The Golden Age of Hollywood

Liberal arts have been present in human history for many decades dating back as early as the seventeenth century. Theater performances such as opera and plays were the beginning of a much larger influence in the later centuries to come. Starting with the performances written by Shakespeare to the first motion capture film in the 1800’s, these methods have evolved into modern movie outlets such as streaming services and sit-in theaters. Film and performance arts have evolved greatly since their era of creation and have been modernized to fit the society in that period. The rise of Hollywood in the early 1920’s is what began the massive influence of movies in pop culture. It has evolved into being able to instantly have hundreds of movies at the tips of your fingers. Movies have a major impact on how society perceives the world and can influence pop culture, but throughout many decades it had evolved into dominating the digital age.

During the course of this essay it is my intention to discuss the differences between Classical Hollywood and post-Classical Hollywood. Although these terms refer to theoretical movements of which they are not definitive it is my goal to show that they are applicable in a broad way to a cinema tradition that dominated Hollywood production between 1916 and 1960 and which also pervaded Western Mainstream Cinema (Classical Hollywood or Classic Narrative Cinema) and to the movement and changes that came about following this time period (Post-Classical or New Hollywood). I intend to do this by first analysing and defining aspects of Classical Hollywood and having done that,

Hollywood history is rich and full of interesting facts that only a town created by cameras and celebrities could offer. However, some people are arguing that the history angle of the town is being covered by more of an opportunistic angle as guests are being encouraged by buying items that have little to do with Hollywood. From glasses to t-shirts, the items that visitors buy to remember their visit doesn't really match up with what Hollywood history is all about.

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.

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.

The 1930’s is remembered as the “Golden Age of Hollywood,” when the glamourous fashions sported by silver screen stars were all the rage. To look ladylike by day in silk, rayon, or lightweight cotton florals or art deco prints was the goal, while evenings demanded elegant backless ballroom gowns in velvet or

Hollywood and The Great Depression The Great Depression, arguably the toughest time in history for Americans, struck every industry, person, and part of the nation, including Hollywood. Despite this, Hollywood worked to maintain the morale and serve as an outlet or method of relief for people during times of complete despair, uncertainty, and helplessness. It was during the Great Depression that by providing this outlet and having this outlet as a fun, happiness inducing, stress reliever, Hollywood was, in a way, ultimately responsible for keeping American’s psychologically stable, and further provide some relief and hope for a better future that seemed to be going nowhere good, anytime fast. Despite the deadening and dilapidating effects

Hollywood has influenced American history since it began. It boosted and shaped the morale of a nation for almost a century. But Hollywood has not only been the influencing American society, it has been influenced by American society. In the 1920s, American society was booming; people were getting rich, spending and borrowing money, and they thought life was looking good. Then in October of 1929 the stock market crashed. Many people lost all they owned. People had invested all their money into the banks before the Crash. After the Crash, the banks had nothing. People were destitute. They had no money to pay for their houses, electrical bills, and food. It became the Great Depression. Likewise, Hollywood was impacted by the Great

Edith Head was an iconic costume designer during Hollywood’s Golden Age. Although her designs were made fun by people from the Fashion Industry during the time when she was working, her designs were eventually copied and inspired couturiers. Unfortunately, she was always overshadowed by other top designers when she worked at Paramount. However, she matched the zeitgeist of her time because she was the soul creator of the Golden Age of Hollywood; she designed clothes that brought elegance and timelessness when there occurred a decade of hopelessness during the Great Depression.

Spencer Tracy was a major star of Hollywood’s Golden Age. In the span of his 37-year screen career, he won two out of the nine Academy Awards he was nominated for. In 1930, he had a lead performance in The Last Mile, which caught Hollywood’s attention. Tracy signed with Fox Film Corporation and within his five years and 25 films with Fox, remained unknown to the public. He then joined Hollywood’s much acclaimed studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, with which his career thrived with a series of hit films. He won an Oscar for Captains Courageous and Boys Town and became a top star at the studio. In the duration of his career, Tracy appeared in 75 films and was known among his peers as one of the screen’s greatest actors. He was ranked as one of the top

Star Wars. Indiana Jones. Grey's Anatomy. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. All these four productions have one thing in common they were all produced by University of Southern California alumni. The Trojans as they like to call each other, pride themselves in their world-class dramatic arts and film schools. From humble beginnings, USC's theatre and film departments have grown to become the best arts programs in the world.

Hollywood was established in 1853, originally as a single hut, right outside of Los Angeles, California. It was first created under the name Hollywoodland, which was the site of a new housing development district. Over time, the area quickly developed and began to draw the attention of studios. Since most of the movie making patents were owned by Thomas Edison’s Motion Picture Company, in the 1900’s, film makers began to move to the Los Angeles, area in order to avoid the many lawsuits brought on by the Edison Company. By 1948, at the end of the silent film era, Hollywood movie studios controlled which films were shown across the country. Later in 1948, the Supreme Court ruled that studio producers cannot own their own theatres, where they

Unlike today, Hollywood in the Golden Age controlled the product that it released and followed a certain accepted agenda. Today, films and TV shows coming out of Hollywood no longer have political agendas, strict censorship codes, or follow conservative American values that existed in the Golden Age. In addition, today moviegoers no longer yearn for deep, meaningful movies that the Golden Age provided or care to take influence from Hollywood. Hollywood today is far less controlled politically than it was in the Golden Age, but today still tries to influence viewers on what really goes on in politics in a negative light.

Hollywood came to be in the 1920s, when companies like Universal, Metro and Fox started making films and the industry was focused in Hollywood, California (Crothers). Many film industry were starting to develop around the world, but Hollywood still fought back and is still one of the leading filmmaking industries (French). Many of the other movie industries use Hollywood as inspiration, and from time to time they do a similar movie. The same is for Hollywood they take what other countries have made and add their own spin.

(No Intro Yet) Due to the Great Depression that started in 1929, the film going audience had considerably diminished. In order to attract individuals back into movie theatres, studios produced films with themes and subjects that had great shock-value such as; violence, prostitution, and especially homosexuality. These subjects clashed with the preaching’s of the Production Code, as well as various local and national censor boards, and are known today as “pre-code” films. Although homosexuality was still a very taboo subject for society at the time, many studios were able to get past the laissez-faire individuals in the Hays Office, and display LGBT content and characters through onscreen insinuation or suggestion (Source). One of the first and central “pre-code” movies during Hollywood’s Golden Age to feature homosexuality is Josef von Sternberg’s hit film Morocco (1930), which stars Marlene Dietrich as a sexually independent woman. Dietrich created a sensation in the film during a scene where she’s clad in a suit and kisses a woman on the lips after a nightclub performance (Source). The juxtaposition of Dietrich’s femininity and the masculine imagery typically associated with a men’s suit can be seen to sexually magnetize both genders watching the scene. John Francis Dillon’s Call Her Savage (1932) is another “pre-code” film that implicitly displays homosexuality. In the film, two characters go to a nightclub where a duo of flamboyant waiters skip around the establishment