Hollywood Cinema

Ever since I was old enough to acknowledge what fame was I knew I loved Hollywood. The swagger actors had, the power a handful of directors held, the millions of dollars being paid to talent and the billions being spent on production. Hollywood is an animal that still impresses me today. A place heralded in its past and focused on nothing but itself. Hollywood is the home base of the movie industry or, “the Industry” for short. An unforgiving and beautiful monster that can make or break a person in a matter of weeks. Representing the unreachable world of some of the most powerful people to ever live.

Though learning about the beginning of the film industry and how certain aspects came to life was intriguing. Talking about how the media has changed over the years. Whether it be a change in how gender norms are portrayed, or a complete shift of culture to a point where things once seen as okay are now deemed taboo. One notable example of this would be the restrictions of what kind of sex or sex related scenes can actually be aired on television. I also enjoyed talking about how the politics of movie making seem to have stayed somewhat unchanged. With a handful of movie productions controlling most media output, and a small circle of famous personalities and performers getting most of the work. While today celebrities and influencers are much more common. Certainty due to the rise of the internet allowing people the ability to align who and what they listen to with their own personal beliefs. But that’s another conversation. Today big-time actors can gain just as much fame as they once did. The avengers’ actors are the best example. Not only are they known worldwide but they have become the face of the superhero’s themselves. Cartoons are drawn using their likenesses as the character in the cartoon. An indescribable of fame is still being reached in today’s time.

I also enjoyed our talks about the rating systems and how the MPAA system works. While now the system means little to me. When I was younger these ratings were the reasoning as to why I couldn’t see many movies me and my friends wanted to view. What was interesting to me was the fact that the first things to become banned were things like curses, sex, and acts of crime that may “inspire” people to replicate them. I also found it interesting that production companies were weary of getting R and X(nc17) as this kind of rating could drastically effect sales of the film as parents were less likely to allow their children to watch. A significant part of the market.

Overall, the topics from this week were interesting. I love movies and I love to try to understand how they work. So the clips we watch and topics we discussed were able to answer a lot of questions I did not even know I had. Hollywood will always be a place shrouded in secrecy, and a place I hope to be more familiar with in the future.