Amos n andy show youtube

Social Science 123

Module Five Part 2

Visual Culture

Date: 5/1 – 5/5

Reading Assignment: Review Cullen, pages 112-113, 136-159, 166-177, 202-246, 255-258

Supplemental Materials: Video, Web Links

Intro:

Ah, movies! Still the most complex of the visual mediums. Moving pictures evolved in multiple locations across the globe at roughly the same time, providing a level of escapism that no medium before their emergence could match. With the advent of modern CGI, that escapism continues to grow and captivate us. How many of you are eagerly awaiting the next Star Wars or Avengers installment? I know I am! American film will become the bench-mark of achievement, mostly because of World War I and its near obliteration of competing industries. The Hollywood studio system will create a factory-like process that will be the primary conduit for exporting American culture and values all across the planet, and inspire indigenous film industries like the Bollywood tradition in India.

The earliest films were very mundane by our 21st century standards, but they mesmerized audiences. A good example are the Edison kinetoscopes produced between 1894 and 1896. Though Edison is eclipsed by the work of the Hollywood Independents, he laid the foundations of movie culture. Here are some of those films:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmZ4VPmhAkw

Pretty tame, but the first, The Kiss, is considered the first cinematic kiss. As you go through these ground-breaking short films, you can get a sense of the rich tapestry of existing popular culture that he and others could draw upon to bring paying patrons into the world of film. A kiss, Eugene Sandow from Ziegfeld’s Follies, sports, and a naughty pillow fight.

Other film-makers will build upon these humble beginnings to quickly create more elaborate stories and increase the level of escapism. My personal favorite is A Trip to the Moon, produced by Frenchman Georges Melies in 1902. This is a good example of how stage craft contributed to the growth of films. Using elaborate stage sets and magician’s tricks he created the first science fiction film. Check it out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FrdVdKlxUk

The first great American film, The Great Train Robbery, released in 1903 is, of course, a western. It uses new editing techniques, moving cameras, and pioneers location shooting. Here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCWKh14Mvzg

D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation is quite the controversial film due to its glorifying of the KKK, but it is a significant cinematic work. It legitimized movie-going for middle-class audiences, and by the 1940s it is not uncommon for Americans to attend the movies several times a week. Television will ruin that. It is also one of the first multi-reel films, which makes it quite epic to sit through. Here is a full version that runs over three hours. Watch it if you can.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQe5ShxM2DI

Here is a good summary of the film and its historical significance in about eight minutes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRtB6Ur76bw

The one area of film I find most fascinating is animation. We all know Walt Disney’s fame through what become known as “cartoons,” but other artists pioneered the genre. The first film recorded on standard picture film that included animated sequences was the 1900 Enchanted Drawing , which was followed by the first entirely animated film, the 1906 Humorous Phases of Funny Faces by J. Stuart Blackton—who is, for this reason, considered the father of American animation. Follow the links to see the films. The more detailed hand-drawn animations, requiring a team of animators drawing each frame manually with detailed backgrounds and characters, were those directed by Winsor McCay , a successful newspaper cartoonist, including the 1911 Little Nemo , the 1914 Gertie the Dinosaur , and the 1918 The Sinking of the Lusitania . During the 1910s, the production of animated short films, typically referred to as "cartoons", became an industry of its own and cartoon shorts were produced for showing in movie theaters . The most successful producer at the time was John Randolph Bray , who, along with animator Earl Hurd , patented the cel animation process that dominated the animation industry for the rest of the decade. I love Gertie the dinosaur! These artists will pave the way for the greatest animated film of all time, Disney’s Snow White. If you enjoy animation, I recommend exploring this Wiki, which I have drawn upon for this discussion:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_animation

Discussing film can be a long and laborious process. What I do in my face-to-face classes is to focus on one studio to take us through the development of the film industry. That studio is Warner Brothers. They gave us the first talking film, introduced the gangster (an urban cowboy) to film culture, and help us explore other genres. I have downloaded a series of videos on the Warner story for you to watch in the video module.

What is the greatest film ever made? Well, that is a very subjective interpretation. If I were to trust one source for helping us figure that out, it would be the American Film Institute. The AFI website has a wealth of lists to explore. Go here:

http://www.afi.com/default.aspx

At the top of their list of the top 100 American films? Citizen Kane and The Godfather. I encourage you to go through as many of their lists as possible. We can’t leave film without considering the worst films ever made. Bad movies are the basis of great satire (Did you know they are bringing back Mystery Science Theatre 3000? I can’t wait. I loved that show), and a source of guilty pleasure. Here is the Wiki of the worst films ever made:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_considered_the_worst

Radio has a very short tenure at the center of American popular culture, but it is extremely influential on all media that emerges after it peaks in popularity. From radio, television will get its stars, corporate structure, and audience. The most notable program of the radio era was Amos ‘n’ Andy, a throw-back to the influence of the minstrelsy tradition. Here is the Wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amos_%27n%27_Andy

If you have never experienced Amos ‘n’ Andy, check out some of the TV shows (recordings of the radio show are very rare). In many ways, it defines the sitcom on television. It’s also very funny despite controversy over racial stereotypes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_Us6SjoRkU

As we turn toward television, I want to leave you with an interesting article that does a good job of summarizing the state of radio today before presenting a list of the most influential radio personalities:

http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/most-influential/10-most-influential-radio-personalities/

As I sit typing this lesson, I can hear at least two televisions going in my house. Television is the most pervasive and influential medium in modern popular culture. Did you know the 20th century is known as the Age of Television? The book does a pretty good job of summarizing TV history, so let’s focus on a couple of specific areas. First, what has been on the air longest? Go to this Wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest-running_United_States_television_series

The influence of journalism is very clear on television. The intimacy of the radio news translated well to television. Meet the Press has been on the air for 68 years! It is the longest running show in the U.S., period! Five of the eight longest-running shows are based in the journalistic tradition. The longest running sports broadcast? Professional bowling at 59 years! Four years longer than the NFL has been on TV. Then come the soaps. A staple of radio, soap operas have been with us on TV since Guiding Light went on the air in 1952. Unfortunately, it died in 2009. Give the whole list a thorough look. What are the best TV shows? Rotten Tomatoes is a good place to explore that. Check out their lists:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/top-tv/

Here is a good video I have shown in the past that gives a cross-cultural look at the development of TV:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfAZ2g_RzLA

We could spend as much time debating the best TV shows of all time as we could the best movies of all time. The web is filled with any number of lists that try and determine what they are. This is a subject best left to subjective assessment. Certainly I Love Lucy and All in the Family will make a majority of lists, but, remember, no one knows why some shows prosper and others fail. It’s all about you and what you like at any given time.

The exam for this unit will be posted by 11:00PM on 5/7 and due by 11:00PM on 5/14.