Classical Hollywood: BSA 106 (Screen Arts) Week 11
Classical Hollywood
This week we learned about the Classical Hollywood era, also known as "The Golden Age".
During this period there were 5 major studios and three minor ones:
The Big 5
- Metro Goldwyn Meyer
- Paramount
- Warner Bros.
- RKO Pictures
- 20th Century Fox
The Little 3
- United Artists
- Universal
- Columbia
During this period the major studios developed a system in which they would hold a monopoly on the release of A-List movies in theaters, this was achieved by a process called "Block Booking". Block Booking involved the sale of large units of films to theaters without the theater owners of chains knowing what movies they were buying, which meant the studio could dish out a mix of A-List movies with B-Grade or lesser A-List movies. To get the A-List picture the theater so desperately wanted they had to buy out the studios' entire output for the season. This practice was later outlawed.
In 1930 the MPPDA (Motion Picture Producers and Distribution Association) hired Will Hayes to put in place a self-regulatory code of practice. This was known as "The Hays Code" and established which subjects films could not depict.
The Classical Hollywood era saw the practice of something called"The Star System". Major Studios essentially "owned" their actors, who were signed into long term, exclusivity contracts that bound them to specific studios who treated them like employees, forcing them to act in certain pictures. The image of a "star" was very important, so much so that the contracts actually effected the way the actors were allowed to live their lives, with morality clauses preventing them from using drugs, committing adultery or other indiscretions. The actors were understandably frustrated with this system, since they were unable to choose their own projects and were sometimes "lent" out by their studios.
This was also the time in which a generalized narrative structure was cemented, with movies being clearly structured, featuring a beginning, middle and end.
This week we learned about the Classical Hollywood era, also known as "The Golden Age".
During this period there were 5 major studios and three minor ones:
The Big 5
- Metro Goldwyn Meyer
- Paramount
- Warner Bros.
- RKO Pictures
- 20th Century Fox
The Little 3
- United Artists
- Universal
- Columbia
During this period the major studios developed a system in which they would hold a monopoly on the release of A-List movies in theaters, this was achieved by a process called "Block Booking". Block Booking involved the sale of large units of films to theaters without the theater owners of chains knowing what movies they were buying, which meant the studio could dish out a mix of A-List movies with B-Grade or lesser A-List movies. To get the A-List picture the theater so desperately wanted they had to buy out the studios' entire output for the season. This practice was later outlawed.
In 1930 the MPPDA (Motion Picture Producers and Distribution Association) hired Will Hayes to put in place a self-regulatory code of practice. This was known as "The Hays Code" and established which subjects films could not depict.
The Classical Hollywood era saw the practice of something called"The Star System". Major Studios essentially "owned" their actors, who were signed into long term, exclusivity contracts that bound them to specific studios who treated them like employees, forcing them to act in certain pictures. The image of a "star" was very important, so much so that the contracts actually effected the way the actors were allowed to live their lives, with morality clauses preventing them from using drugs, committing adultery or other indiscretions. The actors were understandably frustrated with this system, since they were unable to choose their own projects and were sometimes "lent" out by their studios.
This was also the time in which a generalized narrative structure was cemented, with movies being clearly structured, featuring a beginning, middle and end.
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