April 6, 1999

Announcements:  Make-up exams have been graded and are available in Dr. Jordan's office.

Lecture Notes:

I.  The Great Audience Decline

• After WWII, from 1948-1968, Hollywood lost three quarters of its audience
• The rise of TV was blamed for the decline, but it was really only one of several factors
• Hollywood began marketing their movies to target specific audiences (race, gender, age)

II.  Leisure Time and Recreation

• After the war, the U. S. was the wealthiest country in the world
• There was a higher standard of living
• People worked less hours and received paid vacation time
• Highway systems were built which made vacations and recreation easier

• People had more time on their hands, so they started doing more outdoor activities
• People used to work so much that going to the movies was a brief leisure activity that could be scheduled into their busy lives

• TV was a more flexible way to spend leisure time
• You could turn the TV on or off when you wanted, or leave your house, walk around, etc.
• People could watch old movies on TV

• After the war, people started moving out of urban areas into the suburbs
• These people were more affluent and had changed their movie-going habits
• Due to the Paramount Decision and the movement of audiences, there was now an opportunity for independent theater owners
• They didn't have the capital to build 4 wall theaters, so they started building drive-ins

IV.  Portrayal of TV in Movies

• Hollywood believed TV was a novelty and ridiculed it
• Studios wouldn't cooperate with TV:  They refused to make recent movies available for television broadcast
• Studios designed gimmicks to lure people away from TV and into the movies:  3D, technicolor, panavision

V.  TV and Advertising:  Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?

• In the movies, a PR man, Tony Curtis, uses a blond bombshell model, Marilyn Monroe, to sell his products
• Movie demonstrates how Hollywood ridiculed TV advertising
• It critiques the superficiality of TV and consumerism, which TV glorified
• Suggests that people were held together by mutual dependence on consumer goods

VI.  A Face in the Crowd:  Celebrity Politician

• A folk-singing celebrity fools people into thinking he's a politician
• There is a difference between celebrities and heroes:
• Celebrities are famous for being well known:  they don't do any heroic deed
• Heroes are famous for doing something:  they make culture a better place
• The primary character in the movie has no qualities, only superficial ideas to raise his political stand
• TV made Ronald Reagan a celebrity which helped him become a politician

VII.  Medium Cool:  Objectivity in Reporting

• A newsman is sent on a job to cover a political convention
• When he gets there, an anti Vietnam rally is going on out front
• He is faced with the dilemma of shooting the official news, which is the convention, or shooting the un-official news, the "real" news, which is the rally
• The movie shows how Hollywood evolved in recognizing the significance of TV

MOVIE:  A FACE IN THE CROWD

    Notes coming soon...............................