How Have Films Changed Over Time Essay

Film has radically changed during the course of history. These changes can be linked to the effects of America’s historical, social, and technological advancements. Throughout film’s evolution in story, design, and production, there remains some constants. Form and content has changed dramatically in movies. The content of film has increased in variation, as over time freedom for the screen grew as regulations became more relaxed. The film’s form has constantly been improved over time to present the best possible picture on screen. The American film industry is the same as any other business, it has grown each year and adapted to culture shifts. This resulted in generous improvement of Hollywood films, as well as recessions in the industry. The beginning of film began in the late 1800s when capturing still images in quick succession soon turned into movies. The famous Lumiere brothers created the first hand-cranked machine called the “Cinematographe” that captured still pictures so it showed …show more content…
The war made America more divisive than ever, and Americans were frustrated and unhappy with the government and society. This created the counterculture, which was a common theme among youth. Traditional values and norms were being broken and many educated men and women went into political activism and antiwar protest. This was also in support behind the civil rights movement. They challenged old fashioned beliefs held by the average person and strayed from mainstream society and culture. Examples of counterculture would be the hippie movement during the 1960s, feminism, and the green movement. Filmmakers were inspired by the counterculture in America and took greater risk in making films that featured content such as sex and violence after the restriction changes in film. One example of a youth based film is George Lucas’s 1973 coming of age picture American