Preview

What role do audiences play

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
609 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What role do audiences play
What Role Do Audience Play
Rosa Rivarola
Rasmussen College

Author notes The essay is being presented on March 3rd. 2013 to Marek McKenna for G380/AMH3304 Section 01 Visions of America Since 1945

What role do audiences play in creating popular culture? Explain how Hollywood both manipulated and reflected the popular culture of the 1950's and 60's.
The role of the audience is to infuse the fire in the popular culture movement. It appears that Hollywood was caught between the wall and the blade in the 1950’s, on one side you had the dominant culture flexing their muscle to have Hollywood endorse this family ideal and help the containment effort and for no reason ignite any friction that would agitate the already impatient young adolescents. The late fifties teenagers would be a huge section of the consumer market. Hollywood manage to strike a rather windfall by agreeing to post announcement warning of the misconduct of the characters and at the end of the showing they would have a message for a figure of authority like the police or politician warning about the dangers of inconformity and change.
Hollywood in a very financially wise move, bank their choice on the boomers and they did not failed them. The movies of the fifties ignited the fuel of change what was to come in the next decades. There were many movies that gained acclaim because of the topic and the questions it raised on the idea of what conformed to the life of a family unit.
Hollywood managed to bring to the screens what was happening in our daily lives and we needed to own it and learn how to deal with the incredible changes that were coming in the next fifty years.
Elizabeth Taylor was the subject of a book written by M. G. Lord , the authors objective was to prove how Ms Taylor helped push the feminist movement with her performances the films that she chose to make. The book goes to site her entire history in a chronological order and show how the statement is true. It is



References: Suddenly Last summer (1959) Colombia Pictures http://popculture2.abcclio.com.ezproxy.rasmussen.edu/Search/Display/1461632?terms=suddenly+last+summer http://popculture2.abcclio.com.ezproxy.rasmussen.edu/Search/Display/1360263?terms=suddenly%20last%20summer The Accidental Feminist: How Elizabeth Taylor Raised Our Consciousness and We Were Too Distracted By Her Beauty to Notice M. G. Lord 2012 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/books/review/what-elizabeth-taylor-did-for-womens-rights.html?pagewanted=all

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    What makes a good movie? An engaging plotline, talented actors and actresses; perhaps a happy ending? Movies have always been an important part of American culture; of course, they can entertain us but they can also hold up mirrors to society, raising awareness about issues we need to pay attention to, and help us form opinions. But it’s getting harder and harder to find good movies in current theaters. Current films are being made in an age where almost any movie can pass as a good one, not necessarily due to talent or skill, but due to the weakening of the standards we once held our films up to. The 1930 Motion Picture Production Code gave filmmakers a set of guidelines that let only the most talented films reach audiences; it provided audiences with quality films that didn’t have to sacrifice artistry for explanation or lean on pointless vulgarities to catch audiences’ attentions; it acted as a filter that allowed only the finer-made films to be shown to the people who loved them and kept coming back to see them. The 1930s film code was the superior code because it gave the public superior films.…

    • 1957 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    As art imitates life, the story paralleled part of a new wave of films, which rebelled against the nostalgic pre-war idealism. Since the arrival of television, the average age of moviegoers had fallen significantly. The younger crowd craved plots and characters with which they could identify. Already attuned to the rebellious messages of another revolutionary social tidal wave, rock and roll, patrons sought the same theme on the big screen. The icon of this new cinema was the…

    • 1064 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Roark, James L. The American Promise: A History of the United States. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin 's, 2008. Print.…

    • 1242 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Cited: Cayton, Andrew R. L., Elisabeth Israels. Perry, and Allan M. Winkler. America: Pathways to the Present. Needham, MA: Prentice Hall, 1995. Print.…

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    We as Americans reminisce on history to see and understand the advancements we have accomplished and the same can be said of not only the advancement of women but also the image of how women are portrayed. Although in today’s day and age, their figures and beauty are scrutinized but also exploited. For instance in both Tennessee Williams motion picture, “A Street Car Named Desire” and Lorraine Hansberry A Raisin in the Sun you are able to see the evolution of the not only the portal of women but also the advancements they accomplish.…

    • 508 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    They needed a distraction from the hardships of war and terror. Advances in the movie industries allowed people to forget the problems with war and have a great time at. 1940’s produced some of the best film in the history of Hollywood(Tim Dirks,1). Advances in lighting, sound recording and special effects greatly impacted the sale of movies tickets. It was masterpieces like Casablanca, Dressed to kill, It’s a wonderful life that will be forever remembered in the film industry. Actors like Ingrid Bergman, Cary Grant, and Jean Arthur had an immense positive feedback from their movies. Following the end of the war Hollywood had its most profitable year of the decade in 1946 along with all-time high attendance record in a theater (Tim Dirks, 1).…

    • 648 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The technological advancements, such as sound and color, were leaps and bounds in advancement compared to the silent picture shows that started the film industry. Film studios were able to immerse the audience with sound and involve another sense in the movie process. This added depth to movies that had never been present before. Film studios then added color which brought fantasy lands, such as the Land of Oz, to life. This added another dimension to films. The combination of these technological innovations allowed film studios to create a real life experience. This experience gave the audience a place to go to leave the Great Depression behind. The golden age of film in America was fostered by the technological innovations in film at the time coupled with the need of a an escape from the overwhelming harsh realities of the Great…

    • 1031 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The beginning of the 1950's, declared the transformation in the film industry. As young people wanted new and exiting symbols of rebellion, Hollywood responded to audience demands with the rise of stars like Marlon Brando, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Ava Gardner and Paul Newman. The best films made in the 1950's were Harvey that was made in the 1950, An Affair To Remember(1957) and The Silver Chalice(1954)(Dirk 1995).…

    • 902 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Throughout history, struggles have defined groups of people and focused their resolve to alter the course of human history. For women, the early trials seemed insurmountable, but with the birth of a single female, woman acquired an advocate and spokesperson who would forge a new and fiery path for the women’s rights movement. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a remarkable woman who from an early age recognized and despised the patriarchal society which heaped inequality and servitude upon woman. As a matter of fact, she realized that woman had fewer rights than the previously reviled black man. Stanton spent her life changing the perceptions and imposed…

    • 3972 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    1920's Dbq

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Following the First World War, the United States went in search of a, “return to normalcy,” which many agreed was exactly what it needed. However, to the dismay of many, all the United States could find was a significant amount of tension that had developed between, “Old America,” and, “New America.” All in all, this tension that arose between old and new traditions and ideas did so in the form of religion, conflicts within society, and cultural values.…

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Celebrities in the 50s

    • 720 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Movies were a popular activity in the 1950s. James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Frankie Avalon, and John Wayne were royalty among Americans. Movies such as “Rebel without a Cause”, and “Some Like It Hot” were running ramped over society. James Dean was an American icon starring in movies such as “Rebel Without a Cause” and “East of…

    • 720 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1930s Movie Theater

    • 1024 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The movie theater industry flourished with the attendance to movie theaters soaring. It was said to be that essentially all the population was attending movie theaters during this decade. The most influential reasoning for this spark of film was the craving for an escape from the people, who needed desperately to get away from their own lives, and experience someone else’s live and feel other emotions besides anguish and sorrow. Although the population’s yearning for an escape pushed the film industry to the top, the government assisted with the Works Progress Administration’s New Deal programs and the film and movie theater companies benefitted the industry by creating unique and intriguing genres and appealing advertisements. Today’s society also reaches to movies to take a break from reality and movie theater companies still continue to advance and innovate advertisements and the theaters themselves to increase the attendance. Even though, the decade of the 1930s was overall filled with misery and discouragement, the film industry was a positive aspect of this time with its new funding by the government it strived with advanced genres and…

    • 1024 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Workers in the Gilded Age

    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Bibliography: Dougherty, M. (Ed.). (2007). The American Promise: A Compact History, Third Edition. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins.…

    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Studio Years

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Throughout the 1920s, tremendous growth and prosperity was seen in the American motion picture industry and movie-going became the nations and much of the world’s preferred form of entertainment. Following the industry’s conversion to sound films in 1927-28, the so-called “talkie boom” became popular. The talkie boom was so strong, even in the wake of Wall’s street’s momentous collapse in October 1929. The American movie industry enjoyed its best year ever in 1930 as theater admissions, gross revenues, and studio profits reached record levels.…

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Audience Strategy

    • 3220 Words
    • 13 Pages

    WHY IS STRATEGY IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IMPORTANT TO YOU? While this particular career-management resource tool, at first, may seem to you unrelated to your “getting the job done,” in fact, the following information ultimately will make the tasks of the job search easier and more effective and will help boost your self-confidence. Communication is the use of language to inform, to persuade, or to change someone. Using an intelligent audience strategy is the key to successful communication, whether in job-search documents, in academic papers, or on-the-job writing and professional presentations. Howard Gardner, author of Leading Minds, says that effective communication is the key to leadership. According to the book, The Guru Guide, CEOs overwhelming say that in managing change “you can never do enough to get your message across to your people.” This translates into employers saying that excellent communication skills are the number one priority on their list of qualifications for a successful candidate. Perhaps, this skill is so highly ranked because we know that communication is the most difficult of all human interactions. In a typical exchange in both formal and informal business interactions, more often than not the message is garbled on both sides: • The speaker, intent on making a point, does not plan or design the message specifically so that the particular audience will absorb the content and act deliberately. • And, generally, the receiver does not listen or read to understand the content of the message but, rather, stays internally focused on personal agendas. You can take control over this seemingly impossible process by learning communication strategy, techniques, and tools. The idea behind an audience-strategy approach is simple: always focus your message on the needs and goals of your audience. The idea may be simple, but the process is complex. Your objective is to inform, to persuade,…

    • 3220 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Good Essays