Blockbuster Research Paper

743 Words3 Pages
Blockbuster films and Independent films were on the rise after the collapse of the Golden Era. One was an extravagant film appealing to all audiences and the other was aimed at American youth fighting the establishment in response to the social change sweeping across America. This paper will look at the differences in both styles of moviemaking including their differences in one of Americas’ favorite genres, Crime and Gangster Films. The Blockbuster Film After the fall of the Studio System and the rise of television, Hollywood continued to struggle to find a new identify due to the falling attendance in theaters. They needed something sensational to dazzle the people and bring them back to the movies theaters. The Blockbuster was their…show more content…
Hollywood was desperate at this time due to the effects of the fall of the Studio System, TV, and foreign cinema; and welcomed these young artists. The Hays Code also collapsed allowing these filmmakers a new freedom in filmmaking. Rather than producing the escapist type of Blockbuster film, these new films portrayed realism. Subjects such as sexuality, graphic violence, drugs, rock music, anti-hero anti-establishment themes, and other symbols of the 60’s counterculture were exploited. This appealed to their target audience, the young. The independent films had lower budgets and many filmmakers had to secure their own financing, use their own scripts, find unknown actors, and film on location. This resulted in a more authentic feel to the movie. No specific style emerged from Independent films. However, diversity and quality was apparent (Barsam & Monahan,…show more content…
1). Blockbusters focused on the criminal himself, chronicling his rise and fall. It not only included the misdeeds done by the protagonists, but will also display a family side or a personal side of the villain, and may show sensitivity or gentleness. Ultimately, they are betrayed, killed, or captured, letting the viewers know that crime doesn’t pay (Barsam & Monahan, 2013). On the Independent side of this genre, the film will be more realistic or may be based on the life of a real gangster as either a narrative or as a documentary. They reworked the crime film from the Blockbuster format and presented a more critical view of American life both past and present. They used an exploitation-style of violence and the violence was at an extreme. The characters are pathologically detached, isolated, and lonely (Lewis, 2008). Both types of films depict conflict with law and order figures. Settings are similar and are mostly set in large, crowded cities, sleazy bars, dark nightclubs or streets ("Crime & Gangster Films,"
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