The Aesthetics of Cinema in Old and New Hollywood

Throughout the history of Hollywood’s development, there was a major change in the aesthetic style of Hollywood films in the 1960s and 1970s, before which it could be called the Classic Hollywood period, and after which it could become the New Hollywood period. The Old Hollywood period began around 1930 with the Great Depression and ended in 1960 at the beginning of the Cold War, spanning several important historical periods during World War II and the postwar period. The New Hollywood period refers to the period from the 1960s to the present, in which the high-cost “heavy bomb” strategy has led to a change in the way genre films are expressed and a diversification of social meaning.

Old Hollywood cinematography follows the aesthetic principles of a dramatic film. Classic Hollywood films are clearly based on dramatization in structuring the story and unfolding the plot: the storyline is full of dramatic conflicts, the story structure is complete and closed, and the story develops progressively until the climax at the end and always leaves a happy ending. For example, “Casablanca” and “Waterloo Bridge”. After the structure of the dramatic storyline is established, the character composition of the classic Hollywood narrative is also naturally typified. In the classic Hollywood narrative, there are endless trade-offs and variations in characterization while following the principle of the genre, but the dramatic conflict between the positive and negative characters is the eternal treasure of Hollywood. The core of the classic Hollywood narrative system is continuity editing, both for the development of dramatic stories and genre characters, and the basic premise of Hollywood to create fantasy and laughter because the natural flow of continuity editing provides the audience with a simple and convenient but real and believable screen world.

The aesthetic characteristics of New Hollywood films are that, in terms of themes and subjects, New Hollywood films show a rebellion against the old Hollywood films, and their films’ sharp exposure of social problems, criticism and protest, and the breadth and strength of their direct confrontation with real life give people a deep shock. From the perspective of film expression, New Hollywood films break the one-way narrative mode of pursuing drama, and become more flexible in time and space, no longer pursuing the integrity of the storyline but seeking an open ending. The characters are no longer stereotyped but show their natural nature according to their own character development. New Hollywood films pay more attention to the development of cinematographic techniques, including camera language. The new image language strengthens the visual impact and makes the images more artistic, while the use of metaphor and symbolism adds philosophical connotation to the film from another aspect, thus making the film more characteristic of the director’s personal style. Notable New Hollywood filmmakers include George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, and many others. In short, the success of New Hollywood films, both technically and artistically, once again shows the strong vitality of American films, and Hollywood, with its intertwined tradition and modernity, is still the “Kingdom of Cinema”.

Which period of Hollywood do you like better than the other? What are some of your favorite Hollywood movies?