Do you ever wonder where all the noise behind the Roaring 20s came from? Entertainment was a huge part of the 1920s and played a crucial role in the society’s recovery from World War 1 and the reshaping of a more modern lifestyle. Some of the different types of entertainment in the 1920s were sports, movies, literature, dancing, and music. As a whole, many would say that the Jazz Age or Babe Ruth had the most influence on American entertainment today, but I believe that the evolvement in the 1920s is a major reason why movies are currently one of the top types of entertainment in the United States.
Films were a vital part of the entertainment in the 1920s, ranking as the decade with the greatest film output in the history of the United States
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The studio system within the film industry consisted of long term contracts for actors which gave more control to studios and less control to directors. Over time, Warner Bro’s, Famous Players, RKO Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Fox Film Corporation became known as “The Big Five”. These film studios were so successful because of vertical integration, which meant combining stages of production, distribution, and exhibition under one company instead of several companies. Each of these studios also owned smaller, local theaters. Together, they were responsible for forty-five percent of film-rental revenue. Several others; Universal Pictures, United Artists, and Columbia Pictures, nicknamed “The Little Three”, added additional movie sales, but were not as successful because they lacked one of the three stages of the vertical integration.
In order to keep up with the increasing production of films, film studios had to increase the amount of movie theaters. Tons of theaters were built. Most of them were so grand that they acquired the nickname, “picture palaces.” In the 1920s, more than twenty thousand movie houses were operating, most of which were designed to hold an orchestra and around three thousand people. In 1927, Roxy Theater, the largest theater in the world opened at a cost of ten million dollars. Going to the movies was such a thrilling experience that most Americans went to a least one movie a week.
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The genres ranged from melodramas to horror to romance to crime and war to comedy to mystery. A couple of the more popular dramas were Metropolis, Greed, and Pandora’s Box. Some of the different styles of films that came about during the 1920s were cartoons, musicals, and documentaries. Walt Disney produced their first cartoon in 1927 and Mickey Mouse debuted in Plane Crazy a year later. Walt Disney also produced Steamboat Willie, the first synchronized sound cartoon. The first documentary, “Nanook of the Noah,” was produced in 1922. Meanwhile, the 1920s were the prime years for Broadway. Over fifty new musicals opened each year, including Sally by Jerome Kern and No, No, Nanette by Vincent Youmans. (Scott)
However, the rise in popularity of films in the 1920s would not have been possible without the actors. Some of the most famous actors at the time, and still known today, include Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and Louise Brooks. Charlie Chaplin was known for his great comedy during the silent movie era, along with his talent in directing and composing. His talent, on and off the camera, was seen in Modern Times, The Kid, and The Great Dictator. Another one of his movies, Gold Rush, received an Oscar for Best Sound
What made theater such huge success was not only the iconic actors and actresses but the directors that are working behind the scenes. They have created an atmosphere where people can escape their problems. The cinema was a place to socialize, where people would go on dates, people would bring family, and go out with friends. Still to this day movie theaters are a huge place of gathering for both young and old and none of this would be true if it wasn't for iconic directors like Howard Hawks. Sergeant York (1941) was his biggest box office hit, gaining 8.3 million USD (Howard Hawks Movies: Ultimate Movie Rankings, 2018).
The Roaring Twenties The Roaring Twenties were a time of celebration for many Canadians. Canadians were enjoying the improvements of the decade. To begin, Canada’s economy grew rapidly after the end of World War I. Secondly, Canadians had a lot of free time towards entertainment.
As the popularity of movies rose into the 1920s and 1930s, systems were put into place to help regulate the films being produced by each of the major studios. This initial regulation system became known as “the studio system”. The studio system was a strategy employed by the eight major studios to better regulate their businesses in order to help protect them from any potential risks or setbacks during production. During the Golden Age of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s, the active film production companies were categorized into four classifications: major studios, minor studios, “B” (Poverty Row) studios, and independent producers.
Although New York City was the center of the American film industry and the source of many innovative commercial practices, nickelodeons did not appear there first. Rather, the nickelodeon phenomenon began in urban, industrial cities of the Midwest like Pittsburgh and Chicago. The rapid increase of specialized storefront moving-picture theatres—commonly known as Nickelodeons, “electric theaters," and "theatoriums" created a revolution in screen entertainment. This would have altered the nature of spectatorship and precipitate fundamental shifts in representation.
The historgraphy of 1920s’s many historians either to criticize or to praise the decade. The decade itself is change in American history but tracing the shifting of cultural, political and economic changes. many historians praise the Roaring twenties, because it pulled America out of postwar catastrophe with a new cultural change thus creating new civilization. The roaring twenties was built upon technology, efficient cause of high wages, private business, birth of new women as Thomas Nixon carver defend the decade by saying it is innovation that brought in cultural revolution “Roaring Twenties”, This decade of time has brought change in lifestyle, financial, technology and culture. Political changes helped roaring twenties , Preston w. Slosson observe for the History of American Life came to new conclusion on the decade by stating "Often in history the acid test of wealth has been applied to a
Though they were not vertically integrated, they had access to the majors’ first-run theatres (Hayward 367). Major companies had virtual monopoly over the film industry and acquired huge profits in relation to huge costs during 1920s. To overcome the mounting coasts due to vertical integration and to the advent of sound (1927), studios came under the control of bankers and businessmen. Economic considerations and artistic ones became a consideration for
Following world war II, the relationship between the film industries and the federal government quickly diminished due to the monopolies the film industries had on the theater system. Owning a majority of the
A truly unique American mass culture saw its creation in the 1920’s where radio shows and movies could be shared all over the country and more Americans were living in cities than ever before. The creation of mass culture in America could be seen as a side effect of all of these new technologies and societal differences that took place in the 20s. Time space compression also had a large effect on mass culture as well. In the 20s because of the creation of new technologies. people could now communicate throughout the country and develop their own similar culture.
According to the American Film Institute (1997 list) seven of the top ten films of all time were produced during the Hollywood studio era that took place between the 1920’s to the mid 1950’s. These are impressive numbers considering that America’s film history goes back more than one hundred years. Why do so many of America’s greatest films come from this era? Why is this time period called the golden age of Hollywood? The reason is the Hollywood studio system is the best method ever developed for making quality film and no other system has been able to produce as many quality films in such a short time.
The 1920's should be remembered as a cynical but carefree time of jazz, gin, and socioeconomic prosperity. Modern cultural norms were drastically affected during this period. Numerous technological innovations evolved, and mass production of technology plagued the United States, ultimately benefiting, and negatively affecting economic, social, and political gestures. Whereas the telephone and radio had already been invented, they became of popular use during the early 20th century, both of which were used to positively alter the entertainment industry. Phonograph technology saw rise during this period, which allowed musicians (such as jazz instrumentalists, whose study is primarily based on improvisation techniques) to produce phonograph recordings
This development happened towards the end of the Great Depression when Americans were starting to get back on their feet at the start of World War II, creating an economic boom. Producers of motion pictures started to see the revenue films were bringing in unlike plays which needed the actors to preform every time and could only be seen at one place. On the other hand, films needed actors for one recording, could be mass produced, and distributed across the
The period of time between 1927 and 1949 are fondly referred to as “The Golden Age of Hollywood” beginning with the introduction of sound to film, and ending with the 1948 Supreme Court ruling regarding the hearing under antitrust laws. The Golden Age was a wonderful and very profitable time for the major studio executives. The studio system was designed very similarly to that of an automotive assembly line for a major automotive company such as Ford or Chevrolet. Everything was done on the lot, from the planning of the movie, to the writing, the shooting of the scenes, editing, and even the canning of the film for distribution to the studio owned movie theaters.
Throughout the 19th century, the increase in immigrants entering the United States created a diverse culture and American population. There was no singular consumption for the masses, and so, institutions such as live theater and local grocery stores were reflective of local culture and the communities in which they were located. At the turn of the 20th century, there was a push away from this towards a more homogeneous “American” culture. Thus, live action theaters diverse in their production style and the language they were performed in, were replaced by the motion picture which created a simple, universal, and visual way to stimulate any audience. The introduction of movies in the 20th century allowed for unity as all consumers could enjoy
Why did Hollywood become the dominant film industry with audiences inside and outside America by the end of the 1930s? Hollywood became the dominant film industry with audiences inside and outside America by the end of the 1930’s due to the implications of World War II Hollywood rose to become the dominant film industry with audiences inside and outside America by the end of the 1930’s due to the implications caused by World War II. The Hollywood era of the 1930’s, which is also known as the Golden Age, was filled with great benefits for the film studios of Hollywood. The main factors that, enabled Hollywood to become the dominant film industry by the end of the 1930’s included a combination of factors including: the rise of the five major studios, the Great Depression, and technological developments.
Movie industry consist of different types of firms throughout the product value chain. This market includes: famous movie studios such as Walt Disney and Colombia pictures, independent production companies like Sony pictures entertainment and Warner Bros pictures, independent distributions such as 20th Century Fox, and major national exhibitions such as Cinemark and AMC. In the United States each part of value chain in the movie industry is separate and integration between distributor and exhibition is not allowed. “Vertical integration between distributors and exhibitors is prohibited under the 1948 United States v. Paramount Pictures decree.”