What I know about movies is that they were invented in the late 1800s. The first talking movie came out in the 1920s and was called Jazz Singer. Movies were a part of the achievements of the prospering time period. People used to watch movies that were silent before this one came out. Talking movies were not as accepted for a while because of people’s enjoyment in the silent movies. To go to the movies it was much cheaper back in the days then it is now.
It cost like 10 cents! The topic of movies is important to me because I love to watch them. I’d like to know how much movies have changed in time. Watching movies is one of my favorite pass times. Also, it is something many people, including me, do with their friends and I’d like to get to know more about it. My first wondering is, why were movies invented? “The primary purpose behind most commercial films, of course, was to make a profit, and any film that wanted to attract and keep an audience had to be appealing and entertaining” (Film, N.
D.).
This shows that movies had few purposes but there were specific ones. People wanted to make profit from movies and it created a lot of jobs. When people watched it, they received more money than it took to make as long as they were appealed and entertained by it. Clearly, movies were invented for the profit and attraction to the average citizen.
My second wondering is, how did movies change the 1920s? “The 20’s was one of the largest decades in movie-making. Over 800 films were made per year…Film-production was big business for America” (Vruwink, Shnae, & Niemuth, N.D.). The movies changed the 1920s for the better. There were so many movies made every year. The production of movies became a huge business in our country providing not just jobs for the citizens, but also gave entertainment and a pastime to them. Overall, the main effect movies had was the business they provided which obviously came along with plenty of money too.
The third wondering I have is, how did movies impact society in the 1920s? “Young Americans tried to copy what they saw in the movies. And they dreamed about far-away places and a different kind of life” (Monroe & Gallant, 2015). Music affected how people saw life and gave them a bigger imagination. They thought about themselves being in the place of the actors because they were inspired and so entertained. It took them to another universe. “Rich families and poor families saw the same movies. Their children shared the same wish to be like the movie stars” (Monroe & Gallant, 2015). Also, it brought rich and poor families together so they could share something in common. Poor people didn’t feel less and rich people didn’t feel more.
They both could watch movies together. Movies impacted society positively. The fourth wondering I have is, how did the movie business change throughout the 1920s? “By the end of the decade, there were 20 Hollywood studios, and the demand for films was greater than ever” (Dirks, 2015). The movie business only grew larger. From everyday to the next, people wanted more and more movies to watch and enjoy. From only a few Hollywood studios in the beginning, there was 20 by the end of the decade. “But the films were becoming bigger (or longer), costlier, and more polished. They were being manufactured, assembly-line style, in Hollywood’s ‘entertainment factories’…” (Dirks, 2015). The movies themselves were changing so much along as they were changing lives. The length of them were increasing and the production/cost to see were also increasing. They also got seperated into different parts like writing, costuming, makeup, directing, and other jobs they didn’t have like that before.
Movies changed a lot themselves throughout this decade. The fifth wondering I have is, how did the Great Depression affect the movie business created in the 1920s? “The Great Depression affected nearly every aspect of the American economy and movie theatres were certainly not exempt from its influence. While it is true that weekly attendance nationwide never dipped below 60 million people throughout the Depression, the average attendance prior to it was around 90 million a week” (Pasquarella, 2007). The Great Depression affect almost every aspect of the nation’s economy including movies. Although, its effect on the movies weren’t as bad as much of the economy, it did decrease the sales by . Out of the 22,000 of the movie theatres open in 1930, only 14,000 were open in 1934. But, movies didn’t suffer the depression for too long as their sales were just short 10 million from their regular sales by 1935. So, yes movies did suffer in the Great Depression, but they overcame it quickly and better than a lot of the economy.
There are many new learnings I had researching about movies but here are just three. First, I learned that the movie business was one of the least affected in the economy during the Great Depression. Second, movies became a big booming business in the 1920s making them a profit business. Thirdly, movies were made to make money and provide jobs. There are three surprised learnings I had about movies. First, movies were the least affected prospering business made in the 1920s by the Great Depression. Second, I was surprised that movies brought people together during this time. Third, movies were invented for the profit they made. After all my research, I still have 3 questions. How were speaking movies invented? How have movies affected the economy? Are movies a bigger business today or in the 1920s? Those are the 3 questions I have.