Once upon a time, there was an idea. He was a good idea, and his name was Movie. He was born in 1903, and his first Work of Consequence was The Great Train Robbery. This is Movie on his first birthday:
Clearly, he is very handsome. Lots of girls liked him but... well, lots of boys did too. Everyone loved Movie. But, as usual, there were some bad people who wanted to use movies for their purposes of weirdness. The obsession with vampires is not new people! Here's an early Bella.
This woman is called a "vamp." The ominous pile of bones in front of her is called a "victim."
Given the picture, you may not be surprised to learn that the movies started out as a means for people to... look at women. This incited public outcry, and Movie was forced to censor himself.
Movie's big break, however, came when he met a young man named George Creel.
"Movie," said Creel, "I like your style. Will you become a powerful instrument for me to pluck skillfully as I sing songs of hatred for Germans?"
Movie replied with an emphatic yes! He helped to get Americans fired up about the war and aided with the "volunteerism" effort. How nice of him.
Movie did not learn how to talk until he turned 24 years old in 1927, and the first thing he said was this. Historic words: "You ain't heard nothin' yet." And indeed the world hadn't. If only they could see today's movie abominations. In any case, the first movie ever made with talking was The Jazz Singer, which is about a Jew who pretends to be a black man. My, how the times have changed.
As is the natural way with people, they quickly became attached to Movie's well-paid friends: movie stars! They were wildly attractive and most people knew more about them than they knew about their country's leaders, which should come as a surprise to no one, since nice looking people are a great deal easier on the eyes than politics are on the brain.
Look! Its a magazine in the grocery store checkout!
This is 1930s TMZ!
Anyyyway, movies had an especially big effect on immigrant children. Because they allowed children to hear and see American culture, they aided with assimilation and helped the population move one step closer to a more ethnically harmonious society.
This could possible be one of the more important blog posts. Mainly because it has to do with movies. Without these early achievments, we would not have movies such as The Hangover, Hall Pass, or Get Him to The Greek, as well as Master and Commander for the more refined audiences.
ReplyDeleteFunny and informative as always. Especially the part with Creel. Now that we are in the future, we should go back and end Bella's ancestor then and there!
ReplyDeleteI must say that the vampire this really does strike me as being slightly out of control. I had no idea that the movie industry started out as being such a lurid business. Thank you for informing me of this.
ReplyDeleteOh blackhawk. you excite me with your interesting comments. I thought your post was very interesting, and it shed some light on the importance of movies along with some important examples like that of George Creel and WWI. Good job and keep up the good work. Maybe someday youll be as good as me.
ReplyDeletePosting this info as a story is a great way to remember it. It made me smile :)
ReplyDeleteIt's exciting to read about the origins of that which is still a major part of our lives today- that shifty character, Movie. And to think they had those problems back then, to....
ReplyDeleteWell, it certainly was used to great effect during WWI and WWII as propoganda. Exciting story post
ReplyDeleteAs is the natural way with people, I enjoyed this post too. Its amazing how quickly the film industry took off and how influential it immediately was.
ReplyDeleteAnna! I left a comment but then it didn't work. Anyways, I enjoyed the way you addressed this assignment, instead of simply restating the section. Your pictures were interesting, too!
ReplyDeleteIf there was ever any doubt as to whether your out-of-classroom time engaging in restorative and glorious hall wandering is spent in profitable thought, this post would forever end such probably-non-existent-in-the-first-place doubt. Clearly, creativity is brewing at all times:)
ReplyDeleteI loved the tabloid primary source -- a perfect way to make the point about the market, not only for movies themselves but consumption of celebrity gossip.
Merci Anna pour ton post! Je ne sais pas si post est masculine ou feminine. Ca fait rien! Comme Brenna a dit, j'aime bien le faison que tu as nous dit tous ce information. Merci! Je t'aime!
ReplyDeleteI'm with Nick. I enjoyed learning about the character of Movie, and thought your post was both well executed and highly informative. All of these things like cars and airplanes and movies we often take for granted, so it's nice to learn about their origins in the early 20th century.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness that movies have come into our lives! It truly is awesome! i like how the book made the point movies were big because of the "naughty" peep shows. funny, right? I think so. Thanks a bunch!
ReplyDeleteNice story about a developing infant that still runs strong today. The Jazz Singer is a great movie though a tad racist, but so are modern movies like "Harold & Kumar". I didn't know that TMZ raked muck back in the day... Anyway, nice post.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone else notice "Flimland?" Anyway, it was a really great post - the post was entertaining and funny and the pictures were really good with the possible exception of the "vamp" one which was like a creepy precursor to the even creepier Twilight.
ReplyDeleteEragon was most definitely an abomination. Especially to those of us who actually read the book.
ReplyDelete~Stephanie