America on Film. Sean Griffin
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The 1980s saw a revolution in home video, as well as an explosion in cable television. Cable channels largely made their money from subscriptions rather than advertising, and had greater freedom from censorship concerns than the major “free” networks. Attempting to compete, the three major networks pushed for greater openness in what they could show or discuss – including more explicit language, nudity, and “mature” topics. As a result, the television industry agreed to adopt a ratings system in 1996 similar (but not identical) to one developed by the film industry in the late sixties. Helping cut costs as well as attract viewers was an onslaught of “reality TV,” which often showcased a diversity of individuals and life experiences, but often in demeaning or exploitative ways. By the end of the 1990s, the big three networks faced competition not only from various cable stations and home video, but other “free” networks established by companies tied to major film studios, such as Fox, UPN (Paramount) and The WB (Warner Bros.). Deregulation allowed such consolidation and eventually the original three networks were also bought up: ABC by Disney in 1996, CBS by telecommunications giant Viacom in 2000, and (through various acquisitions and mergers) NBC became part of NBC Universal in 2003.
During these years, a number of cable stations targeted their programming towards particular niche markets, including channels (BET, El Rey, Lifetime, Oxygen, Logo) aimed at various minority groups. The new “free” networks also featured programs with African American and Latinx leads – at least, until those networks got off the ground, and then those shows were largely replaced with programs starring young white performers. Such a strategy of niche marketing or narrowcasting (as opposed to broadcasting) has continued to the present day as broadcast television and cable TV have been joined by streaming Internet services. Such services (and other social media sites and apps) collate preferences based on customer profiles and user history to guide viewers to similar shows to watch, thus subtly narrowing the scope of program options. (They also provide consumer data for advertisers and others.) In previous generations, America shared television experiences together. Now, TV viewing is individualized and often disparate (as one can watch TV on any digital device at any time).
Further developments in technology made such a variety of platforms possible, and even made television more accessible to some audiences. Closed captioning (providing subtitles for non‐hearing audiences) was at first available mainly on PBS shows in the 1970s, until the FCC ruled in 1991 that all TV sets had to be able to access such captioning. Similarly, an Audio Descriptive Service (providing sound descriptions of programming to visually impaired people) was made mandatory on all video devices, including cable and satellite boxes, and DVRs (digital video recorders) by the FCC in 2016. During the 2000s, older TV sets and home video equipment were replaced once again, as digital technology overtook the production, distribution, and exhibition of programming. In 2009, conventional analog signal transmissions ended in the US. This digital revolution expanded and blurred the boundaries between television, motion pictures, and other forms of mass media entertainment. Smart TVs now allow consumers to watch movies and programs via apps or the Internet, without a cable or satellite system.
Many have called the 2000s and 2010s a second Golden Age of Television, largely fed by original programs produced for cable and streaming services. A number of texts have been lauded for taking advantage of the long‐form narrative possibilities of series television to tell more complicated stories with more‐deeply‐written characters. While many of these shows (The Sopranos [1999–2007], Breaking Bad [2008–13], Game of Thrones [2011–19]) center on straight white males engaging in action and violence, others (The Wire [2002–08], Orange Is the New Black [2013–19], Transparent [2014–19]) provide new opportunities for characters from a variety of backgrounds to tell their stories. Such developments have also given everyday individuals greater opportunity to create their own work and disseminate it widely on various social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. To a certain extent, the multiple platforms and formats we refer to today as “television” offer far more diverse representations than those found in mainstream Hollywood films.
The typical concept of the U.S. television audience in 1959: a white, middle‐class family seated in the living room of their home watching TV together. Photo: Everett Collection/Shutterstock.
Independent filmmaking did flourish briefly in the 1980s and 1990s, because of the developing technologies of home video and cable TV, which desperately needed scores of films to fill program schedules and video‐store shelves. A large number of the independent films of this period dealt with race, class, gender, sexuality, and ability in new and important ways. Some of this was a result of the newest generation of film‐school graduates, a group that now included women and people of color, partly because of affirmative action legislation. A number of openly lesbian and gay filmmakers also found opportunities in independent filmmaking at this time. The success of some of these filmmakers has led Hollywood conglomerates to hire and promote more women, people of color, LGBTQ folks, and differently abled people, and to make a few films not focused on white heterosexual males and their adventures. By the mid‐1990s, however, many of the smaller independent film distributors were either driven out of business or absorbed by the major Hollywood corporations. For example, in the 1990s, Miramax was absorbed by Disney, and New Line Cinema became a part of the Time‐Warner corporation.
Today, the Hollywood‐independent dichotomy is somewhat moot, as many if not most of the films playing at urban art house theatres are released by boutique subsidiary companies owned by the Hollywood majors (or acquired by them for distribution). For example, Universal releases “art house” fare under the banner of Focus Features; Twentieth Century‐Fox did the same under the brand name Fox Searchlight Pictures. Some more truly independent filmmakers decry this state of affairs, arguing that Hollywood has now co‐opted even the art house movie scene. In effect, Hollywood now produces two types of films: blockbusters and genre films destined for mainstream multiplex theatres, and smaller “prestige” films aimed at film festivals and urban art house theatres. This two‐tiered system has an impact on the representation of diversity in American films: major Hollywood releases tend to play it safe and not take too many chances with content that might be deemed risky or challenging. On the other hand, boutique subsidiary films celebrate their uniqueness and pride themselves on telling more diverse stories. Focus Features has released many films that address LGBTQ issues, including Brokeback Mountain (2005), Milk (2008), and The Kids Are All Right (2010). Likewise, Fox Searchlight Pictures has released art house hits like Boys Don’t Cry (1999), 12 Years a Slave (2013), and The Shape of Water (2017), each of which also present diverse content and characters not usually found in mainstream Hollywood films.
21st‐Century Convergence Culture
The new millennium saw a continuation of the technological advances begun towards the end of the previous century. Motion pictures and television both transitioned from their earlier formats (celluloid film and magnetic videotape) to digital files in all areas –production, distribution, and exhibition. Such a shift narrowed and blurred the distinctions between the two forms of entertainment, resulting in what many began referring to as an era of convergence. A number of feature films (like the Harry Potter movies) began acting like episodes in a television series, while TV shows (like Game of Thrones) started including special effects previously only available to big budget theatrical cinema. Today, a number of films, TV series, web‐based programs, and video games interact with each other as parts of larger cross‐media franchises. Remakes, reboots, sequels, prequels, and versions of texts that originated in another medium have dominated the twenty‐first‐century media landscape, most particularly via the rise of fantasy/science fiction properties, and especially the comic book superhero genre.
Such synergy was made possible due to the continued conglomeration of various companies into even larger multinational corporations, such as Disney’s purchase of Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm Ltd., or