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HOWARD COMMUNITY COLLEGE, TVRD129 – INTRODUCTION TO MASS MEDIA
movies and the impact of images
I. Early Technology and the Evolution of Movies
Social and economic forces, and inventions by known and unknown people, contributed to the
development of movie technology.
A. The Development of Film. The early innovations in film were the result of simultaneous
investigations by numerous people motivated by economic and social forces as well as ability.
1. Muybridge and Goodwin Make Pictures Move. By the late 1800s, a number of inventors
worked on capturing moving images and projecting them.
2. Edison and the Lumières Create Motion Pictures. Thomas Edison developed the
kinetograph and the kinetoscope. Meanwhile, Louis and August Lumière developed the
cinematograph. Edison followed with the vitascope.
B. The Introduction of Narrative. To become a mass medium, the early silent films had to offer what
books achieved — the suspension of disbelief and narratives that engaged an audience’s imagination.
C. The Arrival of Nickelodeons. Often managed by immigrants, nickelodeons required a minimal
investment.
II. The Rise of the Hollywood Studio System
By the late 1910s, the movie industry’s three basic economic divisions — production, distribution, and
exhibition — had been established.
A. Production. By the 1920s, film production had evolved into the studio system, which turned
moviemaking into an assembly-line process, with stars, directors, editors, writers, and others working
under exclusive contracts.
B. Distribution. Production companies developed distribution techniques like block booking —
pressuring theater operators to screen marginal films with no stars in order to have access to
popular films with stars.
C. Exhibition. Producers like Adolph Zukor conspired to dominate exhibition by owning the first-run
theaters, and they attracted middle- and upper-class audiences with movie palaces.
III. The Studio System’s Golden Age
Film’s storytelling capabilities were enhanced by the addition of sound.
A. Hollywood Narrative and the Silent Era. Filmmakers refined narrative techniques during the silent
era. The Hollywood star system was also established as film became a viable art form.
B. The Introduction of Sound. The Jazz Singer (1927), starring Al Jolson, was the first feature-length
film with sound. But the breakthrough film was The Singing Fool (1928), also starring Jolson.
C. The Development of the Hollywood Style. Three ingredients give Hollywood movies their
distinctive flavor: narrative, genre, and author (or director).
1. Hollywood Narratives. The two basic components of the narrative are the story (what happens to
whom) and the discourse (how the story is told).
2. Hollywood Genres. By making films that fall into popular genres, the movie industry provides
familiar models that can be imitated. Two related economic goals are product standardization and
product differentiation.
ANTHONY J. HOOS, Adjunct Faculty | [email protected]
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HOWARD COMMUNITY COLLEGE, TVRD129 – INTRODUCTION TO MASS MEDIA
3. Hollywood “Authors.” Although hundreds of people contribute to a film’s production, the
director serves as the main “author.”
D. Outside the Hollywood System. Movie history has a long tradition in experimental, avantgarde, shorter narrative, and documentary films.
1. Global Cinema. Other countries have rich histories in producing successful and
provocative short-subject and feature films.
2. The Documentary Tradition. Beginning as newsreels and travelogues, documentaries
developed as an educational, noncommercial, and often experimental form and have made
major contributions in tackling controversial subject matter.
3. The Rise of Independent Films. Independent filmmakers typically operate on a shoestring
budget, but they continue to find substantial audiences and to make a mark on the film
industry.
IV. The Transformation of the Studio System
By the mid-1950s, significant cultural and social changes — such as suburbanization and television —
had begun to reshape the movie-going experience.
A. The Hollywood Ten. In 1947, conservative members of Congress began investigating Hollywood for
communist ties.
B. The Paramount Decision. By the mid-1940s, the Justice Department was demanding that the five
major film companies end vertical integration.
C. Moving to the Suburbs. After World War II, people began moving to the suburbs and spending most
of their discretionary income on household products instead of on movie tickets.
D. Television Changes Hollywood. With television dominating family audiences by the mid1950s, Hollywood directors began to explore topics that were formerly off-limits to film.
E. Hollywood Adapts to Home Entertainment. The videocassette transformed contemporary movie
exhibition, a transformation that continues with streaming video and other new technologies.
V. The Economics of the Movie Business
Today, the movie business continues to thrive.
A. Production, Distribution, and Exhibition Today. By the 1970s, Hollywood had begun to invest in
multiscreen movie complexes and to try for blockbuster hits.
1. Making Money on Movies Today. Studios need a couple of major hits each year to offset
losses on other films.
2. Theater Chains Consolidate Exhibition. The top seven theater chains operate more than 50
percent of U.S. screens.
B. The Major Studio Players. From the late 1990s to today, the movie industry has been ruled by
six companies — Warner Brothers, Paramount, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal, Columbia
Pictures, and Disney.
C. Convergence: Movies Adjust to the Internet Age. After witnessing the difficulties that illegal filesharing brought on the music labels, the movie industry has embraced the Internet.
D. Alternative Voices. Independent films, supported by digital technology have helped new voices
bring a greater breadth of human experiences and stories to film screens.
ANTHONY J. HOOS, Adjunct Faculty | [email protected]
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HOWARD COMMUNITY COLLEGE, TVRD129 – INTRODUCTION TO MASS MEDIA
VI. Popular Movies and Democracy
Commercial U.S. films function as consensus narratives by providing shared cultural experiences. With the
rise of international media conglomerates, however, movie diversity and a public debate over U.S.
domination of the global film business fall by the wayside.
Know your Film Ratings!
www.parentalguide.org
ANTHONY J. HOOS, Adjunct Faculty | [email protected]
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