Leonard Martinez

February 27th, 2018

HST 342: U.S. West 20th Century
HST 342 Mid-Term Response
Question 2: “What role has early Hollywood and media played in shaping American Culture and
Identity”?
Hollywood has been a staple of the United States from the past to now. Why? Hollywood
has done such an excellent job at selling “America” to the entire world. With regards to this class
and its emphasis of the western origins and cultures, Hollywood excelled in the 20th century by
selling the West to the rest of the nation. Intentional or not, the west had its own personal staple
of success that portrayed all the myths that went around during a time of new beginnings and
proved them to be true. With the outlets of the media, including the newspapers, magazines,
films, music, etc. All these greatly impacted and shaped the culture of early America and the
early west. Culture was influenced a lot by success. The symbol of the current success of the
20th century has been Hollywood along with Disney, Warner Bros, and various other forms of
multimedia. When many left the east to track down the rumors of a new beginnings and a land of
gold (California), not a lot was known of the west. Once arriving the rumors and confirming that
the Rumors were indeed true, everyone traveled to the west to get a piece of the pie. California
along with the entire west grew exponentially so much that it began to heavily influence the
entire nation. One can say that the nation even relied on the west as a whole.
Hollywood during this time was a symbol of wealth and overall power. To be able to
invest into something such as film shows showed how the importance of trying to survive was no
longer a necessity and now practices could be put into many other things like practicing the arts
(film, music, art, etc.). We have to understand that during this time of change, many were leaving
the east due to severe oppression, inequality, or poverty. The west promised a new beginning and
a new chance to find identity (as previously learned in this class) with belonging. With all that
being said, Hollywood came about and immediately caught attention. Hollywood's upbringing
proved to the nation to be a powerful tool and symbol of National Unity; something the east did
not have and that so many wanted. With the success of the west it proved that many were coming
here and living in prosperity with peace among one another.
Even now as we look at Hollywood, we see a city and symbol of wealth and higher class.
With this time frame, we see that the old misconceptions of the “wild wild west” to be replaced
with a symbol of wealth and opportunity. Granted this became the insert of the west during this
time frame. The east had their cities with tall buildings and now the west was heading that way
also but with a very special gem; Hollywood. Hollywood in the west gave people an identity to
be proud of. Proud westerners were not only proud of the west for its social equality and
opportunity with new beginning but were now proud to be a powerhouse in a nation of
progression. There was always something new spurring around in Hollywood, making a culture
of excitement and thrill. Specifically, in California, culture took a shift from the old dirty, desert
west to now a culture focused on money and entertainment. Everyone wanted a piece of
Hollywood, to be a part of Hollywood, or even be in that circle of excitement; just like when
they wanted a piece of the gold in California. From a bigger picture, with the successful
expansion of American society as a whole, the overall American culture was rapidly growing
and expanding and was influenced by many things. There's more opportunity with growth in
wealth, so we can picture the west always on the go and progressively growing. The nation was
creating many new opportunities for all types of people, and the opportunities that were not
present in the east for certain groups or individuals were now present in the west.
Used as a symbol of unity, we can see how Hollywood was also used as a symbol of
entertainment and most of all, a as a Weapon. Best example of this was during the World Wars,
primarily in World War 2, the usage of multimedia propaganda to aid the war efforts back home
was crucial to the overall success of the U.S. and the allies victory. Companies like Disney and
Warner Brothers (in Hollywood and part of the entertainment circle) proved to be very essential
with the making of political cartoons and shows. Influencing the people’s emotions to support
the war efforts in the home front and overseas. Hollywood once again was uniting the people of
America. Rationing, enlistments, war bonds, and women joining the workforce were among the
many that the multimedia helped to shape the war culture during the times of conflict. Thanks to
Hollywood and their efforts using media for influence, morale back at home was boosted and the
American public never lost its confidence. If it was not for propaganda, the war efforts would of
fell and we could have risked losing much more than the war, possibly our homes or future
generation due to such a simple aspect of war which was Support.
Although the identity of the west held its wealthy image due to Hollywood and it’s
benefits for the country, it also had its double edge of some negative aspects. For example, since
it influenced and shaped the culture so much in the west and the United States as a whole, the
portrayal of women in the big screen and male dominant figures implemented further gender
inequalities and segregation for times to come as learned in Mae West’s Presentation of Western
Religion by Jill Watts. Not only this, but the culture started to turn like the east where the rich
were starting to overcome and walk over the poor as time progressed and the west slowly started
to gain momentum again in color segregation and social inequalities. Particularly in Hollywood,
culture was developed, and a new sense of western, snobby, rich characteristics started to arise as
a new culture in certain areas. Not only this but culture from Hollywood and film trickled down
to other parts of the west and the world. The world wanted their own Hollywood but respected
the U.S. as a powerful nation due to Hollywood selling the U.S. worldwide in forms of film and
entertainment.
Some other valuable sources of multimedia that influenced culture were magazines, with
the portrayals of models and fashion. Another pivotal one was the usage of the newspaper. The
newspaper created an “informative” culture where people were striving to be informed and
educated. Music moved the people and created certain cultures among the east and the west, with
specific language (slang) movements, fashions, and attitudes. But overall, Hollywood was the
main influencer of all culture in the United States and became the identity of the west.
 Once again, to conclude, the west dramatically flourished with the findings of gold in
California and the chance for a new beginning and identity. The west gave hope with a chance of
opportunity for those who can make the trip to get there. Due to the dramatic success, the culture
of the west shifted from a desert Wild West view to now a luxurious land of wealth and
opportunity. Hollywood with its other various forms of multimedia shaped the west image in
ways where they gave the people a proud identity to be part of the west. Film, stars, wealth, all
became the new culture primarily in California and started to shape and identity of wealth for the
United States as Hollywood grew and sold America to the world. Not only this but the west (like
in California) started to gain an influx of all sorts of people from different cultures migrating and
growing the populations of states in the west. This affect gave a new diverse identity to the west,
influencing Hollywood, and once again Hollywood influencing the U.S. and the world. Thanks
to Hollywood and its success, the west was portrayed and found its identity in wealth and in
diversity. As a staple of wealth, it was also a symbol of opportunity. A myth once spread in the
east was now proven to exist with the symbol of Hollywood. Hollywood was the one that
initiated and moved culture shifts, starting from the shifting image of the Wild West to a wealthy
land, to moving an entire nation, preparing it and basically giving it a mindset of war support for
its troops and allies. In all, we can go as far to say that Hollywood not only gave the west its
identity but gave the entire nation its identity as a whole. The proven effects of this can still be
seen today with its influence on indigenous/underdeveloped countries like India or Africa. They
now know the U.S. due to its films deriving from Hollywood. Hollywood is a staple to this
country's image and the overall identity of the west. Even now, Hollywood still shapes and plays
a dramatic part in current American culture. As a token of wealth and prosperity, wealth shows
power, and that’s what the west was during this time. A powerhouse of opportunity and
diversity, the west showed the luxuries of life can be achieved when someone works hard to
obtain them. This was the main identity and culture of the United States and the west. A nation
working hard to develop all its lands and societies to one day become a powerhouse country in
the world (which we are today).