Movie Influence On America

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Since the beginning of the twentieth century, movies have been an influential and popular form of art and entertainment. Here in the United States, it is also big business. Today’s movies use a director’s vision, which is either taken from the work of an author or based on original ideas created by screenwriters, then produced—usually at enormous cost to pay top actors, cinetographers, set and costume designers, not to mention special effects. In 1890 Thomas Edison, along with his chief assistant W.K. Dickson, were among the pioneers of movie makers. Edison was not a movie maker by profession; he was however, the inventor of the kinetograph and kinetoscope—devices that made movie watching possible. By the beginning of the twentieth century,…show more content…
In 1907, the migration of filmmakers to southern California began, thus christening Hollywood as the “film capital” of the U.S. According to Pell, “Film historians have commonly argued that movies helped “Americanize” the immigrants, teaching them morals of their adopted country, easing the cultural transition from the Old World to the New” (205). This being said, you can see how movies had a large impact on the cultural beliefs of movie goers, immigrants and Americans alike. Among early immigrant filmmakers to the United States was Charlie Chaplin, who came from Britain. Charlie Chaplin is often referred to as the first American movie star, as well as the first “political” movie star. Charlie Chaplin brought a new perspective to the American people, namely his agnosticism and decidedly leftist political leanings. It was in fact, accusations of communist sympathies that led in part to Chaplin’s “exile” from…show more content…
Movie stars had power to affect the political consciousness of the nation. Americans have long maintained a love-hate relationship with movie stars, Audiences connect with movie stars at an emotional level and with a sense of intimacy they rarely feel about politicians (Ross 5). The Federal Government understood the influence that movie stars had over the views of American politics, so much so, that in 1918, the FBI ordered secret agents to maintain close surveillance over suspected Hollywood radicals. Several years later, Bureau agents confirmed their worst fears. “Numerous movie stars,” they reported, were taking “an active part in the Red movement in this country” and where hatching a plan to circulate “Communist propaganda…via the movies (Ross 3). As tensions over a perceived threat on Capitalism, the American way, posed by Russia, and the Communist lifestyle that they adopted became known as the Red Scare. (Communists were often referred to as “Reds” for their allegiance to the red Soviet flag.) The Red Scare had a huge affect on the American Culture and anti socialism. Communism was a threat to the way we lived our lives, and any communist behavior would essentially have you exiled, or executed. Federal employees were closely watched to determine whether they were loyal to the U.S government, and The Hollywood film industry was closely monitored and movie stars where heavily analyzed as well. Any

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