COMM 121 1st Edition Lecture 9Current Lecture Note Outline:I. 4 Stages in the development of movies in the USII. Introducing the time periodIII. Movies as working class cultureIV. New institutions of urban creationV. NickelodeonsVI. Mary Jane’s MishapVII. Why nickelodeons were so popularVIII. A parallel historyIX. Movies as mass cultureX. The “independents” emergeCinema 1 and 2: Industries and AudiencesI. 4 Stages in the development of movies in the US:(1) 1890s-1915: working class culture(2) 1915-1945: mass or popular culture(3) 1945-late 1980s: yielding on TV(4) 1990s: integrated media and “hyper commercialism”II. Introducing the time period:- Quote sheet #1 (Skelar): There are a lot of different ways that media technology (moving picturesin particular) could have been used, but they are used for entertainment in the way it is becauseof the fact that they were created during the times of large social changes.o The continuing importance of urban migrationo Early footage: “Exiting the factory” (1895, on Moodle)- In the 45-second clip you see all women exiting the factory, which implies the fact that allwomen were working in the urban factories during this time period. There was highly dividedfactory work.- People were drawn to watching this because this was the first time they could see an image thatmoved (very “trippy” for them)These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.III. (1) Movies as working class culture, 1890s-1915o Crisis in working class migrant and immigrant families: pulled by old and new values and standards.o When an a family migrated here from say Ireland, the parents would have a hard time understandingthe culture that their children are growing up in and view as the “regular culture” thus having a hardtime connectingo This change, mass migration, was unexpectedo In this context, movies become a shared experience across generationsIV: 1890s: new institutions of urban creationo For men: saloons, dance halls, roller rinks, and pool hallso For women: the movieso Quote sheet #2 (Ewen) on new urban culture:- “For immigrants in a world of constant language barriers, the silent filmwas compelling and accessible”o Movies had a way of bringing the whole population into this new eraV: Nickelodeonso By 1909, 340 nickelodeons in NYCo On commercial streets in working-class, residential districts (densely populated) and in commercialentertainment districts (like time square)o Ran programs from noon through late eveningo A program was typically 15-20 minutes long, and it cost 5 cents to enter the nickelodeon.o Accommodating women with small children, first time this was offeredo Evenings and Saturdays, whole families attendedo First nickelodeon was in Pittsburgh, PA in 1905VI. Mary Jane’s Mishap (1903)o Using performance techniques to imply she is doing somethingo Special effects were usedo There was an element of comedy and excitemento First time there was the idea of the audience knowing something that the character doesn’to This was the idea of entertaining and funnyVII. Summary of why nickelodeons were so popular:o Movies were silent (helpful to an audience from many different language groups)o For immigrants, offered a way of understanding the new worldo An escape from cramped, difficult, dangerous living and working conditions (result of unexpectedmigration)o A source of community cohesionVIII. A parallel history:o This is also the period of Jim Crow in the U.S. (Supreme Court legalizes segregation in Plessy vs.Ferguson, 1896)o Quote sheet #3 (Snead): Edison introduced technology to produce large scale projection which wouldintroduce the ability to project moving pictures to mass audiences (turns into a communal notprivate experience)o Quote sheet #4 (Stewart): Despite early restrictions, religious prohibition/segregation, by the seconddecade of moving picture production, African Americans were commonly going to see the filmso The history of film is inseparable from broader social history – we can not adequately understandmedia history without understanding the social situations that were taking place at the time of thegiven product’s emergenceo Remember: a huge number of “labor migrants” were black people moving in the Great Migrationfrom South to NorthIX. (2) Movies as mass culture, 1920-45o Unit ~1910, Edison controlled film industry through technology patents, held by his firm the MotionPicture Patent Company (aka the “Edison Trust” or just “The Trust”)  Know that Edison was anentrepreneur that had many people working for him in labs developing new technology in which hewould patent and own.o But! Sought market/audience development beyond concentrated working-class neighborhoods.They needed a way to branch out/reach audiences that weren’t as concentrated as simply thetheatre goings.o The Trust began to favor exhibitors (essentially movie houses) in more affluent neighborhoodso Two Effects:1. Expanded middle-class audience (changed the kind of topics that were made)2. Left much of old market open to industry new comers (Edison basically pulled out of thenickelodeon business which created a space)X The “independents” emerge:o Meaning independent of The Trust, taking up production and theatres the Trust had abandonedo Marketing through early star system, where particular actors are the draw, and where actors wantedto make arto Once movies with low entertainment for the working class  movies with high entertainment forthe affluent classo Longer, more expensive films (Still silent until 1920s – but had very good narratives)o Theatrical plays adapted (biblical narratives, uplifting, no longer simple narratives)o Over time, we see the emergence of the “movie palace”o Theatres becoming more