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Hollywood Movies as a form of American Culture

Hollywood Movies as a form of American Culture. A look at two examples: Dances with Wolves Lawrence of Arabia Dances . American Culture & Society Spring-Summer 2012/ Scot t. Hollywood system. We use Hollywood to mean U.S. film industry. Two main types today:

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Hollywood Movies as a form of American Culture

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  1. Hollywood Movies as a form of American Culture A look at two examples: Dances with Wolves Lawrence of Arabia Dances American Culture & Society Spring-Summer 2012/ Scott

  2. Hollywood system • We use Hollywood to mean U.S. film industry. • Two main types today: • The Big Six studios • Produce the large-scale movies • Often distributed around the world • Independent film producers • Smaller films • More artistic, more serious • Aimed at smaller markets • Sold to or distributed by Big Six

  3. Hollywood facts • World leading filmmaking center for a century. • The huge consumer market in U.S. provides economic scale to support expensive productions. • Films and related products earned $11 billion in 2010. • Big Six studios specialize in blockbusters. • Columbia (Sony) 20th Century Fox (News Corp.) • Disney (Disney) Paramount (Viacom) • Universal (Comcast) Warner Bros. (Time-Warner)

  4. What makes a blockbuster? • Huge budget • Famous actors • Visual and audio spectacles (big moments) • High-quality special effects • Marketable to international audiences

  5. What works internationally? • Recognizable actors and characters • Emphasis on action and emotion • Non-verbal story lines; minimum of dialogue • Humanitarian themes • Limited amount of cultural context

  6. How do films make money? • Theater ticket sales • DVD sales • Related merchandise (toys, clothing, video games) • International sales • Growing market: Asia. • Studios are beginning to release films internationally before showing them in the U.S. • Examples: Battleship, The Avengers

  7. Example: The Avengers • Total production cost: $220 million (Disney) • Total ticket income: $1.42 billion • U.S. market income: $588 million • International: $833 million • Foreign markets: At least 56 • Percent watching in 3-D: 52% Source: Los Angeles Times newspaper, June 17

  8. What is an epic? • Grand dramatic (and musical) themes. • Historical values (based in real history) • Broad, expansive scenes that capture great works • Emphasis on human actions that affect big outcomes. (Winning wars, saving peoples, solving humanitarian crises.)

  9. Lawrence of Arabia • Considered one of best epics. • Director: David Lean • Year released: 1962 • Studio: Columbia • Story: Dramatizes true story of T.E. Lawrence, an unusual scholar and poet who helped Arab tribes to defeat the Ottoman Turks in World War II.

  10. Movies as popular culture • The movie industry helps to shape popular culture. • Think: Emphasis on anime. • Fashions and styles. • It’s also shaped by culture and society. • Consumers decide what is popular. • Audiences comfortable with their ‘kind’ as heroes. • Movies also reveal the basis of cultural values. • Sometimes they question social trends. • Or offer a different approach to understanding. • Example: Dances with Wolves.

  11. Dances with Wolves • Example of a blockbuster made by actor-director to offer his own ideal interpretation of U.S. history. • Director: Kevin Costner • Year released: 1990 • Studio: Tig Productions (Costner’s company) • An Army lieutenant befriends Indians and even wolves as he seeks to defend a natural life that cannot last as white settlers are moving west into the Great Plains.

  12. Movie poster in Italian

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