Week 1 [Seminar Notes] - Introduction to New Hollywood

Introduction to New Hollywood

Key Dimensions of Hollywood

1. As a commericial institiution - captalist logic, minimize risk, maximise profit

2. As a cultural presence - fantasies, pleasures, myths, popular worlwide, value, norms, assumptions

Can we trace interfaces of these two dimensions?

*WEEK 9 PRESENTATION* 

GLOBAL HOLLYWOOD (Bourne Ultimatum)

Defining New Hollywood

There's no agreement or an unambiguous definition of New Hollywood, or even that it exists in a clear cut manner. The reason for this confusion is quite simple. The term has been used on various occasions to describe different aspects of Hollywood cinema in the post-war period.

King 2002:1 

1967-80 --> HOLLYWOOD RENAISSANCE PERIOD

Decline of the Studio System (Post WWII)

Eight major companies ran a Hollywood during this period

The Paramount Decree 1948 cause the break up of the vertically integrated oligopoly 

TV, suburbanization, and demographic change brought about a huge decline in revenue and profits

Losing control of exhibition meant that major studios were no longer guaranteed an outlet for their products. 'They acted as financiers and distributors (Staiger 1988: 331)

Hollywood in the 60s

Old Hollywood was politically and socially conservative and was hostile to most aspects of youth culture

However, 60-80% of audiences were made up on the young generation.

Questions:

- Plenty of violence, sexual innuendo, they are anti-hero characters.

- Bonnie still a glamorous spectacle, 60s style haircut. Clyde with his dapper suits. 

- Slow-Mo death scene

- Mixing genres of horror and comedy, bloodshed with laughter

- A bombardment of violence forced upon the audience

- Due to the economic circumstances (the Depression) the pair are forced to carry out criminal activities, trying to legitimise their action.

- Banjo music, made it seems slapstick.

- The family values, the argument in the car mid-chase. They're a family gang, in it together.

- Their criminal actions are ignored compared to petty problem such as C.W. Moss's tattoo

- Use of film stills in the opening.

- Whatever the violence of Bonnie and Clyde, the American state is bigger (brutal ending)

The Reception of Bonnie and Clyde:

Crowther 

- It is a cheap piece of bald-faced slapstick comedy that treats the hideous depredations of that sleazy, moronic pair as though they were as full of fun and frolic as the jazz-age cutups in Thoroughly Modern Millie.

- No moral implications

- Distasteful with unnecessary violence

- It's not a truthful representation of the real 'Bonnie and Clyde'

Kael

- The whole point of Bonnie and Clyde is to rub violence in the audiences face to make them feel uncomfortable. However, this shouldn't be an argument against the movie (p. 161)

- Some people see 'Bonnie and Clyde' as a danger to public morality; they think an audience goes to a play or a movie and takes an audience goes to a play or a movie and takes the actions in it as an example for imitation. They look at the world and blame the movies. (p. 162)