Movies and the Impact of Images Chapter 7

“Star Wars effectively brought to an end the golden era of early-1970s personal filmmaking and focused the industry on big-budget special-effects blockbusters.” —Roger Ebert

Movies as Modern Mythmakers Movies tell communal stories. Evoke and symbolize our most enduring values and secret desires Make the world seem clearer, more manageable, and more understandable Movies distract us from our daily struggles. Movies encourage us to rethink contemporary ideas. What may be considered violent, unpatriotic, or sacrilegious can change a viewer’s outlook for the better.

Early Film Technology 1889 celluloid Bought by Eastman Edison patented kinetoscope and vitascope. Méliès and narrative film Nickelodeons Silent films, “shorts” Popular with new immigrants—images crossed language barriers Numbers of nickelodeons rise rapidly.

The Power of the Studio System Edison’s “Trust” Cartel of major U.S. and French producers Exclusive deal with Eastman Defeated by Zukor and Fox Went on to create their own oligopoly The studio system (1920s) Created stars Mary Pickford key figure Helped create directors as “auteurs” Zukor’s block booking Exhibitors forced to rent new or marginal films along with popular films Zukor and Fox worked to control distribution and exhibition.

Hollywood Storytelling Talkies 1927 Warner Brothers’ film The Jazz Singer Starring Al Jolson Fox studio’s newsreels Movietone captured first film footage with sound. Takeoff and return of Charles Lindbergh Blockbusters The Birth of a Nation (1915), D. W. Griffith’s epic, is considered the first such film.

Hollywood Genres Action/Adventure Comedy Drama Fantasy/Science Fiction Film Noir Gangster Horror Musicals Mystery/Suspense Romance Westerns (See listings on pages 224 and 225)

1960s and 1970s: The Rise of Star Directors Dennis Hopper, Easy Rider George Lucas, American Graffiti Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather Brian De Palma, Carrie Martin Scorsese, Taxi Driver Steven Spielberg, Jaws Female directors receive few opportunities. Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation) and Nancy Meyers (Something’s Gotta Give) are among the few female American directors to achieve critical, commercial success.

Breaking the Racial Barrier Minority groups, including African Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans struggle for recognition Some have succeeded as directors Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing, 1989) Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain, 2005) Chris Eyre (Smoke Signals, 1998)

Documentary Film Nanook of the North, 1922 Cinema verité Portable cameras Rough, grainy look Robert Drew: key innovator Michael Moore Controversial Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004): a critique of the Bush administration’s Middle East policies and the Iraq war Sicko (2007): an investigation of the U.S. health-care system

The Transformation of the Hollywood System The Hollywood Ten Investigations of alleged subversive and communist ties Led by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) Blacklisted Hollywood Ten boycotted by major studios Paramount decision Major studios forced to end vertical integration

Television Changes Hollywood By the mid-1950s TV replaces radio and movies for family entertainment. Movies begin to take on more serious content in response. Anti-Semitism: Gentleman’s Agreement, 1947 Sexuality: Peyton Place, 1957 Also develop new technologies CinemaScope, Technicolor

By 2008… More than 50% of domestic revenue for Hollywood studios came from video/DVD rentals. Continued popularity of DVD players DVD introduced 1997 Sales began to outpace rentals, but rentals still profitable. Netflix High-definition DVD battle won by Sony’s Blu-ray discs

Figure 7.1

Hollywood and Home Entertainment “In a world where Amazon offers every book, and iTunes offers every song, people aren’t going to put up with, or even understand, that the film they want to watch is simply unavailable.” —Saul Hansell, New York Times, 2008

The Movie Business 1.4 billion movie tickets sold in gross revenues = $9.63 billion Sales and rental business still produces more revenue: $15.7 billion Movie business revamped its production, distribution, and exhibition system and consolidated its ownership to survive.

The Blockbuster Mentality In the 1970s, suburban moviegoers made hits of Jaws (1975) and Star Wars (1977). Studios devised strategies to create future blockbusters. Studios need one major hit each year to offset costs of other films. 80 – 90% of films fail at box office

Figure 7.2

The Major Players Warner Brothers Paramount Twentieth Century Fox Universal Columbia Pictures Disney Only Disney not owned by larger conglomerate

Figure 7.3

What Disney Owns Movies Walt Disney Pictures – Walt Disney Animation Studios – Pixar Animation Studios – DisneyToon Studios – Touchstone Pictures – Hollywood Pictures – Miramax Films Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Disney Theatrical Productions ImageMovers Digital Music Disney Music Group – Walt Disney Records – Hollywood Records – Lyric Street Records Publishing Disney Publishing Worldwide – Hyperion Books for Children – Disney Press ESPN The Magazine Wondertime magazine FamilyFun magazine Television/Radio Disney-ABC Television Group – ABC – ABC Family – ABC Studios – Disney Channel Worldwide – SOAPnet – The Radio Disney Network – Lifetime Entertainment Services – A&E Television Networks ESPN, Inc (80% ownership) ABC-owned television stations (10) Internet/Mobile Content The Walt Disney Internet Group – Disney.com – ESPN360.com – ESPN Mobile Properties – mDisney mobile – Movies.com Disney Parks and Resorts (5) Disneyland Resorts and Parks Disney Cruise Line Adventures by Disney

Film and the Internet One of the biggest challenges facing the movie industry is the Internet. With broadband Internet, movie watchers likely to get films from the Web. More and more online portals to watch films Apple’s iTunes store began selling films in 2006, renting in 2008 Hulu: Free streaming TV and movie clips How often do you watch movies online?

The American Way Do U.S. films contribute to a global village in which people share a universal culture? Or do U.S. films stifle local culture and diversity?