Movie Production Is One of the World\'s

Movie production is one of the world's most enduring, exciting, and economically prosperous industries. Whether Bollywood or Hollywood, Bonnie and Clyde or Batman Returns, the film industry continues to rake in the dough and please a wide range of audiences. Chapter 6 of the text describes the origin of the film industry and its evolution and development. The authors also discuss the potential for film to influence cultural values as well as its importance in shaping them.

The film industry began somewhat as an offshoot of still photography, which first made an impact in the late nineteenth century. The commercial appeal of motion pictures was soon apparent and innovators in the United States and in Europe helped to develop the technologies required to run the cameras and viewing equipment. For example, early movies capitalized on the viewing box and photographic technology invented by Americans like William Dickson and George Eastman but it was the French inventors Auguste and Louis Lumiere who developed the ability to project the photographic motion pictures onto a wall or screen. As a result, the first film house opened in Paris, not the United States, in 1895. However, Thomas Edison seized upon the new projection technology and patented a projection system. Edison's company would later develop sound technologies that were used to enhance the viewing experience of early motion pictures.

The film industry flourished in the 1940s and reached its peak around 1948, when weekly revenues peaked at an astounding $90 million. The film industry in the United States has never yet enjoyed such tremendous prosperity, mostly due to the invention and popularity of the television. However, films remain one of the most vital creative industries in the nation and throughout the world.

The film industry responded to television's popularity first by attempting to trump television's technology. However, innovations such as Smell-o-Vision, 3D glasses, and peripheral vision screens fell short of revitalizing box office sales in the 1950s and 1960s. Therefore, the motion picture industry ventured where no television producer had gone before: tackling tough social and political issues that were either banned or shunned by the television industry. Films had traditionally toyed with sensitive issues such as sexuality, but until the advent of television, the film industry remained relatively conservative. In the 1960s, in an attempt to garner more of an audience and to create niche markets, the film industry explored issues like racism, economic inequity, homosexuality, and youth culture in ways that television could not. Whereas television had to remain family-friendly, clean, and homogenous, filmmakers could experiment because the viewers literally came to them.

Therefore, although movie revenues dropped significantly over the years since the boom of the 1940s, films became provocative and socially conscious. Moreover, filmmakers had more creative leeway than their counterparts in television. The authors show how television and film have largely converged in many areas, however, largely due to financial needs. For example, television networks and movie production houses are often owned by the same major corporation. Such media conglomerates have leveled the playing field on both big and small screens.

The authors also touch upon on the importance of independent filmmakers. Even in a world of media conglomerates, independent filmmakers are needed to supply their creative enterprises to the major distributors. There is a symbiotic relationship between independent filmmakers and the big movie production houses, because the latter often relies on the former to reduce their production costs while still reaping the box office benefits. Independent filmmakers retain the rights to creatively control their projects but can also take advantage of the distribution benefits offered by the large movie moguls. The authors cite several examples of independent and low-budget films such as The Blair Witch Project that have pleased critics, moviegoers, and reaped box office profits.

The chapter offers a thorough yet brief explanation of the film industry and its influence on modern society. Indeed, movies do help shape cultural values, as the authors suggest (p. 124). The power of film is in the media itself: in the intense visual and auditory experience of being in a dark room for several hours. The authors also examine the issues of censorship in the film industry, showing how even in its infancy the film industry was criticized for contributing to moral degeneracy. The so-called Legion of Decency tried to squelch filmmakers and stop them from producing films with sexuality or violence. Although the Legion of Decency is no longer operating, similar organizations of concerned citizens try to stop the production of films that are deemed morally offensive.

However, film would not be such a meaningful media if it did not take on sensitive issues. I believe that it is the responsibility of filmmakers to explore sensitive issues, if not in the interest of stimulating thought and public debate then only for creative liberty. While there should be some limits on sex and violence in films shown in public movie houses, it is up to the filmmaker to produce that which pleases their taste and that of their audience.

The authors also take care to explicate the financial side of the film industry, by exploring issues like exhibition costs, distribution costs, and auxiliary costs. Product placement and merchandising has become a major money-maker in Hollywood. Films frequently sell off the names and images of characters; clips from their movies; and their soundtracks in order to boost profits. One of the results is the proliferation of toys and other merchandise. In most cases, the merchandise is marketed to young kids, such as through fast-food restaurant toy giveaways. However, sometimes the merchandise is marketed to an adolescent or even adult audience. One merchandising issue that the authors do not describe is video games and the fact that films spawn video games. The reverse is also true: video games have given birth to films such as Tomb Raider, and more recently, Doom. The Lord of the Rings trilogy gave rise to the marketing of specialized swords and other fantasy emblems that adults are attracted to as much as young people.