Before this RTF class I had never written a blog before other than a few posts on Myspace when I was in junior high. I feel like the blogs and the research that went into them helped me to learn the content better and understand the terms more in depth. Even more, I have become better acquainted with the blogging realm and processes that accompany the practice; also I learned several simple aspects of computer and Internet usage such as how to embed a video clip. I had minimal difficulty in preparing my blog, especially after our TA demonstrated how to embed a video. Other than embedding, there was only one other issue and that was finding appropriate and useful videos or other media content that pertained to the topic.
The blog prompts that were the most difficult were the ones that asked for the explanation of a concept from the class lectures. For example, the blogs that asked for examples and definitions for hegemony and globalization. Though the concepts themselves were not difficult to understand, finding in depth and highly useful examples to use as supplementary detail in the blog was a difficult and often long task. I personally enjoyed the prompt that asked us to write about our favorite film and explain three scenes that used the shots that were covered in class.
I would definitely recommend using the blogs in the future, though they required much effort and some time they served as a creative way to explore the concepts that we were covering in class and in our readings. The only thing that I would recommend is that the new blog prompts for the week to be emailed at the beginning of each week with at least five days to complete them. A few times we did not receive the next prompt until one to three days before they were due.
Yes, you can use my blog in a paper or report
Thanks!
Kaitlyn
Friday, November 26, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
According to Merriam Webster dictionary, globalization is "the development of an increasingly integrated global economy marked especially by free trade, free flow of capital, and the tapping of cheaper foreign labor markets". This sort of development is usually, throughout history, the result of imperialism. Stronger, more developed nations move in and take over the systems of a weaker, less technologically advance people group and set up their own systems, government, society, and economy usually to the stronger country's own monetary or global benefit.
This cultural imperialism causes drastic changes to the culture and nature of the people who are being subdued. It not only serves to take the native culture out of power and authority, but it also gives the imperialist nation a means of gaining capital at the imperialized nation's expense, whether this expense be trade, customs, language, religion, family, or even lives.
Throughout history imperialism has thrived as a practice of the Western powers. Britain took control over India, a people group who had been expanding, trading, and thriving for centuries previous. Spain conquered the South American and Mexican regions and even southern portions of North America, taking over the livelihoods and enslaving the natives whom had dwelled in the areas for centuries as well, practicing many different forms of music, dance, hunting, healing, and craftsmanship. This practice has endured up until today as the United States is a leading global power that is currently in the Middle East trying to set up a democracy.
This video is an interesting perspective of students on cultural imperialism.
Several films and other types of media throughout history have served as depictions of this sort of cultural domination. From the 1995 children's Disney film Pocahontas in which the British army comes to the north eastern area of North America and attempts to gain control over the natives in order to ultimately build on the land, expand their borders, and call it their home. In this clip from the movie, the native American woman Pocahontas criticizes the British way of thinking and demonstrates the beauty and color of her own "savage" people.
In this montage of films that portrays the white race moving in on a culture and taking over, the media generated illustration of imperialism is demonstrated. The people group takes over of imposes, someone of the opposite races fall in love, an emotional attachment is born in which a new drive to protect the subjects is created, and finally a war results.
Although it is known that many white imperialists took wives of the people that they were imposing on, I am critical of the romantic nature of such a relationship. But, it makes for a good Hollywood film.
This cultural imperialism causes drastic changes to the culture and nature of the people who are being subdued. It not only serves to take the native culture out of power and authority, but it also gives the imperialist nation a means of gaining capital at the imperialized nation's expense, whether this expense be trade, customs, language, religion, family, or even lives.
Throughout history imperialism has thrived as a practice of the Western powers. Britain took control over India, a people group who had been expanding, trading, and thriving for centuries previous. Spain conquered the South American and Mexican regions and even southern portions of North America, taking over the livelihoods and enslaving the natives whom had dwelled in the areas for centuries as well, practicing many different forms of music, dance, hunting, healing, and craftsmanship. This practice has endured up until today as the United States is a leading global power that is currently in the Middle East trying to set up a democracy.
This video is an interesting perspective of students on cultural imperialism.
Several films and other types of media throughout history have served as depictions of this sort of cultural domination. From the 1995 children's Disney film Pocahontas in which the British army comes to the north eastern area of North America and attempts to gain control over the natives in order to ultimately build on the land, expand their borders, and call it their home. In this clip from the movie, the native American woman Pocahontas criticizes the British way of thinking and demonstrates the beauty and color of her own "savage" people.
In this montage of films that portrays the white race moving in on a culture and taking over, the media generated illustration of imperialism is demonstrated. The people group takes over of imposes, someone of the opposite races fall in love, an emotional attachment is born in which a new drive to protect the subjects is created, and finally a war results.
Although it is known that many white imperialists took wives of the people that they were imposing on, I am critical of the romantic nature of such a relationship. But, it makes for a good Hollywood film.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Beer Advertisements and the Real Man
There are two different types of beer advertisements, one that uses the sexuality of women to sell their product and the other that shoves masculinity in the faces of the men who are viewing the ad. I say men because the beer market is obviously male dominated and male consumed and without the help of concrete statistics one could conclude that beer consumers in the United States are mostly male. But to assess the validity of this statement, drinkfocus.com states that only 25 percent of beer drinkers are female (which is much higher than ever before). Nevertheless, beer is unquestionably being sold to men through these hypersexualized advertisements that feature your average tan, toned, and supplemented woman as a tool to reel men into the idea that this particular brand of beer will lead to the attainment of such a lady. Budweiser is a frequent user of this tactic as they plaster their insignia on the otherwise bare bodies of slender women who are either holding one of their products or laying suggestively on a life size bottle, making them appear smaller and less powerful.
Whether consciously or subconsciously, men associate the drinking of beer with what they see in commercials, billboards, and magazines. This may not only be influenced by the use of sexual appeal but also by the question of masculinity. What straight man would want to feel or be called wimpy or feminine? Beer companies use this male complex to teach men that beer is manly, especially their brand of beer. Dos Equis serves as a prime example of a company that utilizes this appeal as they employ the "Most Interesting Man in the World" appeal in which the Sean Conneryesqe man is sitting amongst beautiful women while other men sit off to the side as spectators to his social success.
Although these advertisements are blatantly directed at men, they are indirectly effective on women as well. A woman who views a Budweiser ad may feel that the drink will empower her to seem as sexy and appealing as the women used to sell the product if she consumes it herself. In a similar way, when viewing a Dos Equis ad she may desire the position of the women who are sitting next to the handsome most interesting man and to be desired by him would mean drinking his beer.
Advertisements have a strong, and often subtle effect on those who view them. They use several different types of appeals to draw the desired audience in to their product, and in the beer industry sexual and masculine appeal are key to gaining consumers.
Dos Equis Commercial:
Budweiser Advertisements:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.jesseshunting.com/photopost/data/593/motivational_3d_advertising_budweiser.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.jesseshunting.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/26382&usg=__gbb9KFa8lkrBqmQZa_2v8H90tvU=&h=480&w=600&sz=58&hl=en&start=119&zoom=1&tbnid=BN7SuMHsF8wBRM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=155&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbudweiser%2Badvertising%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D550%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C2443&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=564&vpy=104&dur=228&hovh=136&hovw=170&tx=106&ty=95&ei=NEbWTKWVCIm_nAeg5sDiCQ&oei=gUTWTPi6FoOdlgewhdmDCQ&esq=4&page=6&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:19,s:119&biw=1366&bih=550
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.inspirational-quotes-short-funny-stuff.com/images/budweiser-ads-funny-beer-ads-sexy-girl-king-of-beers.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.inspirational-quotes-short-funny-stuff.com/funny-ads.html&usg=__srZDVb179uD2Yk8SpgUYfIo9kNg=&h=349&w=465&sz=47&hl=en&start=119&zoom=1&tbnid=_yWEODWeqxLkkM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbudweiser%2Badvertising%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D550%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C2120&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=400&ei=NEbWTKWVCIm_nAeg5sDiCQ&oei=gUTWTPi6FoOdlgewhdmDCQ&esq=4&page=6&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:119&tx=85&ty=74&biw=1366&bih=550
Whether consciously or subconsciously, men associate the drinking of beer with what they see in commercials, billboards, and magazines. This may not only be influenced by the use of sexual appeal but also by the question of masculinity. What straight man would want to feel or be called wimpy or feminine? Beer companies use this male complex to teach men that beer is manly, especially their brand of beer. Dos Equis serves as a prime example of a company that utilizes this appeal as they employ the "Most Interesting Man in the World" appeal in which the Sean Conneryesqe man is sitting amongst beautiful women while other men sit off to the side as spectators to his social success.
Although these advertisements are blatantly directed at men, they are indirectly effective on women as well. A woman who views a Budweiser ad may feel that the drink will empower her to seem as sexy and appealing as the women used to sell the product if she consumes it herself. In a similar way, when viewing a Dos Equis ad she may desire the position of the women who are sitting next to the handsome most interesting man and to be desired by him would mean drinking his beer.
Advertisements have a strong, and often subtle effect on those who view them. They use several different types of appeals to draw the desired audience in to their product, and in the beer industry sexual and masculine appeal are key to gaining consumers.
Dos Equis Commercial:
Budweiser Advertisements:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.jesseshunting.com/photopost/data/593/motivational_3d_advertising_budweiser.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.jesseshunting.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/26382&usg=__gbb9KFa8lkrBqmQZa_2v8H90tvU=&h=480&w=600&sz=58&hl=en&start=119&zoom=1&tbnid=BN7SuMHsF8wBRM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=155&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbudweiser%2Badvertising%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D550%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C2443&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=564&vpy=104&dur=228&hovh=136&hovw=170&tx=106&ty=95&ei=NEbWTKWVCIm_nAeg5sDiCQ&oei=gUTWTPi6FoOdlgewhdmDCQ&esq=4&page=6&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:19,s:119&biw=1366&bih=550
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.inspirational-quotes-short-funny-stuff.com/images/budweiser-ads-funny-beer-ads-sexy-girl-king-of-beers.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.inspirational-quotes-short-funny-stuff.com/funny-ads.html&usg=__srZDVb179uD2Yk8SpgUYfIo9kNg=&h=349&w=465&sz=47&hl=en&start=119&zoom=1&tbnid=_yWEODWeqxLkkM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbudweiser%2Badvertising%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D550%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C2120&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=400&ei=NEbWTKWVCIm_nAeg5sDiCQ&oei=gUTWTPi6FoOdlgewhdmDCQ&esq=4&page=6&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:119&tx=85&ty=74&biw=1366&bih=550
Friday, October 29, 2010
The Twilight Saga: New Moon as a Three Act Structure Film
In current Hollywood the structure of film is based on a three act structure as opposed to Classical tragedy like Shakespeare's five act plays. A three act structure consists of a beginning, middle, and ending act, each consisting of mini-climaxes called plot points at the end of each act all of which lead up to the final climax that falls into the resolution and ending of the film. This structure keeps audiences on the edge of their seats as they experience such a rollercoaster of action and drama which propel into the next act and ask a question that is to be answered later by the following act.
In the second chapter of the Twilight Saga, New Moon, The Story matches a nearly perfect model of the three act structure. The first act of the film comes to a close just about thirty minutes in when Edward ends his relationship with Bella. This serves as the initial problem in the movie that will continue to go unresolved until the end but will serve as a cause of the next two plot points and as a catalyst for the story as a whole.
The second act begins as Bella suffers through months of depression and seclusion desperately waiting for Edward to appear back in her life. In an attempt to see him, she pursues dangerous acts in which she has visions of him warning her to stop being reckless. This obsession leads her to Jacob, the friend who will fall in love with her as she uses him to help her feel better. Jacob plays a major role in the second act serving as both as an aid to the audience's curiosity about who Bella will end up with and as balance to Bella's life in a different way than Edward. This act actually has two mini climaxes that play off of eachother to shift the story into the last act. The first occurs when Jacob reveals to Bella that he is a werewolf and she suddenly loses a friend. As a result Bella "recreationally" jumps from a seaside cliff in a desperate attempt to see Edward which brings psychic Alice to her doorstep.
With Alice's return Bella learns of Edward's plan to expose himself in order to be sentenced to death by the Volturi and takes off to Italy with her to stop him. The last thirty five minutes of the film is a dramatic and anxious period of will she/won't she save him from his mistake. After about fifteen minutes of racing around the world we see Bella save Edward which catapults the story into the final twenty minutes up until the end where their relationship is reconciled.
In the second chapter of the Twilight Saga, New Moon, The Story matches a nearly perfect model of the three act structure. The first act of the film comes to a close just about thirty minutes in when Edward ends his relationship with Bella. This serves as the initial problem in the movie that will continue to go unresolved until the end but will serve as a cause of the next two plot points and as a catalyst for the story as a whole.
The second act begins as Bella suffers through months of depression and seclusion desperately waiting for Edward to appear back in her life. In an attempt to see him, she pursues dangerous acts in which she has visions of him warning her to stop being reckless. This obsession leads her to Jacob, the friend who will fall in love with her as she uses him to help her feel better. Jacob plays a major role in the second act serving as both as an aid to the audience's curiosity about who Bella will end up with and as balance to Bella's life in a different way than Edward. This act actually has two mini climaxes that play off of eachother to shift the story into the last act. The first occurs when Jacob reveals to Bella that he is a werewolf and she suddenly loses a friend. As a result Bella "recreationally" jumps from a seaside cliff in a desperate attempt to see Edward which brings psychic Alice to her doorstep.
With Alice's return Bella learns of Edward's plan to expose himself in order to be sentenced to death by the Volturi and takes off to Italy with her to stop him. The last thirty five minutes of the film is a dramatic and anxious period of will she/won't she save him from his mistake. After about fifteen minutes of racing around the world we see Bella save Edward which catapults the story into the final twenty minutes up until the end where their relationship is reconciled.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Gilmore Girls: A Serial Sitcom
As discussed in Mr.Tait's lecture, a television sitcom usually falls in one of two categories: episodic or serial. Episodic shows tend to have a central theme or problem in every episode, the plot rotates around the issue until the end brings about a resolution. Each episode shows little progression or construction between each other, they simply have a common set of characters and settings but there is not a turning point within the series itself. Many cartoons serve as examples of the episodic category, for example, The Simpsons, Phineas and Ferb, and Scooby Doo each depict characters that do not grow old or come about any major changes. Since it is possible to make a cartoon character remain twelve years old for a decade, creating this sort of story line is not such a difficult feat. On the other end there is the serial category that depicts an ever advancing plot with characters who grow and change when presented with issues, unlike their episodic counterparts who go back to an auto state of being at the beginning of every episode. This type of T.V. show is not so predictable or lesson centered, but rather complex and constructive. Many dramas on television today illustrate this concept very well, for example the medical drama House, Desperate Housewives, and Grey's Anatomy. There are also several shows which could fall into both categories, namely The Big Bang Theory, Friends, and The Fresh Prince of Bellaire. While they all have episodes which have a central issue or theme, it would be quite difficult to watch one episode for the first time and understand everything that is taking place because there are also deep running story lines that may go on for seasons. For example, Penny and Leonard's strange relationship in The Big Bang Theory and the infamous Ross and Rachel "will they, won't they" dilemma in Friends. The plus side for each category is this, if you want to simply sit and enjoy a show that you have never seen before without feeling lost or confused and episodic type is perfect. But when you want to pencil in a show to follow at a specific time every week and become partially obsessed with the ever changing and oh so interesting drama that unrealistically consumes the lives of the poor people of that show then a serial type is perfect! We all have our interests and preferences when it comes to how we spend our time, the good part is that we have a plethora of options to choose from and numerous amounts of real and fiction lives to follow weekly.
The show that I followed daily when it was still being shot was Gilmore Girls, on of my favorite T.V. shows of all time. Gilmore Girls took place in Connecticut in a tiny colonial town named Stars Hollow and it followed the lives of Lorelei and Rory Gilmore, a single mother and her teenage daughter. The show starts roughly when Rory is 16 and goes on until she is about to graduate from Yale University. This is a prime example of a serial sitcom. If someone were to sit down and watch an episode without ever having seen it before they would more than likely find themselves quite lost and maybe even a little irritated by the witty and constant banter between the mother and daughter. While each episode has a certain issue addressed, they build off of each other rapidly and thoroughly in and out of every relationship and conflict amongst the Gilmore family.
Season Seven Promo of Gilmore Girls:
The show that I followed daily when it was still being shot was Gilmore Girls, on of my favorite T.V. shows of all time. Gilmore Girls took place in Connecticut in a tiny colonial town named Stars Hollow and it followed the lives of Lorelei and Rory Gilmore, a single mother and her teenage daughter. The show starts roughly when Rory is 16 and goes on until she is about to graduate from Yale University. This is a prime example of a serial sitcom. If someone were to sit down and watch an episode without ever having seen it before they would more than likely find themselves quite lost and maybe even a little irritated by the witty and constant banter between the mother and daughter. While each episode has a certain issue addressed, they build off of each other rapidly and thoroughly in and out of every relationship and conflict amongst the Gilmore family.
Season Seven Promo of Gilmore Girls:
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Pride and Prejudice Shots
In my favorite film of all time, Pride and Prejudice, the director uses several different types of shots to display the feelings of the character in that particular scene. As the director chooses angles and shots he must foretell the feelings that they will invoke in the viewers and how they will affect the way that others see the movie as a whole. In this film, the relationship between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy is communicated through the eye of the camera as it shoots from different types of angles.
For example, here in this scene Darcy invites Elizabeth to dance, almost every frame is a medium shot of the couple as they move around with the others. The camera stays firmly on Elizabeth's or Mr.Darcy's s emphasizing their intimacy as they squabble over their shared prejudices. As the camera shifts form each of their faces to mirror their dialogue it also spins in a circle above and around them creating a very chaotic mood of blunt disagreement.This technique allows the viewer to feel the tension and frustration that each of the characters in the film are experiencing.
In the closing scene of the film, we see Elizabeth and Darcy after they have been married. The camera begins in a long shot with a view of their mansion. Quickly the frame is shifted to a medium view of them sitting together on a large porch under the night sky. As they continue into their intimate and loving speech the camera inches forward as the audience peeks in on what would be a very private moment between the newlyweds until finally the camera reaches a close up as they finally kiss for the first time in the entire movie.
The film Pride and Prejudice serves as a great example of each of the different shots to convey the emotions of the characters to the viewer. Not only would you find Long Shot, Medium Shot, and Close Up in this movie, but also integrations of each and scenes that use only one for several minutes. As an effect each scene conveys key elements of the movie and piece it together as a whole, fluent work. Through the eye of the camera's lens we see Elizabeth and Darcy grow together as a couple from the beginning where they lay a rocky foundation of discord and pride, to the end where we see their love that breaks through the preconceived notions.
For example, here in this scene Darcy invites Elizabeth to dance, almost every frame is a medium shot of the couple as they move around with the others. The camera stays firmly on Elizabeth's or Mr.Darcy's s emphasizing their intimacy as they squabble over their shared prejudices. As the camera shifts form each of their faces to mirror their dialogue it also spins in a circle above and around them creating a very chaotic mood of blunt disagreement.This technique allows the viewer to feel the tension and frustration that each of the characters in the film are experiencing.
In the closing scene of the film, we see Elizabeth and Darcy after they have been married. The camera begins in a long shot with a view of their mansion. Quickly the frame is shifted to a medium view of them sitting together on a large porch under the night sky. As they continue into their intimate and loving speech the camera inches forward as the audience peeks in on what would be a very private moment between the newlyweds until finally the camera reaches a close up as they finally kiss for the first time in the entire movie.
The film Pride and Prejudice serves as a great example of each of the different shots to convey the emotions of the characters to the viewer. Not only would you find Long Shot, Medium Shot, and Close Up in this movie, but also integrations of each and scenes that use only one for several minutes. As an effect each scene conveys key elements of the movie and piece it together as a whole, fluent work. Through the eye of the camera's lens we see Elizabeth and Darcy grow together as a couple from the beginning where they lay a rocky foundation of discord and pride, to the end where we see their love that breaks through the preconceived notions.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Vetical Integration as a Power
When it comes to the functionality and system of the film studio network, I find that the vertical integration practice is one of great power.This system consists of a company that owns or contracts every level of the production of a film, its producers, directors, actors, studios, theaters, etc. With this type of film production a company is enabled to control much of the processes that go into the making of a film, they can decide what ideas and people are used and make decisions without consulting another company. They were even able to sell the productions that were considered B-films to smaller theaters, making money using a movie that otherwise may not have been very successful.
At the dawn of the vertical filming industry were five companies referred to as the "Big Five" because of the power that they held in the public domain of movie viewers.These companies were Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, MGM, Paramount, and RKO. Their role in Hollywood during this time was very prominent as the made and released some of the most treasured films of all time. Such as MGM's The Wizard of Oz, Warner Bros.' The Jazz Singer, and 20th Century Fox's The Sound of Music.
One of the ways in which a company could display their authority was by contracting certain actresses and actors to their studios alone, therefore making them the face that the public saw. Oftentimes this face was associated with a specific genre or type of film which in turn served as a link to the audience that represented a company as normally producing a certain type of film. For example, Warner Bros. made a name for themselves as a tradition of "urban crime films' with the help of Humphry Bogart. Also, under MGM studios performers such as Judy Garland, who was expected to sing in her films, and Gene Kelly, who as expected to dance, served as mediums that inform viewers of what to expect when they went to see a MGM film.
Studios that were vertically integrated found much freedom in using their stars to further their success and broaden their audiences. For example, Judy Garland was consistently used to introduce new and up coming actors. Being a very iconic and popular figure in their industry, she drew audiences into the theaters and aided in the rising of new stars such as Gene Kelly whom she serenaded in For Me and My Gal.
The vertical integration system was a major part of the "Golden Age in Film". This period of time includes the 1920's through the 1960's and is epitomized by the vertically assembled companies that made up "Classical Hollywood". This era serves as the foundation for what is the film industry today, it laid the groundwork for the cultures and practices within the movie culture that exists now. The roles of actresses and actors such as Judy Garland and Humphry Bogart were the innovators of screen genres, they repeatedly acted in films that fit the cinematic genetic makeup that defined them to their audience, much like many do today. For example, Adam Sandler and Kristen Bell tend to make comedies and Samuel L. Jackson and Helen Mirren are often seen in dramas.
Vertical integration within film corporations provide an atmosphere of power within the public film culture. Many abilities and much authority accompanies this system as companies have the privilege to contract and practically control the climate of their own company, all the while using their own actors and actresses to promote others. I think that this system is a very important aspect of the film industry as it affected the production of films then and now.
A picture of MGM actress Judy Garland.
A picture of Humphry Bogart.
At the dawn of the vertical filming industry were five companies referred to as the "Big Five" because of the power that they held in the public domain of movie viewers.These companies were Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, MGM, Paramount, and RKO. Their role in Hollywood during this time was very prominent as the made and released some of the most treasured films of all time. Such as MGM's The Wizard of Oz, Warner Bros.' The Jazz Singer, and 20th Century Fox's The Sound of Music.
One of the ways in which a company could display their authority was by contracting certain actresses and actors to their studios alone, therefore making them the face that the public saw. Oftentimes this face was associated with a specific genre or type of film which in turn served as a link to the audience that represented a company as normally producing a certain type of film. For example, Warner Bros. made a name for themselves as a tradition of "urban crime films' with the help of Humphry Bogart. Also, under MGM studios performers such as Judy Garland, who was expected to sing in her films, and Gene Kelly, who as expected to dance, served as mediums that inform viewers of what to expect when they went to see a MGM film.
Studios that were vertically integrated found much freedom in using their stars to further their success and broaden their audiences. For example, Judy Garland was consistently used to introduce new and up coming actors. Being a very iconic and popular figure in their industry, she drew audiences into the theaters and aided in the rising of new stars such as Gene Kelly whom she serenaded in For Me and My Gal.
The vertical integration system was a major part of the "Golden Age in Film". This period of time includes the 1920's through the 1960's and is epitomized by the vertically assembled companies that made up "Classical Hollywood". This era serves as the foundation for what is the film industry today, it laid the groundwork for the cultures and practices within the movie culture that exists now. The roles of actresses and actors such as Judy Garland and Humphry Bogart were the innovators of screen genres, they repeatedly acted in films that fit the cinematic genetic makeup that defined them to their audience, much like many do today. For example, Adam Sandler and Kristen Bell tend to make comedies and Samuel L. Jackson and Helen Mirren are often seen in dramas.
Vertical integration within film corporations provide an atmosphere of power within the public film culture. Many abilities and much authority accompanies this system as companies have the privilege to contract and practically control the climate of their own company, all the while using their own actors and actresses to promote others. I think that this system is a very important aspect of the film industry as it affected the production of films then and now.
A picture of MGM actress Judy Garland.
A picture of Humphry Bogart.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)