The Evolution of American Cinema

The Evolution of American Cinema

Anika A. Abraham
Delaware State University

The Evolution of American Cinema

Abstract
American Cinema is such a widespread topic. The evolution of American Cinema has
different time periods, where the production of film and the political and social aspects of film
vary from each time period. First there is the silent period, then classical period, post-war period,
transitional period, and lastly the contemporary period. The contemporary goes up to the present
day and the issues of film in todays world. Each period feeds off of the previous time period.
Not only does the American cinema focus on the evolution of the films and its time periods, but
also the time when black films brought awareness to the issue of class. It goes into depth of the
stereotypical aspects of film. Each time period of the evolution of cinema shows the battle that
Hollywood had trying to remain relevant. Hollywood had numerous ups and downs , money,
marketing, and other issue of that sort..
Keywords: blockbuster, multinational corporations, continuity editing

The Evolution of American Cinema

Films are one of the most common media outlets that help get messages out to people
across the world. Each and every film has a message it wants its audience to take from it. In
todays world a lot of the things we see on television or movies shown, we tend to believe certain
statements that are made, especially if it is repetitive.
The earliest time period of American cinema was the silent period, which took place from
about 1895-1929. During this silent era, films were produced that told stories without words.
The actors in silent films exaggerated their body language and gestures in order for the audience
to understand exactly what they were feeling. Silent films have shaped the way generations of
Americans think about political life in general and especially about the meaning of class (Ross).
The idea of class ties closely into not just silent films but black films, where class was an
issue. African American film and African American portrayal in film lies in two different
categories. African-American portrayal came first in film and it began with a rocky beginning.
Our characters were incredibly sarcastically offensive towards us or simply devoted to serving
our white masters. What makes it even bitter-sweetly worst is the fact that our characters werent
even played by us but instead white people dressed in black face.
The roles were most stereotypical of what the white filmmakers thought of us at the time.
The roles were usually inadequate, immature, and delinquent. One of the most racially
controversial blackface films is Birth of a Nation. The movie was produced in 1915 where being
racist was nationally accepted and almost perceived as okay. The movie portrayed black men to

The Evolution of American Cinema

be almost animals as they held the roles of men who were uneducated sexual beings with a high
sex drive specifically towards White Women. The message the movie sent to its audience was the
Ku Klux Klan or KKKs were heroic with a higher calling. The racism in this movie was
incredibly coherent.
As time went on, laws changed and society changed which caused filmmakers to change
the way they depicted certain messages. The stereotypical portrayal of black people became
metaphorical instead of blatantly comprehensible to its audience. White filmmakers decided to
just put us in more stereotypical roles. In 1946 Disney produced a movie by titled Songs of the
South which includes a character by the name of Uncle Remus.
The classical period came about from 1930-1945. This was a time of transition from
silent to sound films. As a result of this it became more expensive to produce films. Many of the
well-known silent film stars lost their jobs, which made it hard to make more films. The film
industry experienced a drought at this time. Eventually Hollywood overcame the challenge and
had connections with major film studios such as Paramount, Warner Brothers, MGM, RKO, and
Twentieth Century Fox. Hollywood took this time of drought to work on all the technical aspects
in order to have a better way of producing sound film. The editing of classical Hollywood films
was unique. The process was called continuity editing, which meant that the cut was invisible.
The reverse shot or eyeline match was responsible for capturing this shot. In the classical
Hollywood style space and time are unified, continuous and linear. They appear as a unified
whole to match our perception of time and space in reality (Film History: Classical Period).

The Evolution of American Cinema

The Post-war period of film took place from 1946-1959. During this time World War 2
left European film industries in distraught. The war also affected American filmmakers and their
audiences, which lead to the production of dark films. As a result of this many actors,
screenwriters, and directors were blacklisted by studios. This was because there were suspicions
of relations with the Communist Party. Many of the actors, screenwriters, and directors moved to
Europe because of this, but some still continued working by changing their names, and others
just saw their careers go down the drain. Due to the competition of television, Hollywood made
films that showcased cinemas distinctive qualities: stereophonic sound, large screen size, and
color images, benefiting from the emergence of widescreen technology and better color film
stock (Film History: Post-war period). As a result of the blacklist and new technologies that
came about, in the mid 1950s Hollywood began to concentrate on films such as westerns,
biblical epics, and musicals. In 1948 the Supreme Court ruled that Hollywood studios were
forced to end their integration policies, which made it competitive in the work place and
increased opportunities for independent and foreign producers (Film History: Post-war period).
The Transitional Period was from 1960-1979. At this point in time Hollywood faced
serious troubles because they were unable to upkeep radical political and cultural developments
in American society. However European Films at this time were having outstanding box office
success that was unexpected. The European films produced were very creative, which brought
cinema to a whole new level. Hollywood was still struggling at this time. The content produced
was uninteresting, lacked creativity, and was old fashioned. Hollywood took this time to cut
costs and go into partnerships with independent and foreign producers, hoping that it would

The Evolution of American Cinema

make them more profitable. In 1968 the Motion Picture Association of America came up with the
idea of movie rating. This made it harder to put out certain types of content and also made it hard
to challenge their work. Due to this urban movie theaters were left in a drought, making way for
genres like blaxploitation, sexploitation, and hardcore pornography (Film History: Transitional
Period).
The Contemporary Period was from 1980 to present. During this time multinational
corporations, (an enterprise that operates in several countries, but is managed by one country)
bought many movie studios and put them together. This ended all the experimental decisions
Hollywood made during the transitional period. The Hollywood industry was financially stable at
this point and most of those funds came from the development of blockbuster franchises, content
for children and large marketing campaigns. A blockbuster is movie, book, or any other product
that is of great commercial success. During this time special effects were used to grasp the
audiences attention in movie theaters. Affordable digital cameras came about which made it
easier for independent filmmakers to produce and exhibit film on their own. Films of the
contemporary period are categorized as postmodern because they do not just stick to one culture
or genre (Film History: The Contemporary Period).
One example of a film during the Contemporary period is Spike Lees Do the Right
Thing. This film showed the middle class values and street values in American society.
Throughout the film it showed how real race relations were. It showed the reality of a normal
neighborhood. There were blacks and Puerto Ricans and they just so happened not to get along.
There is a lot of violence in the film and tensions that build between the two kind. Every man is

The Evolution of American Cinema

for themselves. Even the black guys couldnt stick together. This film showed how films of this
time were created to bring awareness to issues of this sort. It was also creative, interesting, and
easy to get into. Lots of the films in the contemporary period were dramas that had a message
that the audience could grasp after watching it.
References
Ross, S. (2011, April 28). The Visual Politics of Class: Silent Film and the Public Sphere. Retrieved
April 28, 2011, from http://filmint.nu/?p=1735

FIlm History: Transitional Period. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://sparkcharts.sparknotes.com/film/film/section7.php

(n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2015, from

http://sparkcharts.sparknotes.com/film/film/section4.php

Film History: Classical Period (19301945). (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2015, from
http://sparkcharts.sparknotes.com/film/film/section5.php

Film History: Postwar Period (19461959). (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2015, from
http://sparkcharts.sparknotes.com/film/film/section6.php
Film History: Contemporary Period (1980present). (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2015, from
http://sparkcharts.sparknotes.com/film/film/section8.php

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Ebert, R. (1989, June 30). Do The Right Thing. Retrieved June 30, 1989, from
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/do-the-right-thing-1989
Business Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/immediatefamily.html