Lecture 12 Flashcards
(33 cards)
Who first captured motion using sequential photography?
Eadweard Muybridge
What key concept did Eadweard Muybridge help establish?
That showing still images quickly creates the illusion of motion
Which brothers are credited with the first public presentations of film?
Lumière brothers
Who is considered the “forgotten wizard who invented cinema”?
Georges Méliès
What company did Georges Méliès found in 1896?
Star Film Company
Approximately how many films did Georges Méliès create?
Over 500
What genres and techniques did Méliès pioneer in cinema?
Science fiction, special effects, color film, and film editing
Why was Georges Méliès eventually forgotten?
He failed financially, his studio was demolished, and his films were destroyed
Who played a role in the decline of Méliès’ career?
Thomas Edison
By 1918, which country produced 98% of the world’s films?
United States (Hollywood)
What was the foundational principle behind the Hollywood studio system?
Film as investment, not as art
What system did Hollywood adopt for film production?
The factory system
What did the factory approach to filmmaking prioritize?
Profitability and control
Who controlled the artistic content of Hollywood films?
Studio owners, investors, and banks
What themes were forbidden in early Hollywood films due to censorship?
Poverty, underprivileged groups, and negative views of industrialization
What ideology did Hollywood films promote to counter the Bolshevik movement?
The American Dream
What independent studio was founded in 1919 in response to censorship?
United Artists
Who were the key founders of United Artists?
Charlie Chaplin and D.W. Griffith
What did expressionist filmmakers aim to do?
Treat film as an art form and critique capitalist society
What form of critique did Charlie Chaplin pioneer through cinema?
Social satire
What message did Chaplin’s work convey about the American Dream?
It had a darker side, showing the poverty and hardship many faced
Why was Charlie Chaplin exiled from the U.S.?
He was accused of being a communist
What marked the end of film as a recognized art form, according to this lecture?
The full takeover of the industry by profit-driven Hollywood studios
What is the modern film industry primarily driven by?
Predictable sales and profits
