Why Did The Decline Of The Film Industry

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

When discussing American culture, the influence and interplay of film cannot be understated. We are a nation consumed with the media. Today, the movie business is one of the highest grossing businesses there is. We hold movie stars up as though they are super human. We closely watch their style, their dating lives, their party habits, and even their favorite restaurants, among many other things. We rely on movies to lift us up, teach us about other cultures and time periods, and even to teach us about our own culture. Often, movies reflect the time period they are filmed in and directly reflect the social tensions of that time and the film noir genre is no different. One of the most famous film noir movies out there, The Maltese Falcon,

At the same time, the outbreak of the Second World War threatened to devastate Hollywood’s vital overseas trade. The studios’ exports to the Axis nations (Germany, Italy, and Japan) declined to almost nothing in 1937-38, but still Hollywood borrowed roughly one-third of its total revenues from overseas markets. The primary oversees client was Europe, which supplied about 75 percent if the studio 's foreign income in 1939. However, the European markets were severely disrupted by the outbreak of war in September 1939 and continued to decline as fighting continued in Europe. The war in Europe resulted in the US government to initiate a massive military and defense buildup, which had tremendous effects on the movie industry. Hollywood played it safe by producing a few war-related features in 1940, however, focused mostly on newsreels and documentary shorts of the war. Hollywood, in order to increase demand on top featured films, turned to independent producers in the early 1940s. The most aggressive studio to adopt major independent productions was RKO. RKO had over a dozen independent unit productions under way in 1940.

By the 1960s the studio system was all but over. Many cinemas were closed down and several of the production back lots sold. Society had changed dramatically particularly with the rise of youth and the youth market, and the old Hollywood product seemed stale to the rising youth audience. Times were changing and the industry had to change with it. The studio system had declined rapidly in the 1950s and by the late 1960s was all but over. The audience had segmented into different social groups with increased leisure options rather than the mass habit audience of the golden age. Many of the films the studios produced to compete with television seemed to many people old fashioned and part of a different world which led to a significant drop in

This further demonstrates how the affluence of that period enabled people to support this industry and help its enormous growth. It was during the roaring 20s that the first real celebrities began to appear, with the ever-increasing role of cinema having a huge role to play. Similarly their fame contributed to the growing status of Hollywood and the American film industry. (Source J). Charlie Chaplin is one example of an actor that gained worldwide recognition in the twenties; he was particularly famous for his ‘highly visual style of acting’ (Soucre J). The 1920s was often referred to as “The Golden Age of Hollywood” (Source G) emphasizing how this period represents the era of greatest output in the United States movie market [an average of 800 films were produced annually]. ‘The cinema came of age in the 1920s and Hollywood confirmed its position as the “dream factory” of the English- speaking world. It was there that fame and fortune could be found.’ (Source J) This also highlights the growing image of Hollywood ‘throughout the roaring 20s, which started to represent wealth and achievement. ‘The establishment of the Academy Awards showed the maturing cinema as an industry confident of its own technical and artistic standards.’ (Source J) This further shows how there were many other expansions and transformations from this industry that occurred during this period. Artists, directors and other personalities of the film making industry received acknowledgement and recognition of their work in this industry. ‘The awards soon acquired international status’ (Source J) showing how Hollywood’s film industry developed into a global sensation that was supported by people all over

The 1950s marked an incredible time in United States history. Many events that lead to the inspiration of future generations were revolutionized in economic and social expenditures of paramount proportion, most notably the manufacturing of war related materials for World War II. With an economic surge that catapulted the US even further into a position of world power, several industries flourished and suburban America took shape. Of these industries, film was one of the most substantial influences on the public and subsequently sparked a multitude of emotions. The culmination of entertainment adjoined with pressing issues allowed for designations of many political agendas. Some agendas proved to be melodramatic in nature regarding social reform while others were seen as substantial regarding national safety and protection.

Throughout the era of the roaring 20s, there were several impacts that vastly influenced and altered America from the beginning of the 1920s to today. One of the several impacts that influenced America drastically in the 20s to today, was the boom in feature movies/the movie industry. Things that it greatly impacted, was our culture, lifestyle, career field, and our technological innovation. The creation of motion pictures, movies with sound, and talkies had an immense alteration on society’s entertainment.

The years surrounding the Great Depression and World War II were neither pleasant domestically nor internationally. During the Great Depression, businesses and industries fell rapidly, people became unemployed, and chaos ensued in trying to pick the global economy back up. Like every other industry, the movie industry, albeit a few years later than others, suffered a massive dip. Despite the conditions, however, many Americans still went to see movies, averaging around 60 to 80 million patrons every week. During this time, movies were not necessarily a means of escaping real world problems despite the fact that they did help to keep morale stable. Instead, movies that were produced in this era could be seen more as following a trend of realism, as we saw a rise in criminal, gangster, and scandal movies (Hollywood).

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.

Influence of the Great Depression on Hollywood The cycle of poverty is not one many wish to live. From struggling throughout an entire day to make ends meat to waking up having to face the same struggles, it is common for one to wish for a better life. During the Great Depression nothing was enough to permanently improve the hard situation, but the population of American found a way around the hard times. Hollywood films were being produced almost every week and many used this to their advantage; it provided a sense of serenity, a feeling that was not offered in their lives.

He was the academy winning Western legend, recognized as one of the best filmmakers of all time, his name was John Ford. He started out his career in film in July 1914 as an assistant, labourman and actor for his brother Francis Ford. It was not until 1917 where he made his debut as a director with the lost film, The Tornado and ended his career in the early 1970s with his last film Chesty: A Tribute to a Legend. During his early years, he was making silent films where Westerns were very popular during the time. When the introduction of sound came and the birth of Talkies came, however, the genre started losing its popularity. Yet, that did not stop the director from working on the genre, eventually to the point where he is now credited today as the man who played a huge role in bringing the westerns back to popularity. So, in this video essay, I will be talking about John Ford’s take on Westerns and how he revolutionized the genre.

What factors lay behind the "upscaling" of Hollywood film genres during the 1950s? Identify the significant genres of the postwar period, and explain how each was affected by enhanced production values and increased thematic complexity.

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

The Paramount decision of 1948 and the Hollywood blacklist altered the direction of the filmmaking business in America, one that I believe has had a lasting impression for decades. The Paramount decision of 1948 refers to a court decision against the major film companies, Paramount, Warner Bros., 20th Century-Fox, Loew’s-MGM, Columbia, Universal and United Artists to outlaw their price fixing and monopolization of the industry. The Hollywood blacklist referred to a list of studio employees from 1947 until 1957 that were linked to association to the Communist party, and were to be “blacklisted” form the film industry indefinitely, or until made innocent of their involvement. Both of these major events of the film industry in the 1930s until 1950s had a major impact on business. (Lewis 195)

Genre is a reflection of society. Film noir is a genre that has a distinctive relationship with the American society from 1941 - 1958 because it reflects America’s fears and concerns from when they experienced major upheaval after The Great Depression and during World War I. In particular, the unstable atmosphere from the aftermath of World War 1 as Bruce Crowther, author of the book ‘Film Noir: Reflections in a Dark Mirror’, elaborates on how Film Noir films produce “a dark quality that derived as much from the character's depiction as from the cinematographer’s art.” These dark moods are transparent through the key features of the femme fatale, the film techniques and the impact of the Hay’s code on American film and American society.