The Once Exciting, Now Boring Era of Film

I know my title is super informal, but I think the word boing is appropriate to how I feel. I know it is completely irrational to call something from the 1900’s underwhelming, but it is hard not to see it that way. While watching some of the first short films in class, I understood why it was impressive at the time. Especially with the animation and how it was made. I loved to see the history behind how it started and the time it took to make, but it was just so hard for me to be presently listening while watching the documentary on it. As well as the Charlie Chaplin films. For the time, they were fantastic and revolutionary. But when I was watching them, I was bored. Sometimes I wish I were born in the new age of film (despite the 1900’s being the age for only straight white men), so I could experience the birth and growth of it. Then I would think I would be more invested in the idea of film in general. These feelings cross over in my art as well since I am a film artist. It is really hard to be happy with the photos/videos I produce since modern age film has made my standards quite high. It is generally really hard for me to get excited about cinematography whenever a new movie is announced. It is because I have already seen so many well-made films with the latest technology, it is hard to be impressed. Do not get me wrong though, I am not a Scrooge when it comes to movies. I love them a little too much, especially the ones with remarkable stories and visuals. 

Without being said, the birth of the production companies was really interesting to find out. I really had no prior knowledge on why Hollywood is the movie/tv staple of the United States. I also had no idea that they filmed movies in New York during the birth of filmmaking. I wonder how different New York City would be today if the production companies stuck around instead of moving across country. Though, it makes perfect sense as to why they moved towards the desert. However, I will always curse the mass number of western movies that came from it. Maybe the dry, desert air was the reason why there were so many smut movies being filmed at the time. There is also something about the production company monopoly that rubs me the wrong way. Fox, MGM, and Warner Bros are still to this day some of the biggest production companies. MGM has even made resorts/casinos, which are way outside of their realm. I had actually heard of MGM hotels before I knew it was a production company. Despite these three companies being the biggest, Disney began to rise as well. I am excited to have learned the history behind past films and excited to see more modern-day film next week. 

Do you have a favorite film made during the early 1900’s? I need Recommendations!