BLOG Module 8: Epilogue

When reflecting on the content and topics about American Film History throughout the years, it’s hard to ignore how large of a role films played in representing and reflecting the things America has been through. Each era of filmmaking represented changes, politically, socially, and technologically. Ultimately, these eras and the film movements in them represented a cultural change that allowed audiences to deeply connect with films. While 21st century filmmaking still includes some of these ideas, there has been a larger shift of focus on maximizing corporate profit, large franchises, and newer technology. This has led to a rise in conglomerations where we see companies such as Disney have become more than just a studio but a corporation that makes money from every stage of production and beyond that through merchandise, theme parks, and now, streaming services (Lewis 413). In combination with this, the blockbuster era has contributed to this change in 21st century Hollywood through presold properties that guarantee them profit through already established fans, such as Marvel and Star Wars films (Lewis 420). In addition, while artistic impact still plays a role in films today, most blockbuster films prioritize marketability and base the success of a film on how well it performs financially (Lewis 417).

Understanding this, my final essay on Raging Bull (1980) by Martin Scorsese changed how I viewed the shifting eras of films. Raging Bull did not follow the growing trend of marketability but focused on the artistic and emotional connection part of filmmaking. Jake LaMotta dealing with guilt and emotions is an aspect that connected with viewers in a similar way to older films. Raging Bull was released during the early stages of the blockbuster era, and despite the rise of blockbuster filmmakers such as George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, the film still found success through its artistic and emotional story. Ultimately, with the 21st century focusing on consumers, filmmakers continue to represent the society we live in by shifting their focus to marketing.

Works Cited

Lewis, Jon. American Film: A History. 2nd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2019.