Early Theaters
Around the turn of the 20th century, America was a society experiencing big changes, unlike any that had been experienced before, and it was because of these changes that the birth of cinema was possible. Without certain conditions present it is unlikely that theaters would have grown in popularity so quickly or had as great an impact on the daily lives of so many people. The rise of big business changed life in America forever, spawning a massive shift in population from rural living, farming work to urban life centered on factory work, as well as triggering a massive "new immigration," swelling Americas already diverse cities with more and more foreign born citizens. It was because of these changes that the cinema was able to become a popular attraction, drawing large crowds consistently and competing directly with existing forms of entertainment such as ballet, live theater and vaudeville. The rise of big business caused a transition in work from primarily farm type work to new factory jobs. This resulted in large masses congregating in cities, coming from rural America as well as immigrants coming from many other countries in search of a better life. These workers had previously identified themselves with the type of wo
These programs were about an hour in length, consisting of numerous short films that were run back to back. These films were not necessarily the attraction that brought an audience to the theaters, but rather the cinema was the attraction, allowing the audience to be transported somewhere different each time they attended a film. Single shot films such as Workers Disembarking from Boat and Feeding the Baby were not meant to tell a story, but rather to let the viewer experience life elsewhere. Theater operators capitalized on the blue-collar worker's different working hours by screening programs all day long and often times all night long as well. Edison's vitascope was being introduced to communities across the country, and immediately found a home with the working class folk who could sit down and be transported away from the rest of their lives and retreat to a world that only exists on the screen. This too was reflected in the theaters, as little thought or effort was put into the improvement of conditions inside these theaters. Had it not been for these fundamental changes in society, it is unlikely that the moving picture theater would have had the impact that it did. Operators generally did not make a lot of money, and the expense of adding ventilation and proper lighting was too much to consider. The cinema presented moving pictures that could be understood by anyone. Central to these changes were the movement of people from rural towns to urban cities, and the shift towards the unfulfilling factory type work. Large tenements were constructed to accommodate the large number of people, but these buildings resulted in dirty, dank environments, which most people ended up having to share with rodents such as rats. This meant that regardless of when a worker was ready to go to the cinema, once inside they were not early or late, but could simply enjoy the show from where they picked up and watch everything until they had seen the entire show. Many people used this time to escape their everyday existence with some form of entertainment. People chose to find other ways to find meaning in their lives, and the cinema of attractions was a prime example of working class people finding outlets to entertain themselves.
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Acceptance Essays
