The Influence Of Popular Culture And News Media Flashcards
How many movie theatre seats were there by 1941
10,500,000 (one per 12.5 people)
What was the biggest entertainment media in the USA by 1917
Cinema
when was the first ‘talkie’ shown
1927
Effect of the war on cinema
Boomed the move industry, especially in 1920s
Gave the public an evening out
1930s: most cinemas changed their feature film twice a week
1941: one movie theatre sear for every 12.5 people
Social impact of cinema 1917-45
Movies were reviewed in magazines, magazines devoted to lives of Hollywood stars
Late 1930s: 20 fan magazines, 200,000 - 1 million readers
Gossip columnists on magazines had power over the studios
Gave people escapism, fed fantasies by developing genre movies with significant famous stars in each genre
Who was Clara Bow
‘It’ girl
Specialised in flapper roles
Effect of Clara bow
Young women wanted to dress like her, have their hair cut like hers, behave like her
People asked for a Clara Bow cut at the hairdresser
How did the movie studios work
8 companies that worked together and had total control of stars, staff, and the industry
Chose what movie were shown and classified according to their own ratings
Set budgets
- B-movies were the cheapest, budget of $50,000-100,000, no stars, made up half of output during and after the Depression
- A-movies cost $200,000-500,000 to make
What were the movie stars
Actors tied to specific studios, had to make lots of movies
- 1925: Clara Bow made 25 movies
- Clark Gable: 2 movies 1924, 8 movies 1925, 12 movies 1931
Expected to behave in a way that fitted their onscreen image
- e.g. handsome bachelors not marrying, not being gay
Often disobeyed and ended up in gossip magazines
If anyone was blacklisted by one studio, impossible to find work somewhere else
Economics of the movie stars
Big stars earn a lot: Shirley Temple earnt $5,000 a week in the 1930s (average wage was under $2,000 a year)
Ordinary actors earned closer or less than average wage
Earnt money by advertising, carefully chosen to fit their image
Studios made deals with sponsors: MGM made $500,000 deal with Coca Cola that its stars would drink it during breaks from filming and interviews for magazines
How were the movies regulated initially
Motion Picture Production Code (Hays Code) produced 1929-30
- studios had to conform from 1930-66
- due to complaints at end of 1920s: female stars too scantily dressed, drank, smoke and gangster films made crime and violence look attractive
- scandals made the studios create the code before the government stepped in
- ‘morality clause’ built into contracts with stars, had to sign up to good living
What was included in the Hays code
- crimes not in enough detail to be copied
- drug trafficking and methods of smuggling not shown
- white slave trade not shown
- family life portrayed as good, adultery shown as bad if needed in the plot
- no swearing
- kissing to a minimum
- perversion, seduction, rape avoided
- childbirth not shown
- sex between interracial couples not shown
- no nudity/undressing/indecent exposure/ suggestive dancing
Social impact of music 1917-45
In cities jazz grew in popularity and due to record players and radio, it spread nationally
Jazz considered morally lax by more conservative people in 1920s
- jazz dances (Charleston and black bottom) sexually suggestive
Lots of black players, racist reasons for opposition
Economics of music 1917-45
1929: almost 50% homes had a gramophone, industry that made the records were booming, $75 million worth of records sold
Specialist record labels: race records, only black performers
By 1935: sales dropped alarmingly due to radio sales taking off, played music for free, records became a luxury
How did radio ownership spread
First commercial radio station began broadcasting 2 November 1920: KDKA
- radio broadcast the results of the election before the newspapers could, powerful advertisement for radio
By 1924: over 600 commercial stations
Ownership rose rapidly, mass production made it quicker/cheaper and hire purchase made them affordable
How did radio develop 1917-45
At first, independent but then needed money so sold advertisement
- first advertisement August 1922 in NYC
Soon programmes and whole radio stations had sponsors
1926: NBC, first national radio station, opened with an American football game
- everyone heard the same thing at the same time, created mass culture
1927: Radio Act passed to set up federal licensing of radio stations and share out airwaves
- due to many radio stations being set up, airwaves became jammed
Politics in radio 1917-45
Father Coughlin: priest who broadcasted series of sermons criticising KKK
- 1930: had about 40 million listeners
- criticised bankers and supported Roosevelt during depression, New Deal was ‘christs deal’
- when Roosevelt didn’t go far enough, criticised him and cost support
How did television spread
1939 World’s fair: RCA demonstrated first commercial television and filmed opening of the fair by Roosevelt
After WW2: tax breaks given by the government to media businesses to develop and sell TV sets
Federal Communications Commission regulated TV: deliberately allowed unlicensed development from 1948-50
Developed on a local scale first: 3 of major TV companies also radio companies
Advertisement in TV
Created ‘national culture’
Adverts (and programmes) showed few black Americans, first in 1963
After post-war baby boom, targeted growing number of children and began to sell goods using ‘special offers’ from kids TV shows
Politics in TV
Political parties saw the influence
Bought ‘air’ time for politicians:
- Eisenhower in 1952 campaign
- Kennedy exploited it
Meant people could see politicians in action
- worked for Kennedy, good looking and persuasive speaker
- didn’t work for Nixon, uncomfortable on air and showed it
Became important that a political candidate looked right and interviewed well live
Expansion of TV
Expanded very rapidly
Recording techniques, sets, and special effects improved: programmes seemed more real
Broadcasts aired for longer each day, more channels and shows
People watched more
More was pre-recorded which allowed editing and shaping messages they wanted to give
-1953: 80% recorded live, 1960: 36% live
-1970s: news and sports almost only programmes shown live
Could show re-runs of favourite shows
Criticism of TV
Late 1960s
- conservatives and religious groups said series glamourised crime and violence
- criticism of how programmes were manipulated, e.g. quiz shows accused of telling answers to contestants
What was the Public Broadcasting Act and when was it
1967: set up government-funded Corporation For Public Broadcasting (CPB), set up Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in 1969
- PBS a national station, made up of groups of local stations, not run for profit, for education
- no sponsors, liberal agenda to ‘restore standards’
- spurred production of educational TV
- PBS created Sesame Street 1969: taught children about racial tolerance and sharing, counting, reading, people absorbed positive view of other races but due to conservative backlash, government funding withdrawn in 1981
Effect of non-commercial TV on politics
Serious documentaries made in 1960s, after audience for Kennedy-Nixon debates in 1960s
- made people more informed about major issues
- TV ownership widespread, more accessible to people than newspapers
- dangerous because people would accept whatever the programme-makers thought
