In this week’s blog post I am supposed to describe a specific aspect of how the studio system worked. There are many factors and individuals that contribute to the success, and unfortunately sometimes the failure, of film studios. In the next few paragraphs I will be discussing the importance of the STAR SYSTEM in Hollywood’s major film studios, and exactly how it functions and plays a huge role in the studio system.
As soon as Hollywood, California became the home of motion picture films, major film studios began “producing movies almost on an assembly line”, and developed teams of writers, directors, actors, technicians, equipment and etc., which allowed their production capabilities to grow at high rates (Media Now, 192). As production increased the studios began to understand that the popularity of certain actors/actresses was one of the main factors that contributed to the number of viewers the movie attracted. As a star was born, their “father” studio rose to the top; this is known as the STAR SYSTEM. The definition of star system in my “Media Now” textbook states, “The star system was the film studios’ use of stars’ popularity to promote their movies” (Media Now, 192). Studios now had a very valuable marketing technique that promoted studio films, and in result earned many more viewers. Each studio had its own star system which gave them their own style that differed from all of the others. Studios now began to develop their own genres that attracted different groups of viewers.
Whether the studios produced prestigious films, B movies, or both, the actors/actresses were bringing in consistent profits for their studios. Each film studio had their own star system, and each actor/actress had their own set of talents and acting skills that they were best at and well known for. This allowed for the stars to act in the same types of movies time and time again. The stars started to become associated with a certain genre, rather than acting in all sorts of different types of movies. Film studios that had stars that were talented in the area of singing and dancing began to produce movies under the genre of musicals. Musicals allowed the actors/actresses the chance to act out their true talents in the film. Other genres included: westerns, horror, action/adventure, comedy, romances, war movies, and etc. Actors/actresses that showed a strong point in one certain genre began to continually appear in the same types of movies in that specific genre.
A good example of an actor/actress that was committed to a specific genre is MGM star Judy Garland. Judy Garland had a consistent set of character traits, such as singing and dancing, which associated her with the musical genre. She acted in movies like “The Wizard of OZ”, “Meet Me in St. Louis”, “A Star is Born”, and etc. Every time a movie starring Judy Garland was produced, the viewers would know exactly what to expect: at least one or two singing and dancing scenes featuring Judy Garland. MGM also used Judy Garland’s talent and popularity to promote several other MGM stars in her featured films. For example, the film “Broadway Melody of 1938” features a young teenage Judy Garland who sings the song “You Made Me Love You” to a picture of another MGM star Clark Gable. This shows the technique that the MGM studio used in their star system. They used a very popular actress, Judy Garland, to promote another popular star, Clark Gable, in their film. Of course, this is only one example of many. MGM was not the only film studio to use this technique in promoting their stars and films.
I hope you all are enjoying your weekend and enjoyed this week’s blog post. Film is a huge part of my life, I love it! But then again, who doesn’t. Here is a link to Judy Garland singing to the picture of Clark Gable in the film “Broadway Melody of 1938”. This was also talked about and shown in Colin Tait’s appearance in our RTF 305 class as a guest lecturer. Enjoy!
Works Cited: Media Now textbook, Colin Tait.
No comments:
Post a Comment