Chapter Review
COMMON THREADS
One of the Common Threads discussed in Chapter 1 is about mass media, cultural expression, and storytelling. The movie industry is a particularly potent example of this, as Hollywood movies dominate international screens. But Hollywood dominates our domestic screens as well. Does this limit our exposure to other kinds of stories?
Since the 1920s, after the burgeoning film industries in Europe lay in ruins from World War I, Hollywood gained an international dominance it has never relinquished. Critics have long cited America’s cultural imperialism, flooding the world with our movies, music, television shows, fashion, and products. The strength of American cultural and economic power is evident when you witness a Thai man in a Tommy Hilfiger shirt watching Transformers at a Bangkok bar while eating a hamburger and drinking a Coke. Critics feel that American-produced culture overwhelms indigenous cultural industries, which will never be able to compete at the same level.
But other cultures are good at bending and blending our content. Hip-hop has been remade into regional music in places like Senegal, Portugal, Taiwan, and the Philippines. McDonald’s is global, but in India you can get a McAlooTikki sandwich—a spicy fried potato and pea vegetarian patty. In Turkey, you can get a McTurco, a kebab with lamb or chicken. Or in France you can order a beer with your meal.
While some may be proud of the success of America’s cultural exports, we might also ask ourselves this: What is the impact of our cultural dominance on our own media environment? Foreign films, for example, account for less than 2 percent of all releases in the United States. Is this because we find subtitles or other languages too challenging? At points in the twentieth century, American moviegoers were much more likely to see foreign films. Did our taste in movies change on our own accord, or did we simply forget how to appreciate different narratives and styles?
Of course, international content does make it to our shores. We exported rock and roll, and the British sent it back to us, with long hair. They also gave us The Office and House of Cards. Japan gave us anime, Pokémon, Iron Chef, and Hello Kitty.
But in a world where globalization is a key phenomenon, Hollywood rarely shows us the world through another’s eyes. The burden falls to us to search out and watch those movies until Hollywood finally gets the message.
KEY TERMS
The definitions for the terms listed below can be found in the glossary at the end of the book. The page numbers listed with the terms indicate where the term is highlighted in the chapter.
celluloid, 242
kinetograph, 242
kinetoscope, 242
vitascope, 243
narrative films, 243
nickelodeons, 244
vertical integration, 245
oligopoly, 245
studio system, 245
block booking, 246
movie palaces, 247
multiplexes, 247
Big Five, 247
Little Three, 247
blockbuster, 248
talkies, 248
newsreels, 249
genre, 249
documentary, 254
cinema verité, 254
indies, 256
Hollywood Ten, 257
Paramount decision, 258
megaplexes, 263
Big Six, 264
synergy, 264
digital video, 266
consensus narratives, 267
For review quizzes, chapter summaries, links to media-related Web sites, and more, go to bedfordstmartins.com/mediaculture.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
Early Technol ogy and the Evolution of Movies
- How did film go from the novelty stage to the mass medium stage?
- Why were early silent films popular?
- What contribution did nickelodeons make to film history?
The Rise of the Hollywood Studio System
- Why did Hollywood end up as the center of film production?
- Why did Thomas Edison and the patents Trust fail to shape and control the film industry, and why did Adolph Zukor of Paramount succeed?
- How does vertical integration work in the film business?
The Studio System’s Golden Age
- Why did a certain structure of film—called classic Hollywood narrative—become so dominant in moviemaking?
- Why are genres and directors important to the film industry?
- Why are documentaries an important alternative to traditional Hollywood filmmaking? What contributions have they made to the film industry?
The Transformation of the Studio System
- What political and cultural forces changed the Hollywood system in the 1950s?
- How did the movie industry respond to the advent of television?
- How has the home entertainment industry developed and changed since the 1970s?
The Economics of the Movie Business
- What are the various ways in which major movie studios make money from the film business?
- How do a few large film studios manage to control more than 90 percent of the commercial industry?
- How is the movie industry adapting to the Internet?
- What is the impact of inexpensive digital technology on filmmaking?
Popular Movies and Democracy
- Do films contribute to a global village in which people throughout the world share a universal culture? Or do U.S.-based films overwhelm the development of other cultures worldwide? Discuss.
QUESTIONING THE MEDIA
- Do some research, and compare your earliest memory of going to a movie with a parent’s or grandparent’s earliest memory. Compare the different experiences.
- Do you remember seeing a movie you were not allowed to see? Discuss the experience.
- Do you prefer viewing films at a movie theater or at home, either by playing a DVD or streaming/downloading from the Internet? How might your viewing preferences connect to the way in which the film industry is evolving?
- If you were a Hollywood film producer or executive, what kinds of films would you like to see made? What changes would you make in what we see at the movies?
- Look at the international film box-office statistics in the latest issue of Variety magazine or online at www.boxofficemojo.com. Note which films are the most popular worldwide. What do you think about the significant role U.S. movies play in global culture? Should their role be less significant? Explain your answer.
ADDITIONAL VIDEOS
Visit the 
VideoCentral: Mass Communication section at bedfordstmartins.com/mediaculture for additional exclusive videos related to the issues discussed in Chapter 7.