The Movie Industry is Powerful and Rapidly Changing

Movies, a two hour break from stress and reality that helps the viewer experience an entertainment of visual masterpieces. This is the primary function of the movie industry, to entertain. Entertainment is a key component of human nature and what better way to be entertained than through a fun and interesting movie. However, entertainment is not the only function of the movie industry, there is also a cultural transmission aspect. Many people view movies as a serious visual art form that is very much comparable to paintings, sculptures, and architecture. This is not to say that all movies are considered a high piece of art because many movies are made for the sole purpose to make money, but I am inferring that there is a good amount of movies that do uphold to this serious high art form. 

The first and very important major full-length film was a American classic movie called Birth of a Nation. It was a film directed by the American innovative film pioneer, D.W. Griffith in 1915. This film was a black and white, silent film that introduced many innovative cinematic techniques for the time. Chronologically, newer movie making techniques came about as the years progressed. The major ones include the addition of animation, then sound, then color, and then significant advances in video quality or higher definition pictures. It has even made the jump all the way to 3D movies with 3D glasses and then soon to be 3D movies without the need for glasses.  

The functions of the movie industry have been changing since the creation of movies. It started off in the very beginning as documenting what goes on during an ordinary day or daily life. This essentially was the reproduction of reality and did not really tell a story. As the movie industry progressed so did the functions of the film making process. Movies were now being made to tell a story, although it started off with short and simple stories, it later developed into complex stories. Along with the story telling came what age group the movies were being geared towards. At first it was generally the adult population. It wasn't until Walt Disney came out with Disney's first animated hit, Steamboat Willie in 1928 that movies became an all ages type of activity. In this animated hit, the famous Micky Mouse was introduced. Four years later Flowers and Trees was created, which was the first color cartoon.

More currently the function of the Movie Industry has been for entertainment or the ability to make money. Both of which the movie industry has definitely succeeded at. I will go back to talking about the artistic aspects of filmmaking. Digital technology and special effects has allowed filmmakers to do things they have never been able to do. The special effects are so mind blowing in certain movies that it would be very difficult to call them anything else but art. Art is supposed to spark emotions, something that films like Avatar and Transformers have been able to achieve. The movie industry has come a long way and I can not wait for what is in store for the future of this industry.