Hollywood Movies as a

form of American Culture

A look at two examples:

Dances with WolvesLawrence of Arabia

Dances

American Culture & SocietySpring-Summer 2012/ Scott

Hollywood system

We use Hollywood to mean U.S. film industry.

Two main types today:

1. The Big Six studios Produce the large-scale movies Often distributed around the world

2. Independent film producers Smaller films

More artistic, more serious Aimed at smaller markets Sold to or distributed by Big Six

Hollywood facts

World leading filmmaking center for a century.

The huge consumer market in U.S. provides economic scale to support expensive productions.

Films and related products earned $11 billion in 2010.

Big Six studios specialize in blockbusters. Columbia (Sony) 20th Century Fox (News Corp.) Disney (Disney) Paramount (Viacom) Universal (Comcast) Warner Bros. (Time-Warner)

What makes a blockbuster?

Huge budget

Famous actors

Visual and audio spectacles (big moments)

High-quality special effects

Marketable to international audiences

What works internationally?

Recognizable actors and characters

Emphasis on action and emotion

Non-verbal story lines; minimum of dialogue

Humanitarian themes

Limited amount of cultural context

How do films make money?

Theater ticket sales

DVD sales

Related merchandise (toys, clothing, video games)

International sales Growing market: Asia. Studios are beginning to release films internationally

before showing them in the U.S. Examples: Battleship, The Avengers

Example: The Avengers

Total production cost: $220 million (Disney)

Total ticket income: $1.42 billion

U.S. market income: $588 million

International: $833 million

Foreign markets: At least 56

Percent watching in 3-D: 52%

Source: Los Angeles Times newspaper, June 17

What is an epic?

Grand dramatic (and musical) themes.

Historical values (based in real history)

Broad, expansive scenes that capture great works

Emphasis on human actions that affect big outcomes. (Winning wars, saving peoples, solving humanitarian crises.)

Lawrence of Arabia

Considered one of best epics.

Director: David Lean

Year released: 1962

Studio: Columbia

Story: Dramatizes true story of T.E. Lawrence, an unusual scholar and poet who helped Arab tribes to defeat the Ottoman Turks in World War II.

Movies as popular culture

The movie industry helps to shape popular culture. Think: Emphasis on anime. Fashions and styles.

It’s also shaped by culture and society. Consumers decide what is popular. Audiences comfortable with their ‘kind’ as heroes.

Movies also reveal the basis of cultural values. Sometimes they question social trends. Or offer a different approach to understanding. Example: Dances with Wolves.

Dances with Wolves

Example of a blockbuster made by actor-director to offer his own ideal interpretation of U.S. history.

Director: Kevin Costner

Year released: 1990

Studio: Tig Productions (Costner’s company)

An Army lieutenant befriends Indians and even wolves as he seeks to defend a natural life that cannot last as white settlers are moving west into the Great Plains.

Movie poster in Italian