The Rise of the American Film Industry

Before the film industry came about, people usually went to plays, read books, and played games for fun.  Film brought a whole new meaning to life for most people.  Ever since World War I, the United States has dominated the motion picture industry.   Film has been a form of story telling, but the very first films were short, like a magic trick. The film industry influences our nations history and shapes the world’s image of the United States. 

            The first motion picture projector was developed in Thomas Edison’s Black Maria.  The Black Maria was located in New Jersey and was the world’s first production studio. Thomas Edison and William K.L. Dickenson shot films by using the Kinetograph, and through a kinetoscope one person could view the film.   This was how the first public film was shown. 

Thomas Edison's Black Maria

            Charles Francis Jenkins, in Richmond, Indiana, was the first person to project a film on a screen, to an audience.  Not only was this the first film to be shown to an audience, but it was also the first film to have color, which took the industry to a whole new level.  Soon after this, people began to pay to see movies.  The first film that had a paying movie was a black and white silent film, which came as a shock to most people considering color had just been introduced.  Barber Shop and Wrestling were two of the first films that had a paying audience of nearly 500 people. 

            In 1896 The Kiss was the first movie that showed a couple kissing.  This film was considered one of the first extremely “scandalous” films, and not only did it bring about censorship, but also a bigger audience.   The idea of more provocative and risky films drew viewer’s attention because it brought a sense of rebellion to society.

Because technology was advancing, Edison’s small film industry had to pick up and relocate from the east coast to Hollywood, and from this, several film studios emerged and began to dominate production.   Some of the competing industries were Edison Manufacturing Company, American Vitagraph Company, and American Mutoscope Company.  All of these competing industries brought about many new additions to the film world, like the idea to rely completely on artificial light. 

          

Edwin S. Porter

  Finally, the film industry had a breakthrough when Edwin S. Porter created the projector to have a steadier and clearer image.  Although it may seem as if it is not very important, this is that one thins that finally pushed the film industry over the edge and brought in more viewers than almost everything else.  Nobody wanted to sit and watch a blurry movie that was constantly shaking, so thins invention not only changed the entire film industry, but brought a more peaceful perspective to the viewers eyes, making it more comfortable and enjoyable to watch. 

As the industry was accumulating more and more viewers they did not have enough space, so they started creating movie theaters.  Films being shown in movie theaters began as a very short ten to twelve minute clip with anonymous actors. 

One of the first movie theaters

Shortly after, actors began to get noticed and credits started appearing at the beginning of motion pictures.  The idea of being a “film star” helped to boost the industry dramatically.   By 1909 there were about nine thousand movie theaters in the United States, attracting viewers from everywhere to come and watch the films. 

            It is crazy too look back and see where the film industry began and where it is now.  Movie directors were actually hesitant to create longer movies fearing it would bore their audience, but finally worked up the nerve to do so.  Now, we pay ten dollars to sit in move theaters and watch sometimes three-hour movies without even flinching.  Not only did the film industry allow filmmakers to flourish in their creations, but it brought a whole new aspect into American life.  The rise of the American film industry is truly amazing.   

Works Cited

"American Film." ABC-CLIO Solutions. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 14.

"Film History Before 1920." Film History Before 1920. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2014.

"Grefrath, Richard W. JSTOR. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.

"Moving Pictures: American Art and Early Film, 1880–1910." Moving Pictures: American Art and Early Film, 1880–1910. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2014.

"This Fabulous Century, 1910-1920. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life, 1969. Print.