Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Motion Picture Madness!

by Jennifer J.

During the 1890’s America was transforming from a rural unorganized society to a modern institution. With this transformation came developed urban societies, which longed for new forms of entertainment. Ways to communicate were advancing with the invention of the telegraph, telephone and media. There was mass migration from Europe to America during this period which required new ways to communicate.

With the mass amount of people flowing into the Americas, recreational activities became high in demand due to the development of leisure time. “The increase in available leisure time would encourage the creation and use of all recreational forms, especially commercial amusement such a the motion picture, which required a more definite and specific commitment of free time, unlike books, newspapers or periodicals, which could be read in the home with greater ease” (Jowett, pg. 17). The invention of motion pictures was associated with Thomas Edison, who took the use of a camera to a new level in developing a special motion picture camera called the “Kinetograph” (Library of Congress). Edison invented a projecting device in “1892”, which came to be known as the “Kinetoscope” ( Jowett, pg. 26). This projecting device was shaped like a box and one person could view a moving picture by looking inside the box.

Within a few years of Edison’s first moving picture inventions came another invention which would allow images to be projected onto a screen. This next invention was called the “Vitascope” and was created not just by Edison, but with the help of two other men by the names of “Tomas Armat and Francis C. Jenkins” (Jowett, pg.27). America was craving Edison’s new inventions so he allowed the Kinetoscope machines to be sold to stores all over to show the short motion picture shows. “The storefront theater, a minor venue for picture shows since 1895, rapidly became the dominant site of exhibition because changes in motion-picture practice had created new conditions that made it immensely profitable” (Charles Musser, pg. 417). The small theaters became known as “nickelodeons”; these theaters were also deemed responsible for the emergence of modern cinema (Charles Musser, pg. 417).

One of the first films produced and shown at a nickelodeon was a reproduction of a famous fight which involved “Corbett-Fitzsimmons” (Los Angeles Times, 1898). Per an article in the Los Angeles Times “The Famous Fight” reproduction proved the invention of the camera was scientifically advancing because the fight was known to last about an hour long. The reproduction of the fight was important to the public due to controversy about the fight being judged unfairly. People flocked to the nearest nickelodeon theaters so they could have their own opinion on what really happened during the fight.

Most of the films produced during the 1890’s were films reflecting images of real life situations. Some of these situations included “notable persons, railway trains, scenic places, foreign views, fire and police workers, military exercises, parades, naval scenes, expositions, parades, and sporting events” (Library of Congress). It was not until the early 1900’s that fiction story-lines were created and shown in theaters. This type of movie, which involved a script, developed the position of what we call movie actors. From the development of this new type of narrative script actors movie were required, which then created movie stars. Once certain actors were seen in numerous movies, audiences became more curious and want to know about these actors personally. Movie magazines were released to the public, which allowed them to read biographies of their favorite actors. When this personal information was released the public began to yearn for movies which displayed their favorite actors who became stars.

One of the first fiction films to be produced was “The Great Train Robbery” by Thomas Edison (Library of Congress). This films story-line was about two outlaws of the West who held-up the engineers of a train to steel it and the goods that it contained. There were numerous shots taken in this movie, which included indoor and outdoor motion picture photography. This movie was also known as one of the first films to introduce the two-shot sequence in motion picture photography. Edison always tried to be one-step ahead of his competitors, so trying new things in the movie industry was a must.

The emergence of cinema created a form of entertainment that has been running strong ever since the 1890’s all the way through today, 2006. Even though Edison was considered to be the first inventor of the motion picture machines, many other people quickly learned of his invention and strived to improve it, which created major market competition. Soon other companies began to develop new machinery that accentually took over the motion picture market and phased out Edison’s role in motion pictures. Even though Edison was fade away he still was considered not only the inventor of the first moving picture apparatus but was also considered responsible for creating new jobs in America because of his inventions. Movie scripts writers, actors, theater managers, and movie directors were all new jobs created for an aggressive transforming American Society.

Works Cited

Library of Congress-American Memory. “History of Edison Motion Pictures.” Accessed on May 10, 2006.

Los Angels Times. “The Famous Fight.” October 9, 1898. ProQuest Historical Newspapers-Los Angeles Times pg. B5. Accessed on May 10, 2006.

Garth Jowett, “Film: The Democratic Art.” (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1976).

Charles Musser, ‘The Emergence of Cinema: The American Screen to 1907.” (Berkley: University of California Press, 1994).

Interesting Links to History and Images Include:

Ediso.

9 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

What a cool post! Isn't it amazing how motion pictures have shaped the society that we live in? I often wonder what kind of world we would live in without it, or rather, what other pastimes would be fighting for the attention of the public had movies never been available.

One thing I was specifically interested in were the first "movie stars." One would think that at the very beginning of motion pictures, movie stars would have been worshiped much more than they are today, but we live in a world where every single detail of celebrity life is displayed for all the world to see. Was celebrity worship at the time similar to what it is now?

It makes me think of the musical Sunset Blvd; the stars of today have so much more notoriety than the stars of yesterday. Maybe it's just a sign of the times.

12:25 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Very well written history of the beginnings of the motion picture industry. The more we learn about the 1890's, the more we see how the beginnings of things we enjoy today, movies, sports, and other forms of entertainment, were started during this period. It amazes me how little I knew about this decade at the beginning of this quarter, yet how profoundly it affects my life everyday as far as the lifestyle we enjoy today.

8:39 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow. The beginning of the movie industry and the inherent 'wanting to know the actor' on a more personal level! Along with special effects, the actors are portrayed as heroes (and heroines) inspiring its public. This intrusion into the actors' lives could be because viewers would like to find out if the 'real' person is anything like the fictional character in their movie.
Nevertheless, i am curious as to why people (or directors) moved from filming and viewing 'reality' into fictional? Could it be that because directors had already filmed Native Americans and African Americans such as we saw in the small clips in class and such people now sought out new exotic things? Was it merely for profit thing?

8:41 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think that the part about "The famous Fight" is really interesting. I mean, we never really think about the fact that film is used for so much more than entertainment. It brought a whole DIFFERENT entertainment industry, sports, to a higher level of precision.

I really enjoyed this post. It brought a lot of really interetsing ideas to light.

11:25 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I agree with Stevie. It's interesting to think of how the cinematic industry changed the quality of life for people at the turn of the century. Not only was this another entertainment outlet, but the cinema can also be appreciated for its educational value. It brought to life subjects that people may have never seen before. Just as Leslie discussed how few times a person may have heard his or her favorite song in their lifetime, they may have had even less exposure to particular sporting events or other broadcasted activities. These nickelodeans may have brought to life things that people didn't even know existed.

3:15 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Very interestig post. I wasn't aware that the motion pictures began at such an early era in American culture.Reading your post, I somewhat assumed this great innovation was occuring somewhere on the east coast, or the mid-west, in a time where cities such as Chicago and New York were leading the country in economy and technology.

Today, when people think of movies, they think Hollywood, Ca. My aim is to understand what incentives did the west offer the motion picture industry in the late 19th century. The incentives are obvious today, but what were they [the incentives] in the 1890's. In any event, i really enjoyed the post.

12:16 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I can imagine how people in the 1890s must have responded to being able to watch a motion picture. Being able to see 'life' taking place right before your eyes in the form of a motion picture must have been, at least at first, just a jaw-dropping experience. And as Bonnie said, the average person probably had very few opportunities to view a motion picture, so it was probably something that made a long-lasting impression on them. The 1890s must have been a very interesting time to live in, with so many inventions and improvements on inventions. It is becoming clearer to me why optimism was so prevalent during the 1890s, people were constantly seeing innovation taking place around them, it must have been easy for Americans to believe that things would only continue to get better for them.

9:49 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Movies have definitely come along way in today's society. It is interesting to hear about the histories of the theatre. Also, its suprising to hear that most of the film recorded in that day is of real life situations. It gives us an idea of the awkward things one might film at the time. However, also provides an insight into the interests people had. Many interests that people had then have not changed too much from now.

5:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Its funny how the earliest works were mostly 'nonfiction' in a sense. You wonder why people would record realistic things like that when I got the impression from all the other recreations that people tried to escape the reality of their lives. Then and again, mass media isn't as integrated and invasive as today so finding out about other people's lives was probably just as good entertainment as fantasy.

6:27 PM  

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