Mass Media and Society

Chapter 8: Movies

Feb. 14, 2014

Chapter 8:Movies

• History of movies• Movies and culture• Issues and trends• The influence of

new technology

Movie history

• Hollywood becomes center of film production by 1915

• D.W. Griffith perfects techniques during silent era: parallel editing, panning, tracking shots

The MPAA• Motion Picture

Association of America formed in 1922

• Code of self-censorship predated modern ratings system

• Public attitude toward film stars divided, like today

From silent to color

• By 1930, films with sound fully replace silent films

• By end of 1940s, color films largely displaced black-and-white

• Color successes: “Gone With the Wind,” “Wizard of Oz,” animated films

The studio system

• Hollywood studios were vertically integrated, controlling production, release, distribution, viewing

• 1948: U.S. vs. Paramount brought an end to this total control

Golden Age: “Citizen Kane” (’41)• Late 1930s to early 1940s• “Citizen Kane”: Pioneering

techniques, realism, social critique, biopic loosely based on William Randolph Hearst

• 1953: Widescreen aspect ratio arrives

Hollywood blacklist

• 1947: More than 100 people in movie business called to testify before House Un-American Activities Committee

• Height of cold war with USSR; communism threatened U.S.

Modern movie landscape

• 1970s: Depictions of sex and violence

• Blockbusters, knockoffs, sequels

• Technically spectacular blockbusters vs. independent films

Movies mirrorour culture

• “Birth of a Nation”: 1915• Patriotic films in WWII era• “Bonnie and Clyde” 1967• Hays Code: in place until

1967; strictly enforced limits on movie content

• MPAA ratings: 1968

Movies shapeour culture

• Films play key role in development of tastes, desires, customs

• American myths and traditions: Westerns; heroes and anti-heroes

• Social issues in film

Issues and trends

• Hollywood studios (big 6) control 95 percent of the movie business today

• Blockbusters: huge marketing costs

• Independent films make their mark (“Pulp Fiction” 1994)

Issues and Trends

• “Avatar” (2009) in 3D• $190 million to make,

$150 million to market• Today’s average

Hollywood production budget, including marketing: $65 million

New technology

• TV vs. movies in 1950s• VCR: Popular by 1985• Rental market takes off• DVDs peak and decline• Netflix: home streaming• Redbox: Price is threat

Technology

• Industry goes digital: No film reloading, editing streamlined

• 3D makes resurgence• “Avatar,” “Alice in

Wonderland” (2010), “Gravity” are big hits in 3D

Movie criticism• Changing role amid rise of

Internet/blogs; fewer professional critics

• Roger Ebert: Popular with many audiences, transitioned to web

• Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB: aggregators and databases for information