The multibillion-entertainment industry in the current world is a depiction of the need for people to purchase entertainment such as movies, music, and sports. The evolution of the film industry since the time of drama with no television to photographs, silent videos, white and black films with audio to the current form of colored movies is a testament of creativity and novelty in different eras (Hill, 2004). The 1950s and 1960s are known as the era of technological enhancement and creativity that changed the film industry and influenced the notion of short documentaries and films. The French New Wave and British Kitchen Sink Realism films are some of the defining eras that helped propel the thinking and ability to use locations or apply new technologies for the benefits of entertaining while involving the audience. This essay demonstrates the influence of each era on the modern film and society’s role in movies. Films just as any other form of art depend on the use of the imaginative and creative way to communicate thus acting as a mirror to the society. Before the two eras, films were imaginary, therefore; they did not play the role of being a mirror to the society hence the critics of these periods to term the videos as dull or unimaginative.
Influences of the French New Wave Cinema (FNW)
The end of WWII saw young enthusiastic and creative directors such as Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, and Claude Chabrol take center stage and change the notion of video production. Guided by the Italian Realist movement, these young directors’ demonstrated their willingness and determination to change the industry. The directors needed to change the traditional mentality on the essence of large budgets and the exclusion of the public in film production resulted in the FNW (Hill, 2004). The FNW was the era that studios became substitute by locations such as restaurants, roads, or public places with the noise and pedestrians being included in the films. French New Wave Cinema made a significant impact in the film and cinema industry globally. The opening of the directors of the French "new wave", created by critics of the main French film magazine "Caye du Cinema", changed the language of films around the world ( Neupert, 2007). Some representatives of the "new wave" or the directors close to her live and create to this day - for example, Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rivette, Agnes Varda, Alain Rene. Others - Claude Chabrol, Eric Romer - have died quite recently. But they were replaced by new talents: Francois Ozon, Leos Karaks, Jean-Pierre Géné and many other directors, allowing France to remain one of the leading foreigners. The French picture of Abdelatif Keshish "The Life of Adeli", which just won the "Golden Palm Branch" in Cannes, confirms this. Recently, a sensation was made by another participant in the Cannes competition -black and white mute "Artist"Michel Hazanavichus, who won all the major Oscars, and this was one of the few fair Oscar decisions in recent years. The wave was associated with exceptionally talented actors. Most of the French actors made cinema almost realistic. For example, in “Flanders”, the viewer can create a clear picture of the setting of the film. Somewhere in Flanders there lives a farmer Andre Demester. Sometimes he sleeps somewhere in the bushes with his childhood friend Barb, who also has a farm. The viewer can in every detail see the modest rural French landscapes, which resemble the Central Russian. Heroes talk little. The most frequent plan is a static landscape and characters retiring silently. Andre should go to war somewhere in the Arab country - where, we still do not understand. Together with him, another villager leaves, from which Barb has time to get pregnant before leaving. In war, the heroes create a terrible, unmotivated cruelty. So terrible that when one of them threatens to kill or kill, the viewer experience, about horror, relief.
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French New Wave cinema also introduced the concept of romance in movies ( Neupert, 2007) . French cinema is associated in most people with romantic and at the same time dramatic stories taking place in Parisian scenery, and it is believed that the French relate to love freely and uncomplexed, so in their films, many same-sex couples, three together and so on. Christophe Honoré is filming just such - very French - films. "All the songs only about love" participated in the main competition of the Cannes Film Festival - for the time being this is Honore's biggest festival achievement.
The short films and snapshots also introduced the use of 35mm cameras to include the public. It was a realistic nature of the daily lives of the young directors; no longer inhibited by the costs of production in studios, as the locations shoots were quite cheap (Hill, 2004). The lack of strict scripts enhanced creativity and allowed the introduction of new crops of actors and failure to rely on star actors for the films to gain audience and profits. These changes during the FNW are evident in recent films such as movies directed by Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino is one of the postmodern directors whose work depict the influence FNW has in his style. The FNW also changed the style of films from linear to non-linear narrative styles for instance flashbacks (Hill, 2004). The use of flashbacks in modern films is evident in almost all movies and series, which enhances suspense that increases audience attention. Lastly, the era enabled the freedom for people to use films to express themselves, which is evident in the social media, and YouTube videos where people are able to record themselves and share their short clips.
Influence of British Kitchen Sink Realism
Critics referred to the late 1950s and early 1960s British independent cinema as ‘Kitchen Sink’ derived from Bratby’s expressionist painting. The popularity of the term helped name the short era as the British Kitchen Sink Realism of films written and produced between 1958 and 1963. The French New Wave and the Italian Realism Movement influenced the British directors to change the scope and style of British films. The Kitchen Sink notion and angry young men were central to the movies that used the ugly and opposition of the working class. The romanticism era prior to the realism era relied on demonstrating the perfect world but the realism was based on depicting the grievances of social and political landscape of the country and the economic constraints affecting the working class following WWII (Sexton, 2014). The dramas founded on defiance of the youth and other working-class discriminated due to the traditional hierarchies in the country and the inability to use their skills to improve their living standards. These films demonstrated the protagonists to defy the norms, for instance, single mothers, abortions, women empowerment, sexuality, and other actions regarded as taboo in the British culture (Sexton, 2014). The working class grievances, the need to improve their lives, and daily pressures dominate the themes while also borrowing and enhancing the preference of location shootings.
The likes of Jack Smith, Edward Middleditch, and John Osborne are some of the critical directors during the era. The era helped inspire postmodern directors such as Delany and Wesker (Sexton, 2014). The age changed the scope of films in the notion of calling for social and political changes by demonstrating the issues the public is facing due to traditional norms and poor governance. Most of the movies today are based on depicting the suffering of the people, poor leadership, and social interactions in the society. Therefore, it is evident that the British Kitchen Sink Realism films are still influencing the film industry after more than six decades since its end.
Conclusion
The essay demonstrated that although technology and change in the mode of filmmaking are evident, the two eras played a massive role in changing the dynamics, styles, and inclusivity of the audience in the film industry. The 1950s and 1960s therefore, remain one of the most influential eras in the film industry with their themes still dominating the industry.
References
Hill, R. (2004). A History of the French New Wave Cinema:A History of the French New Wave Cinema. Film Quarterly , 57 (4), 57-58. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/fq.2004.57.4.57
Sexton, M. (2014). The Origins of Gritty Realism on British Television: Euston Films andSpecial Branch. Journal Of British Cinema And Television , 11 (1), 23-40. http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/jbctv.2014.0190
Neupert, R. J. (2007). A history of the French new wave cinema. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press.
