Class Lecture: Movies

One of the most memorable discussions our class has had this six weeks is the one about movies. Movies were an iconic invention that first were invented in 1888 by Dickson. There was a short film that would be played (first moving picture), and the audience would peer into an peephole in a cabinet-like shape, and they see moving objects. The evolution of movies progressed rapidly, and by 1922, there were projection screens, movies with sound, as well as theaters dedicated to movies.

Movies "put the nails in the coffin" for magazines, in a sense, because the audience that was loyal to magazines began to slowly move more toward movies. After all, the audience could sit in the theater all day for a dime, the theater was air-conditioned and quiet, and there were more movies coming out than available magazines. People no longer had to wait for their news; radio was live and late-breaking (see my "Class Response:Radio"), and having something that you can both see and hear was much more emotionally stimulating.

Nowadays, movies still make billions and billions. However, the movie industry is not nearly as popular as it was when it first came about. That would be because of the rise of television (see "Class Response:Television"). Movies are still a very popular medium because of the need for cultural relevance and the overwhelming experience.