cinema 7B

1895

1895

Radio experimental

1915

Mutual Decision- “a business pure and simple”

1920

-Radio commercial (music,news,some sponsored programs

-TV experimental

1922

MPAA was created

1930

MPAA est production code

1930-1960

Golden Age/Old Hollywood

1931

Radio- every home in the U.S. had at least 1

1934

Began enforcing production code against studios

1948

Paramount antitrust consent decree

-studios relinquished exhibition

1950-1960

-The rise of independents

-Commercial video machines were being used by most TV production companies

1952

Miracle decision- “a significant medium for the communications of ideas”

1955

TV- every home in the U.S. had at least 1

1960

ignored production code

1967

“Bonnie and Clyde”

1969

“Easy Rider”

1970

New Hollywood/Film School Era

1971-1989

HBO ownership- sterling communications

1972

Cable TV-HBO launched

1974

-”The conversation”

-”Chinatown”

1975

The first consumer VCR’s

1976-2008

VCR era

1979

“Apocalypse Now”

1984

The Betamax Case

1989-2016

HBO ownership- Time Warner

1995/1996

DVD

2006-2008

HD DVD and Blue-ray disc “format wars”

2010

Cable TV was at its height

2016-present

HBO ownership- AT&T

2020

Half the DVD market is HD media

Who co-wrote and directed “Double Indemnity” (1944)

Billy Wilder

Under the 1948 Paramount Antitrust Consent Decree, what did the Studios relinquish?

The Studios relinquished exhibition (but kept production and distribution)

Are films protected as free speech under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution?

Yes!  Although the Supreme Court in 1915 did rule that film was mere commerce and not protected as free speech (see, Mutual Film Corp. v. Industrial Commission of Ohio), that changed with the “Miracle Decision” in 1952. In Roberto Rosselini’s lawsuit over his short film, “The Miracle,” the Supreme Court reversed itself and found that film is protected under the First Amendment as expressive speech (see, Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson).

Who was Dalton Trumbo?

Dalton Trumbo (1905-1976) was an American screenwriter who was “blacklisted” for refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947 and was one of the Hollywood Ten accused of being a Communist during the Red Scare of the 1950s.   His uncredited writing won two Academy Awards --- Roman Holiday (1953) and The Brave One (1956).

When and why did the Studios create the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America)?

The MPAA was created in 1922 (then, the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America or MPPDA), in an effort by the movie studios to self-regulate their content and avoid governmental regulation from Congress.  At the time, there were hundreds of Bills pending before Congress for governmental regulation of the (moral) content of movies.  In 1930, the MPAA established the Production Code, and in 1934 begin enforcing it against the Studios.

By the 1960s, though, the Production Code became largely ignored, and the MPAA was relegated to providing movie ratings for films.

When and why did the Studio System lose power and end?

Studio power slipped away by the 1960s for several reasons, including:

• Production Code censorship under the Hayes Commission

• The rise of Unions

• The government Antitrust Action and the 1948 Consent Decree, which forced the Studios to relinquish theatrical exhibition

• The Olivia de Havilland case, which broke the Studio’s contractual hold on stars

• The rise of Television

• The rise of foreign films and independent film that did not have to comply with the MPAA Production Code

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Define mise-en-scѐne and discuss its four (4) major categories using examples from each of the films viewed in this course.

Mise en scène, in literal translation from the French, means "putting on stage."  The term originated in the theater, where all the action is on stage.  In film, the world is whatever is captured within the frame of the camera.  In film, mise en scène refers to all elements that comprise a single shot, i.e. what's in the frame of the screen.  Elements that contribute to and comprise the mise en scène of a single shot include

-setting the stage

-costume, hair, and makeup

-blocking

-lights/lighting