The Birth of an American Industry

Major Global Events (1908–1920)

• 1908: The Tunguska Event
  • Occurred in Siberia as a massive explosion.
  • The suspected cause was a meteor or comet impact.
  • Devastated an area exceeding $2,000\,km^2$.
• 1909: Founding of the NAACP
  • Established on February $12$, $1909$.
  • The primary mission was to combat racial injustice within the United States.
• 1912: Sinking of the RMS Titanic
  • The vessel sank during its maiden voyage after colliding with an iceberg in the North Atlantic.
• 1914: Outbreak of World War I
  • Triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, resulting in widespread European turmoil.
• 1915: Armenian Genocide
  • Began within the Ottoman Empire.
  • Resulted in the deaths of over $1,500,000$ Armenians.
• 1917: Russian Revolution
  • Led to the overthrow of the Tsar and the subsequent formation of the Soviet Union.
• 1918: Spanish Flu Pandemic
  • The pandemic infected approximately $\frac{1}{3}$ of the global population, leading to massive global fatalities.
• 1919: Treaty of Versailles
  • Formally ended World War I and imposed significant financial reparations on Germany.
• 1919: Paris Peace Conference
  • Formation of the League of Nations as an international body.
• 1920: 19th Amendment to the US Constitution
  • Granted women the right to vote in the United States.
• 1920: Treaty of Svres
  • Signed to dismantle the Ottoman Empire and establish new states within the Middle East.

Evolution of the American Film Industry (1908–1920)

• The Rise of Hollywood
  • Hollywood emerged as the global center for film production for several reasons:
    • Favorable weather and climate for year-round shooting.
    • Highly diverse landscapes.
    • Close proximity to both rural and urban filming locations.
• Technological Revolutions
  • Introduction of synchronized sound (sound in films).
  • Development of color cinematography.
  • Advancements in film stock quality.
• The Advent of Feature-Length Films
  • The year $1912$ saw the release of several significant features: Oliver Twist, From the Manger to the Cross, Cleopatra, and Richard III.
  • The most notable example of the era was D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation in $1915$.
• Genre Development
  • Specific forms began to solidify, including westerns, serials, comedies, and silent dramas.
• Global Recognition
  • American cinema gained international prominence with global screenings of The Great Train Robbery ($1903$) and The Birth of a Nation ($1915$).
• Audience Expansion
  • Cinema became a popular pastime across all social classes.
  • Sparked the construction of elaborate theaters and "movie palaces" across the U.S.

D.W. Griffith: Techniques and Contributions

• Personal Background
  • Born in $1875$ in Crestwood, Kentucky.
  • Originally a stage actor, he was initially hostile toward the medium of cinema.
• Early Work
  • Recognized the potential of the medium by studying the techniques of Edwin S. Porter, Alice Guy-Blach, and Georges Mlis.
  • Directed his first short film, The Adventures of Dollie, in $1908$.
  • Directed approximately $450$ short films between $1908$ and $1913$.
• Artistic Style
  • Influenced heavily by Victorian drama and literature, which made his work popular with the general public.
  • While he claimed to be the sole inventor of cinematic grammar, he was actually an innovator who refined existing techniques.
• Cinematic Innovations
  • Enhanced speed and pacing of films.
  • Refined the use of close-ups.
  • Developed cross-cutting to build suspense.
  • Used fade-outs to indicate the passage of time.

The Birth of a Nation (1915)

• Overview
  • A sweeping epic focusing on the American South during the Civil War and the Reconstruction era.
  • Centered on the creation of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).
• Racial Portrayal and Controversy
  • The film utilized white actors in blackface to portray black characters.
  • Black characters were depicted as violent, unintelligent, and sexually aggressive toward white women.
  • The KKK was portrayed as a heroic force necessary for preserving white supremacy and American values.
• Production Details
  • Release Date: March $3$, $1915$.
  • Budget: Roughly $\$110,000$.
  • Runtime: Ranges from $133$ to $193$ minutes.
  • Cast and Crew: Estimated in the hundreds.
• Financial and Cultural Impact
  • Earned approximately $\$18,000,000$ by $1921$.
  • Viewed by nearly $200,000,000$ Americans by $1946$.
  • Woodrow Wilson famously remarked: ‐It is like writing history with lighting, and my one regret is that it is all so terribly true.‑

Lois Weber: Social Activism and Film Realism

• Biography
  • Born in $1881$ in Allegheny, Pennsylvania.
  • Child prodigy concert pianist until age $17$.
  • Social activist who began her film career writing at Gaumont before directing.
• Pioneering Achievements
  • Became one of the highest-paid directors in the film industry.
  • One of the first American women to direct a feature film (The Merchant of Venice, $1914$, $1914$).
  • Founded her own production company, Lois Weber Production, in $1917$.
• Themes and Stylistic Choices
  • Focused on women’s challenges; her film Where Are My Children? ($1916$) centered on the topic of birth control.
  • Emphasized realism in filmmaking.
  • Utilized natural-source lighting for outdoor scenes.
  • Used actual physical locations rather than studio sets for establishing shots.
  • Experimented with color tints (red, yellow, blue, and green).

Industry Control: Carl Laemmle and the MPPC

• Carl Laemmle
  • German-American producer and founder of Universal Pictures.
  • Active opponent of Thomas Edison and the Motion Picture Patents Company (MPPC).
• Innovations in Business
  • Introduced the film exchange system, allowing exhibitors to "rent" rather than buy films.
  • Created the "star system" by luring actress Florence Lawrence from Edison with the promise of screen credits and "name billing."
• Legal Rulings
  • In $1915$, courts ruled that the MPPC was an illegal monopoly.
• The Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)
  • A landmark law prohibiting businesses from merging or colluding to form monopolies.
  • Prevented entities from manipulating, controlling, or dictating prices in a specific market.

The Comedy Legends: Mack Sennett and Cecil B. DeMille

• Mack Sennett
  • Founder of the Keystone Film Company and inventor of the Keystone Kops troupes.
  • Hired Charlie Chaplin in $1913$.
  • Genre Characteristics: Emphasized slapstick and physical humor over narrative subtlety. Notable for pie fights, spectacular stunts, car crashes, and wild chases.
• Cecil B. DeMille
  • Known as an energetic showman.
  • Pioneered the use of the camera crane.
  • Famous for elaborate special effects and large-scale sets.
  • Thematic Formula: His films often pushed boundaries of "modesty" with spectacles of sex and sin, but always concluded with an adherence to an absolute moral code.

Oscar Micheaux: Independent Black Cinema

• Background
  • Born in $1884$ in Metropolis, Illinois.
  • Considered the most prolific independent producer in history.
  • Began his career as a novelist.
• Filmography and Production
  • Produced $20$ silent films on extremely low budgets.
  • Wrote scripts, casted talent from cabarets and music halls, and filmed in friends' homes or on makeshift sets.
• Key Works
  • The Homesteader ($1919$): His first feature, adapted from his second novel.
  • Within Our Gates ($1920$): Created as a direct response to the racism of The Birth of a Nation.
• Representation of Black Life
  • Rejected contemporary stereotypes of African Americans.
  • Portrayed Black individuals as rich, cultured, and educated, while also acknowledging impoverished communities.
  • Renowned for his determination to complete films despite severe budget limitations.