Tyler Harrison

Hist 171 American Patterns

Major essay #2:

Film became America’s favorite form of entertainment early on its life cycle. It
was also used worldwide as propaganda and was a way to almost push certain views
onto the public. Not only Hollywood films changed the views and ways of people, but
also films that captured real life events. Germany had propaganda films leading up to
the war and some entertainment films, with underline of their views, to help distract
people during the war. After the war ended and films of people liberating concentration
camps came out, the public was able to see what's really happening and showed them
how horrible it truly was.

Another example on how film can affect society is during the World War 1 era.
Film is often a reflection of society which can amplify the majority view, and the majority
view of World War one was that it didn’t solve many problems for the damage that was
done to everyone and even a few more problems arose because of it. Movies, such as
Wings, therefore focused more on the individual soldiers to portray them as brave and
heroes. Movies are often offered as an escape from what is going on, for example,
during both World Wars and during the great depression. Musicals and comedies were
often this escape.

Film has also created many stereotypes and incited racism in society. Oftentimes
it did not utterly create racism in society, but more so poured fuel on the fire, because
how we mentioned earlier that film is a reflection of society. There was more often than
not no display of ethnic diversity in early film and if they were present they weren’t
portrayed in a great way. For example African Americans were often portrayed as
having a criminal background, broken or absent families, and often assisting or helping
white characters inplace of their own wants or needs.

Minor essay #1:

Environment was definitely a factor when studios were looking for a place to
really settle down in. Films were for the most part filmed on the east coast in cities such
as Chicago, New York, and New Jersey. Because of the weather that came with those
cities people sought after a new location with more stable warm weather, and southern
California seemed to be just the place. There just so happened to be a lot of land for
sale around the area and plenty of different types of environments to film in. While it
came further down the road, when films gained sound they also needed a more quiet
environment, so the busy cities could not do anymore.
 Also different laws came into play when studios were deciding where to set up
shop as well. There were not as strict labor laws, such as unions for example, in
California at the time so labor for carpenters and tailors was much cheaper and became
quite appealing to studios. Thomas Edison and his strict patent on the technologies
used in filming was also more strict on the east coast. Out in the west they could get
away from Edison trying to sue them, or atleast buy a bit more time.

MInor essay #2:

The Battle of Algiers was considered a how to guide for guerilla tactics for a few
reasons. One example would be when the women dress like French or western women
to practically disguise themselves and hide their true plan/identity. Also the use of
women in warfare was not particularly common at this time. The women were then able
to pass through security checkpoints with bombs and able to place those bombs in
cafes, residential areas, and even a dance hall. Civilians were the targets in this attack
inciting fear in the French people.