Questions and Answer Assignment: Part One and Two
Part One
Question 1
In the era of racial tension, the heroic black protagonist actors were used in movies. The approach was meant to exploit the black audience, hence, blaxploitation. These films consisted of low to mid-budget; US genre films released from 1970 to 1975 and starred black actors in major roles. Initially, these films were meant for black urban audiences. These films were predominantly done in black urban settings, high levels of violence, specific language use, and dress codes. An excellent example of these films is the Super Fly. The film added controversy that followed the emergency of blaxploitation films. Therefore, many critics despised the film as they argued that it promoted criminal life.
Question 2
New Hollywood was the period in which the studio system was dismantled. Studios controlled the production, exhibition, and distribution of the films. In the New Hollywood period, young directors were granted the freedom to make counter-cultural films. New Hollywood almost exclusively targeted the youth audience. High-concept blockbusters worked together with saturation booking, especially during the school holidays. Besides, saturation booking became the standards of marketing practice after Jaws in 1975. The primary purpose of saturation bookings was to recoup the costs incurred in production by opening new films all together at numerous screens. The approach was backed by very intensive national advertising. Thus, Jaws film enchanted the audience by taking them through an experience that they had faced before in movie theatres by using highly intricate set designs, impressive and innovative special effects.
Question 3
Before the 1950s, the industrial nature of the film industry prevented the possibility of having one authorial voice. For example, Andrew Sarris popularized the auteur theory in America. Auteurs were viewed as genuine artists. The idea behind auteurs was that movie directors bore some responsibilities in their films the same way as the writer did in their books. Hence, auteurs could be considered to be authors of a movie (Kokonis 91). The auteur theory argued that a film reflected on the director’s artistic vision; hence, the movie that is directed by a particular producer had not only recognizable and recurring themes but also visual information that informed the audience who directed the film.
Question 5
The repeal of production code gave New Hollywood the chance to use rock music, sexual freedom, and to feature political themes that were anti-establishment. Filmmakers went against traditions to push for new heights and exploration of new ideas and genres. The period was characterized by the entry of a generation of young filmmakers who became the leading figures away from studios. The style, storytelling approach, and production process opposed the conventional methods during the late 1960s. Auteur filmmakers explored and exploited unconventional storytelling techniques and examined dangerous objects in style. Hence, televisions began appearing in homes and brought a disruption to the Hollywood comfortable status quo.
Question 6
The 1970s witnessed the emergence of directors as a new major creative force. From 1930, Hollywood themes were perceived to be annoying by the younger generation as they focused mostly on non-fiction stories and comedy. Hence, this led to the emergence of new talented film directors who could produce new entertaining materials in motion pictures for the younger generations. The advent of blockbusters greatly revolutionized the American movie scene, especially the Hollywood film industry (Lawrence 104). The period was characterized by the change of film content to more entertaining and provision of more sensation to the viewers. The already established studios no longer had direct control over the production of films. Studios still hold firm power on film distribution, but other areas such as financing, production, and filming were under the care of independent agents, studios, and producers. As a result, reduced costs of non-location filming encouraged more shoots in different areas.
Question 7
Five Easy Pieces film is one of the best cinema productions in America and a good definition of a character study. Just like the movie characters in the early 1970s movies, the movie embodies self-destructive dissatisfaction. For instance, Nicholson’s Dupea unhappiness resonates more because it reflects on what was going on. The film serves as a study of the restless soul of a talented individual who is too smart for his good and has wasted his talent, energy, and youth. By combining the elements of a road movie, the film tends to be too-self-conscious (Santoro 45). For instance, Bobby is a character whose stories are not narrated by film. As a character, he has no clear ambition, little to show in his life, and endless, constant conflict.
The movie changes from one moment to another, deliberately not paying attention to segue. The movie’s minimalist plot succeeded in capturing and depicting youth alienation prevalent within the middle-class in the early 1970s. Though the social issues addressed in the film may not resonate with today’s problems, the movie was perfect during its releasing time. With the casual agreement, the film has a sketchy plot (Saporito). Embodiment within the character’s self, both negative and positive traits made the worst of the enemy on characters’ complexly real depiction.
Part Two
Question 1
Despite the idea that the 1970s opened up with Hollywood facing artistic and financial depression, the decade turned out to be the best in terms of creativity in the US film industry. All the restrictions based on adult content and sexuality, language and violence were loosened, leading to the widespread use of these elements. The civil rights movement, hippie movements, growth of rock and roll, free love, drug use, and changing gender roles were all impacted during this period (Casper 65). New Hollywood was born after the studio system collapsed. The decade witnessed the emergence of new and experimental film-makers.
In the 1970s, a film such as All the President’s Men, a reflection of Watergate reflected the cynical streak that was a common occurrence in the American film industry and politics. The film showed the untrustworthiness in the government and passed the idea that news media were still reliable. Capricon One went ahead in portraying the conspiracy theory that was based on conspiracy. In the New Hollywood era, conspiracy theories were used to depict disaffection as they suggested varying alienation degrees from the usual aspects of contemporary life. The Roof Needs Mowing film by Gillian Armstrong presented an eccentric vision of the filmmaker as the owner sought to documentaries concerned with social issues with the film’s bold and edgy features. The film was driven by the deep affection for the wide range of traits, both historical and contemporary, and deep empathy for the fragility in people. Therefore, American films produced during the early 1970s were all based on people trying to pursue ideal dreams.
Question 3
Genre-bending films depend on viewers’ responses to the generic codes and misleading the audiences into the always expecting outcomes that are conventional. In Patton, a movie by George Schaefer in 1970, the hero comes up with a line that was unusual coming from any Hollywood war hero. The actor thanks God after slaughtering troops. Since the audience knows Patton, they are not surprised by the line, contradicting the perception that people go to battle out of their sense of duty (Kirshner, and Lewis 88). The film is an example of the 1970s genre films that in many ways resisted classical Hollywood scenarios. Filmmakers in this era treated generic conventions as if they came from older film techniques.
In relation to how the 1970s filmmakers revised Hollywood genres, the numerous films produced could be divided into two main categories: benders and breakers. Genre benders focused on violation of conventions without showcasing the fact. At the same time, breakers loudly broadcasted its violation of traditions and invited the audience to take part in the film’s efforts to mock and expose genre conventions. 1971 film, The French Convention by William Friedkin perfectly gives an illustration of New Hollywood’s genre-bending. MASH is another example of a genre-bending film produced in the New Hollywood era. The film explained the basic conventions regarding the then-standard military service (Saporito). The genre boasted of a long history in American cinema.
The renaissance films were an explicit response regarding the Vietnam War. Themes of demoralization, disaffection, and alienation are presented in these films such as the endings of both the Candidate 1972 by Michael Ritchie and Roman Polanski’s 1974 Chinatown films.
Works Cited
Casper, Drew. Hollywood Film 1963–1976: Years of Revolution and Reaction. Oxford, UK, Wiley-Blackwell, 11 Mar. 2011, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781444395242. Accessed 17 Apr. 2020.
Kirshner, Jonathan, and Jon Lewis. When the Movies Mattered. The New Hollywood Revisited. Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 2019, books.google.co.ke/books?id=4SKWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PR4&dq=ISBN:9781501736094&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwitstK0p-_oAhWOQUEAHfQ_DSQQ6AEIJjAA#v=onepage&q=ISBN%3A9781501736094&f=false.
Kokonis, Michalis. “Hollywood’s Major Crisis and the American Film ‘Renaissance.’” Gramma: Journal of Theory and Criticism, vol. 16, no. 0, 3 Sept. 2008, pp. 169–206, ejournals.lib.auth.gr/gramma/article/view/6435/6180, 10.26262/gramma.v16i0.6435. Accessed 17 Apr. 2020.
Lawrence, Novotny. Blaxploitation Films of the 1970s : Blackness and Genre. New York ; London, Routledge, 2012.
Santoro, Gene. Highway 61 Revisited : The Common Roots of American Jazz, Blues, Folk, Rock, and Country Music. New York, Oxford University Press, 2004.
Saporito, Jeff. “Why Is ‘Five Easy Pieces’ One of the Best Character Studies in Film History | ScreenPrism.” Screenprism.Com, Dec. 2015, screenprism.com/insights/article/why-is-five-easy-pieces-one-of-the-best-character-studies-in-film-history. Accessed 17 Apr. 2020.