1. Chapter 6
Movies and the
Impact of Images

2. Technology at the Movies
“Watching Avatar, I felt sort of the
same as when I saw Star Wars in
1977. That was another movie I
walked into with uncertain
expectations…. Avatar is not
simply a sensational
entertainment, although it is that.
It’s a technical breakthrough.”
—Roger Ebert

3. Early Technology and the
Evolution of Movies
• In 1889 Goodwin invented celluloid.
• Bought by Eastman
• Edison patented kinetoscope and vitascope.

4. Early Technology and the
Evolution of Movies
• Méliès made the earliest narrative films.
• Nickelodeons
• Silent films, “shorts”
• Popular with new immigrants—images crossed language
barriers.

5. The Rise of the Hollywood Studio
System
• Edison’s Trust: Cartel of major U.S. and French
producers
• Exclusive deal with Eastman
• Zukor formed the Famous Players Company.
• Mary Pickford broke off to form United Artists.
• The studio system (1920s) controlled creative talent.

6. The Rise of the Hollywood Studio
System (cont.)
• Zukor’s block booking
• Exhibitors forced to rent new or marginal films along with popular
films
• Zukor and Fox defeated the Trust
• Dominated industry through vertical integration
• Oligopoly:
• Big Five – Paramount, MDM, Warner Brothers, Twentieth
Century Fox, RKO
• Little Three – (did not own theaters) Columbia, Universal,
and United Artists

7. The Studio System’s Golden
Age
• Blockbusters
• The Birth of a Nation (1915) is considered the first.
• Talkies
• 1927 Warner Brothers’ film The Jazz Singer
• Fox studio’s newsreels
• Movietone captured first film footage with sound of the takeoff
and return of Charles Lindbergh.

8. The Development of Hollywood Style
• Hollywood narrative:
• Character
• Beginning, middle and end
• Plot
• Resolving conflict
• Genres include:
• Action/Adventure
• Comedy
• Drama
• Fantasy/Science Fiction
• Film Noir
• Horror
• Musicals
• Westerns

9. The Development of Hollywood Style
(cont.)
• Hollywood “auteurs”
• Directors develop a particular style or interest.
• Stemmed from Dennis Hopper’s Easy Rider and George
Lucas’s American Graffiti
• New Wave of directors: E.g. Francis Ford Coppola, Martin
Scorsese, Steven Spielberg
• Female directors, minorities receive few opportunities.

10. Outside the Hollywood System
• Global cinema
• Did well in 1920s and 1950s–1960s
• Losing ground as they compete with American indies
• The documentary tradition
• Cinema verité
• Recent resurgence in documentary filmmaking
• Rise of indies
• Independent film festivals important for discovering new talent

11. The Transformation of the
Studio System
• The Hollywood Ten
• Investigations of alleged subversive and communist ties
• Led by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
• Blacklisted and boycotted by major studios
• Paramount decision - 1948
• Major studios forced to end vertical integration

12. 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

13. Hollywood Adapts to Home
Entertainment
• Introduction of cable and videocassettes in
1970s changed movie exhibition.
• Video market was a financial bonanza for
movie industry.
• Now video rental market is declining, due to
Netflix and Internet downloading/streaming.

14. The Economics of the Movie
Business
• 1.42 billion movie tickets sold in 2009
• 2009 gross box office revenues = $10.6 billion
• Sales and rental business still produces more
revenue: $20 billion.
• Movie business revamped its production, distribution,
and exhibition system and consolidated its
ownership to survive.

15. Figure 6.1
Gross Revenues from Box-Office Sales,
1908–2009

16. The Economics of the Movie
Business (cont.)
• In the 1970s, suburban moviegoers made
hits of Jaws (1975) and Star Wars (1977).
• Studios devised strategies to create future
blockbusters.
• Studios need a couple of major hits each
year to offset costs of other films.
• 80–90% of films fail at box office.

17. Figure 6.2
Top Movie Theater Chains in North America

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

19. Figure 6.3
Market Share of U.S. Film Studios and
Distributors, 2009 (in $Millions)

20. What Disney Owns
Movies Publishing – A&E Television Networks
• Walt Disney Pictures • Disney Publishing • ESPN, Inc. (80 percent)
– Walt Disney Animation Worldwide • ABC-owned television
Studios • ESPN The Magazine stations (10)
– Pixar Animation Studios • Marvel Entertainment
– Touchstone Pictures • Wondertime magazine Internet/Mobile Content
– Hollywood Pictures • FamilyFun magazine • The Walt Disney Internet
• Walt Disney Studios Motion Group
Pictures International Television/Radio – Disney.com
• Walt Disney Studios Home • Disney-ABC Television – ESPN360.com
Entertainment Group – ESPN Mobile Properties
– ABC – mDisney mobile
Music – ABC News – Club Penguin
• Disney Music Group – ABC Family
– Walt Disney Records – ABC Studios Disney Parks and Resorts
– Hollywood Records – Disney Channel • Disneyland Resorts and
– Lyric Street Records Worldwide Parks (5 locations)
– Lifetime Entertainment • Disney Cruise Line
Services • Adventures by Disney

21. Convergence: Movies Adjust to the
Internet Age
• Movie industry worked to embrace digital
downloads.
• Netflix, Amazon.com, Hulu, and YouTube all
offer digital movie rentals.
• Internet also an essential tool for movie
marketing
How often do you download or stream movies
online?

22. Alternative Voices
• Digital video:
• Cheaper and more accessible than standard film equipment
• Films can be made for much less money.
• Same format as DVDs and Internet video, so films can be
distributed online easily

23. Popular Movies and Democracy
• 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?