Recently I've begun to watch a lot of TV and it got me to start to think about the movie industry and how influential Hollywood really is. It's been the center of the McCarthy witch hunt, been a crucial role in the US propaganda machine, central to 20th-century American culture, and even given us one of our own Presidents, Ronald Reagan. In Hollywood, there have been a few major eras that define the films and studios that create them.
Before the Golden Era of Hollywood Film was developed as a tool to examine objects in motion but ultimately perfected by Edison's laboratories. In order to create films which had largely been monopolized by the Edison film conglomerate, Motion Picture Patents Company, many moved out west to a small unnotable town just outside of LA called Hollywood. Despite the breaking up of Motion Picture Patents Company by an Anti-Trust, the film industry had firmly put down roots in California.
Before the advent of color film and even the ability to record sound there was the silent film era. During this era, the big eight had emerged as the notable studios, some of which are still around today like Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Universal Pictures, and Columbia Pictures. They created plenty of meaningful and artistic works of the film but also demonstrated the negative influences that film could have with their film, "The Birth of a Nation" it's a racist depiction of African Americans and the glorification of slavery was a major factor in the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s.
The development of audio led to a rise of "the talkies" which gave rise to the golden era of Hollywood which saw the dominance of the studio system which held unprecedented power over almost every aspect of the film industry from contracting with actors to filming, and editing, to screening and owning theaters. Studios became so influential that they often created stars based on their own clout and their ability to control every aspect of the industry allowed them to give them a spot equivalent to a long time movie star. During this time the American film industry exploded and truly became a major part of American culture. As the industry became famous for creating the next wave of mass media and soon after was conscripted into creating war propaganda for the US during world war two. It was a period of extravagance and power as the industries wielded their massive power in order to make films for the masses.
However, the good times could not last forever and the golden era died due to a barrage of antitrust lawsuits, concerns of the morality of the industry, and the suspected communist sympathizers within the industry. Despite these setbacks that limited the studio system Hollywood still created some incredibly notable cinema during this time period including films such as, Some like it Hot and Ben-Hur.
The collapse of the old industry allowed for the rise of a newer and youth dominated industry. The 60s counterculture movement had reached Hollywood and with films like Bonnie and Clyde including darker and more overtly sexual undertones, the concerns over morality seemed to be a thing of the past. This new Hollywood saw the rise of directors like Steven Spielberg and is considered to be a Renaissance of the film industry "rediscovering" the classics of the 20s 30s and 40s. This new era also embraced a far less glitzy and more realistic portrayal of life which resonated more with the average American. Perhaps the most famous movie ever "The Godfather" was produced and was a staple of this era in film history.
However, this edgy era of film history did not last forever and the resurgence of powerful studios along with a return to a classical glitzy type of film ushered in the current age of blockbuster films. The transition between these periods can be seen in Movies such as the original Star Wars trilogy which demonstrated the blockbuster Hollywood glitz but still had a darker and edgier undertone. Compare the original trilogy to the current trilogy and the difference between the Counterculture Hollywood and Blockbuster Hollywood becomes even more evident. Strong studios, the motivation of profit, and the rise of DVDs and then streaming has fundamentally changed the film industry back into its more classical self. But the rise of streaming and technology has also lead to the rise of many new alternative genres. It's hard to say where the industry will go from here but it's clear that Hollywood will remain an important staple of American culture.
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HistoryOfHollywood
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