Which saw the structure of American cinema completely change and brought a new era which defined the production of films and had a huge influence on the progression of film. With this, along with the influence of Italian neo realism and the French new wave, American Cinema grew and grew from Classical styles to against the grain alternative movies which then flourished into the blockbuster industry those born in the 80’s and 90’s grew up with.

Hess and Zimmermann mention that conventional categories have blurred and there’s demands for new political and aesthetic responses in transnational cinema (John Hess 2006). These transnational films I believe would be growing significantly in the film industry as a part of film history.