Classical Hollywood cinema

The golden legacy of Hollywood birthed such a strong approach to narrative and visual storytelling that it went on to become one of the most dominant styles of filmmaking worldwide. Hollywood’s foundation, however, was contaminated with a strain of racism from the beginning with one of its initial major films, D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation. With the discriminatory portrayal of African Americans, this Hollywood product would become a significant influence of discussion and mindset for…

America as a dominant and thriving country. As much of Europe was in distress during World War One, the United States’ decision to stay neutral until the brink of the war (in 1917) allowed room for the American film industry to creatively expand cinema through propaganda films, short films, and newsreels. The idea of transferring propaganda posters onto the screen was an important move in order to integrate, “the fabric of American life by proving entertainment, information,…

“The Birth of a Nation” by D.W. Griffith was the first blockbuster film in American history. It was an amazing feat of cinema and nailed its place in history. However, while “The Birth of a Nation” boasts these achievements it is without question one of the most racist movies of all time. This movie not only show glorifies the Ku Klux Klan as heroes of America, but also shows the misrepresentation of black people and the role that black people will have in films. Looking back at the time the…

Recently, there has been a dramatic increase in the portrayal of lesbian women, relationships and communities prominent within media culture. Yet increasingly so, the same types of lesbian women and relationships are repeatedly shown. Certain systems and structures of power have regulated the way gayness and lesbianism are viewed and thus seen while media has the tendency to naturalize these stereotypes and assumptions. As the prominence of lesbians’ figures in media has risen, it seems that the…

Isaiah Isaacson During the early 1900’s, the relatively new concept of film was emerging as one of the most popular forms of entertainment. As more and more improvements were made to the motion picture camera filmmakers were able to begin exploring the realm of creative possibilities they could achieve. Two notable films that that did this are Dziga Vertov’s Man with a Movie Camera, and Sergei Eisenstein's Strike. Both films are known for their groundbreaking use of montage and the powerful…

The studio system in the Golden Age of Hollywood was a method of film production and distribution between the 1920’s and 60’s. Large motion picture studios wanted to maximize their profit and minimize the risks of going bankrupt. They turned to producing movies on their own film making lots and they were especially skillful in handling employees, and contracts. The use of long-term contracts was very effective in keeping costs lower than they otherwise would have been; and it helped studios…

Scotland's Superman Few words are more abused in Hollywood than historical and epic. While historical is such a broad term that can refer to anything in the past, epic is often the colloquial of anything that’s awesome. However, when the words combine they form a favored genre of moviegoers. According to FilmSite.org, “A historical epic is defined as film that takes a historical, mythic, heroic figure, and adds an extravagant setting accompanied by lavish costumes and a grand musical score.”…

essential to the integrity of the cinematic experience, to the extent that one could argue that ‘the silent film never existed’ (Melinda Szaloky 2002). In fact, most silent movies were accompanied by a piano and some also had a narrator. As early cinema developed, so did the proficiency of sound, reaching an always higher level of sophistication, so that in 1927 Fox Film Corporation was able to produce Sunrise: A Song of two Humans (F.W. Murnau),…

With Dunkirk Christopher Nolan has reached new heights of filmmaking and he seems to have employed a whole new set of techniques. Gone is the dialogue and one-liners that we associate with Hollywood. No famous Hollywood stars (with a couple of exceptions) are present either. Speaking of stars, the director focuses on the anonymity of a few people, without revealing their names most of the time. And if you expect to watch a war film like Saving Private Ryan you will be disappointed. According to…

Silent movies were a great source of entertainment during the early 1900s, but when sound was added the film industry was revolutionized. It only took two years after The Jazz Singer, the first film with spoken lines, for the silent film era to end. It showed the viewers that there was no reason for silent movies. Big names in silent film making, like Charlie Chaplin, thought “talkies” ruined the film industry. Sound changed the way we watch movies for the better. Sound helps its viewers follow…