WEBVTT - Films That Changed America

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<v Speaker 1>The problem with movies in generals that everybody sort of

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<v Speaker 1>has low expectations of them. You know, what do you

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<v Speaker 1>want to do? I don't know nothing. I want to

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<v Speaker 1>go to a movie. I mean, so that's sort of

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<v Speaker 1>that's where we are right and we don't even plan

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<v Speaker 1>to go to and we just go. Something will be

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<v Speaker 1>playing their sixteen screens. We have to find something. The

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<v Speaker 1>Science of Happiness, appreciating modern painting, dilemmas of modern medicine,

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<v Speaker 1>Abraham Lincoln and the civil The artistic genius of Michel Angeli.

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<v Speaker 1>When intuition changed American mystory, Psychology of Religion. One Day University.

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<v Speaker 1>The most acclaimed and popular professors from top colleges. They're

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<v Speaker 1>best lectures, fascinating conversations. Hi, I'm Richard Davies. Let's learn.

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<v Speaker 1>And so this is sort of the climate today. This

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<v Speaker 1>is the digital age right where we just seem to

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<v Speaker 1>have so many choices. My name is Mark LaPadula. I

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<v Speaker 1>teach at Yale University in the Film and Media Studies program.

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<v Speaker 1>Today is films that changed America. There was something about

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<v Speaker 1>the films of yesteryear that I think it's really worth

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<v Speaker 1>and I tell my students to go back and re

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<v Speaker 1>examine them. What is our relationship with with movies? How

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<v Speaker 1>has that changed over years? You know, movies do tend

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<v Speaker 1>to reflect the time in which they're made, and the

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<v Speaker 1>best movies actually become mirrors of the world and help

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<v Speaker 1>us to better see the world we're sort of embroiled in.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes we don't see as clearly as we'd like to.

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<v Speaker 1>A movie can somehow, you know, open up a window

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<v Speaker 1>and it gives you a view and you then can

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<v Speaker 1>sort of better assess, you know, sort of what's going on.

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<v Speaker 1>Are there like abrupt or dramatic changes that have taken

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<v Speaker 1>place to the way we look at movies. I'm thinking

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<v Speaker 1>very much at how a lot of people consume movies,

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<v Speaker 1>not in movie theaters anymore, but on smaller screens and

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes very small screens. There's sort of been a diminishment

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<v Speaker 1>ever since the movie palaces started to close down. In

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<v Speaker 1>those days, you know, you wanted to get out of

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<v Speaker 1>your cold water flat in Brooklyn, you know, might have

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<v Speaker 1>been the Great Depression. In the nineteen thirties, about ninety

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<v Speaker 1>million tickets per week on average were sold. People just

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to escape. They wanted to go to a place

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<v Speaker 1>where there were comfortable seats to watch the movie, and

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<v Speaker 1>with the velvet draperies that would part and the curtains

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<v Speaker 1>that would open, they would just have an experience that

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<v Speaker 1>was it was a special event. They got dressed up

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<v Speaker 1>to go there. We don't really do that today at all. Right,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, if you do see people in the movie theater,

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<v Speaker 1>if you even are in the movie theater, we kind

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<v Speaker 1>of look like we just rolled out of that. We're

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<v Speaker 1>still in at some sort of form of our pajamas.

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<v Speaker 1>So let's go back in time and talk about the

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<v Speaker 1>first film on your list, which is The Jazz Singer,

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<v Speaker 1>and that movie was the first talkie, right, Well, wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>really the first talkie. What is surprising to people when

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<v Speaker 1>they actually see The Jazz Singer. It's one of those

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<v Speaker 1>movies that you feel you know enough about I need

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<v Speaker 1>to see it. I know all about it. Um. It's

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<v Speaker 1>a silent film except that in six scenes it has

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<v Speaker 1>the miracle sound. Six scenes, not many. It is credited

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<v Speaker 1>with being the first feature length film to have sound,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's not the first full fledged talkie. In fact,

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<v Speaker 1>there were shorts that were made that we're talkinges even

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<v Speaker 1>before The Jazz Singer. This was the first feature film. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>what was it that prevented sound from coming into the mainstream.

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<v Speaker 1>The technology was difficult to get right. The synchronization amplification

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<v Speaker 1>issues were enormous. It took like two decades of wanting

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<v Speaker 1>these characters to be able to speak and be heard

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<v Speaker 1>until they could actually sink it properly. You're gonna see

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<v Speaker 1>in this scene from the long shot, Jolson's lips are

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<v Speaker 1>not matching the song, but once they go inside they do.

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<v Speaker 1>But what made The Jazz Singer so important is that, Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>it was Warner Brothers attempt to really bet the ranch

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<v Speaker 1>on this new technology, and if it had failed, that

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<v Speaker 1>studio would have gone under. But because it succeeded, it

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<v Speaker 1>didn't succeed, you know, in a blockbuster way. It was

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<v Speaker 1>a success, but it actually then it was like a

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<v Speaker 1>revolution in the way cinema would now, you know, strive

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<v Speaker 1>towards sing sound. So The Jazz Singer was an incredible

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<v Speaker 1>gamble and also a technological breakthrough. And it starred Al Jolson,

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<v Speaker 1>who was an extraordinary star. Tell us a little bit

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<v Speaker 1>about his impact. Al Joelson was somebody who actually was

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<v Speaker 1>a hero to Black America. He was a champion of

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<v Speaker 1>civil rights, whereas normally the orchestra was down in the pit,

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<v Speaker 1>and he had an all black orchestra because he's singing

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<v Speaker 1>jazz numbers. He wanted them on stage with him as equals.

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<v Speaker 1>He didn't want them in the pit. He actually spawned

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<v Speaker 1>certain the first play a drama ever written by an

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<v Speaker 1>African American that went to Broadway. It got there because

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<v Speaker 1>of Joelston and it was called Appearances. Interesting title. Joelson

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<v Speaker 1>was somebody who, with that voice being as great as

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<v Speaker 1>it was, stars in a movie that actually invents the

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<v Speaker 1>genre of the musical. I mean, obviously couldn't have musicals

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<v Speaker 1>up until this point. But because of this performance, you're thinking,

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<v Speaker 1>wait a minute, a new genre, not just a star

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<v Speaker 1>is born, a new genre is born. This was something

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<v Speaker 1>that was actually, I mean, this was a revolution this

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<v Speaker 1>film on so many levels. There's gonna have to be

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<v Speaker 1>a whole new way that people act now in movies.

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<v Speaker 1>So Al Jolson introduced jazz too many people. Oh absolutely

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<v Speaker 1>that you would have to say that. Now, this film

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<v Speaker 1>was not a sound movie in every venue that it

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<v Speaker 1>played in. It was only in the major metropolis is

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<v Speaker 1>that could actually afford the vitaphone technology. So it actually

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<v Speaker 1>was a silent movie for most. Most Americans probably did

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<v Speaker 1>see it in a silent form, except those that en

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<v Speaker 1>mass sawt in the major metropolis is But I mean

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<v Speaker 1>it caused the transition. As a result of this, now

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<v Speaker 1>stars now had to be able to deliver lines, and

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<v Speaker 1>this was something that actually cut short many careers. There

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<v Speaker 1>was also a strong Jewish theme in this film, was

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<v Speaker 1>that in any way controversial or considered avant garde or

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<v Speaker 1>outside the mainstream. We'll see looking back you think, wow.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, here's a movie about a young man who

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't want to be a canter, wants to hang out

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<v Speaker 1>in the clubs, sing jazz in black face, and audiences

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<v Speaker 1>embraced it. I mean mainstream audiences. People who had no

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<v Speaker 1>ties to the Jewish religion, had no familiarity even with

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<v Speaker 1>Jewish individuals, they actually identified with this this story because

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<v Speaker 1>America is all about right, coming from an old tradition,

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<v Speaker 1>coming to a new land, trying to find your own voice,

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<v Speaker 1>trying to find your own way. And it's going to necessary,

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<v Speaker 1>not necessarily be that you can do what you or

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<v Speaker 1>for the most part, rejecting over in Europe that brought

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<v Speaker 1>you here in the first place. You have to find

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<v Speaker 1>a new path, and so a new path like this

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<v Speaker 1>someone that like stood his ground and really said, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>going to devote everything to what I love. I'm gonna

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<v Speaker 1>follow my dream, the American dream. That was something that

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<v Speaker 1>audiences absolutely found easy to embrace. Let's move on to

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<v Speaker 1>I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, which came

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<v Speaker 1>out just five years later Warner Brothers, same studio, and

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<v Speaker 1>technologically it's completely like a different generation. You look at

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<v Speaker 1>it and go wow. They certainly figured out ways of

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<v Speaker 1>telling stories and sinking sound with the visual in a

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<v Speaker 1>way that they hadn't before. We'll see that's so important.

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<v Speaker 1>The silent era was obviously story driven. When it became

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<v Speaker 1>a sound film, suddenly the movies became very a static

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<v Speaker 1>They didn't have that beautiful narrative thrust that the silent

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<v Speaker 1>films were well, that was what they were known for.

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<v Speaker 1>So what you're saying is by y two, what Changang

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<v Speaker 1>does so well is that it marries sound to the

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<v Speaker 1>tradition of actually telling a full fledged narrative with a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of scenes, with a lot of action, with a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of things going on. And I would really say

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen thirties where they kind of nailed it, and it's

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<v Speaker 1>it's shocking that they were able to just within three years.

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<v Speaker 1>When you think about it, go from we're not making

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<v Speaker 1>any movies with sink sound, suddenly most movies are now

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<v Speaker 1>in singing sound. It's it looks like modern cinema. So

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<v Speaker 1>this movie is about a World War One veteran, who,

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<v Speaker 1>like so many war events from overseas wars then and

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<v Speaker 1>up to the present day, has a really difficult time

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<v Speaker 1>adjusting to civilian life. Right. What's sad is that this

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<v Speaker 1>scene is one that played out so powerfully in ninety two,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's it's been something that audiences can relate to

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<v Speaker 1>it since, whether it's the Korean War veteran, the Vietnam

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<v Speaker 1>War veteran, the Persian Gulf War veteran, those veterans back

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<v Speaker 1>from Iraq and Afghanistan. Yes, our combat veterans, they become

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<v Speaker 1>this lost generation. Once upon a time, these guys are

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<v Speaker 1>really valuable when there was a war to fight, but

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<v Speaker 1>now that the war is over, they're forgotten. Did this

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<v Speaker 1>movie lead to any political change or any social proach?

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<v Speaker 1>It did. Actually, people were so upset that a veteran

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<v Speaker 1>who was a decorated war veteran was so mistreated because

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<v Speaker 1>remember he's an innocent guy. Because the guy puts a

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<v Speaker 1>gun on and says empty the cash register, he becomes

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<v Speaker 1>an accomplice and as a result, during this hold up

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<v Speaker 1>that he had nothing to do with, he sentenced to

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<v Speaker 1>ten years of hard labor in the chain Gang. This

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<v Speaker 1>is a movie that caused such outrage when they saw

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<v Speaker 1>how these convicts were beaten, how they were abused. They

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<v Speaker 1>actually wrote in those days their congress men in the

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<v Speaker 1>thirties and they demand a change. Well, there was a

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<v Speaker 1>conference of writers in the night teen fifties and at

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<v Speaker 1>the podium was the German playwright Bertold Brett and a

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<v Speaker 1>hand went up after he gave his talk, and the

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<v Speaker 1>hand belonged to the Swiss dramatist Frederick dern Matt. He said,

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<v Speaker 1>Mr Brett, is it still possible to dramatize the modern world?

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<v Speaker 1>And Brett just looked out and he said, yes, but

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<v Speaker 1>only if the dramatist attempts to change it. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>that is what has happened to so many of us

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<v Speaker 1>in the films that we hold the most dear. That

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<v Speaker 1>is the promise, you see, that is the greatest possible

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<v Speaker 1>promise of the cinema, and so there were laws that

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<v Speaker 1>went on the books as a results of this film

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<v Speaker 1>that was about real life. You know, art can reflect

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<v Speaker 1>real life, right, but then real life can now take

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<v Speaker 1>that reflection and do something that is actually beneficial to

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<v Speaker 1>the society large. Let's fast forward more than thirty years. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>I am a fugitive on a chain gang and talk

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<v Speaker 1>about a very different movie, The Graduate. I guess what's

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<v Speaker 1>really important about this film is that young people in

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<v Speaker 1>the sixties really wanted to have movies that would speak

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<v Speaker 1>to their generation, and there were very few being made

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<v Speaker 1>at this time. And here comes this young guy, Benjamin Braddock,

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<v Speaker 1>fresh out of college. He's not really sure what he

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<v Speaker 1>wants to do with his life. When he's asked at

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<v Speaker 1>his graduating party, what are you gonna do now, he says,

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<v Speaker 1>I think I'm just gonna go upstairs for a moment.

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<v Speaker 1>They go no, but with your life, your future, He goes, well,

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<v Speaker 1>that's kind of hard to deterver it at this time.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, it's such a big that's a big question.

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<v Speaker 1>But um, they had the opportunity to say, well, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>I want to sort of develop my own values. I

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<v Speaker 1>want to be someone who pursues my own dream again

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<v Speaker 1>goes back to the jazz singer um because all these

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<v Speaker 1>themes just constantly repeat themselves. They always just resurface. You

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<v Speaker 1>say in in the One Day University Lecturer, the graduate

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<v Speaker 1>changed America. Wow, there are movies that actually change movies.

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<v Speaker 1>So every one of these movies change movies. But it

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<v Speaker 1>also actually changed the society. This film is really single

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<v Speaker 1>handedly responsible for launching the sexual revolution in nine sixties.

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<v Speaker 1>It actually really stoked the flames of that young population.

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<v Speaker 1>And remember in nineteen over half this country was under

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<v Speaker 1>the age of eighteen. Over half the population of this

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<v Speaker 1>country under eighteen. This is really where the Hollywood studio system,

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<v Speaker 1>it was fragmenting all over the place, didn't make it

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<v Speaker 1>through the sixties. I mean, it really broke apart because

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<v Speaker 1>television was siphoning off so much revenue. But also they

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<v Speaker 1>were making movies that people really didn't want to see.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean they were still making movies in the mid

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<v Speaker 1>sixties where you know, Henry Fonda and I don't know,

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<v Speaker 1>like Doris Day and they got twelve kids. They go

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<v Speaker 1>to the Cape cod for the summer and no, this

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<v Speaker 1>is gonna be fun, and like two people saw it right,

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<v Speaker 1>because these kids were not looking for that kind of movie.

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<v Speaker 1>And what made it also important was nobody had ever

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<v Speaker 1>taken the music like rock and roll or pop music

0:13:12.360 --> 0:13:15.760
<v Speaker 1>like Simon and Garfunkel and actually hired them to do

0:13:15.800 --> 0:13:20.040
<v Speaker 1>the soundtrack. Mrs Robinson was written expressly for the film.

0:13:20.480 --> 0:13:23.920
<v Speaker 1>I remember being in the movie theater when this was

0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:27.200
<v Speaker 1>released and being stunned by the music. The music was

0:13:27.240 --> 0:13:32.000
<v Speaker 1>the biggest thing for me because Simon and Garfunkel were,

0:13:32.160 --> 0:13:34.960
<v Speaker 1>yes they were, they were making number one hits, but

0:13:35.080 --> 0:13:39.079
<v Speaker 1>they were on the singer songwriter, folky end of popular music.

0:13:39.280 --> 0:13:43.640
<v Speaker 1>And there it was as a soundtrack that never happened before, right,

0:13:44.040 --> 0:13:47.160
<v Speaker 1>and that actually paved the way for Easy Rider, which

0:13:47.200 --> 0:13:49.640
<v Speaker 1>is going to be like a rock concert. Before we

0:13:49.760 --> 0:13:54.720
<v Speaker 1>leave The Graduate. It was a film about the generation gap.

0:13:55.240 --> 0:13:58.200
<v Speaker 1>Other films too that preceded it were about the generation gap.

0:13:58.280 --> 0:14:01.360
<v Speaker 1>Ro Without a Cause is about the generation gap, because again,

0:14:01.480 --> 0:14:07.240
<v Speaker 1>what is the big fear, James Dean, what is the

0:14:07.280 --> 0:14:10.920
<v Speaker 1>big fear in The Graduate is that if I'm not careful,

0:14:11.679 --> 0:14:14.720
<v Speaker 1>I'm going to become my dad. I'll become my mom

0:14:14.760 --> 0:14:18.360
<v Speaker 1>and to that generation, kill me. Now, if that's gonna

0:14:18.360 --> 0:14:19.760
<v Speaker 1>be my future kill me now, I don't want to

0:14:19.760 --> 0:14:23.680
<v Speaker 1>live because oh my god. Whereas if you actually see

0:14:23.800 --> 0:14:26.280
<v Speaker 1>that might be. What is so different about the movies

0:14:26.320 --> 0:14:29.160
<v Speaker 1>today is kids today for the most part. I'm not

0:14:29.200 --> 0:14:31.480
<v Speaker 1>saying they aren't rebellious at times. Of course they are.

0:14:31.560 --> 0:14:33.520
<v Speaker 1>They you know, everybody's rebellious that it, but they're not

0:14:33.560 --> 0:14:36.760
<v Speaker 1>rebellious in the way that that generation was. I mean,

0:14:36.760 --> 0:14:41.800
<v Speaker 1>they just wanted to reject everything from this fashion, the values,

0:14:41.960 --> 0:14:46.560
<v Speaker 1>the music, you know, everything the politics they were because

0:14:46.560 --> 0:14:49.440
<v Speaker 1>I remember the Beatles made it. They were in their

0:14:49.440 --> 0:14:52.600
<v Speaker 1>teens when they were coming up, and they were making

0:14:52.840 --> 0:14:56.240
<v Speaker 1>major contributions to music in their early twenties and their

0:14:56.280 --> 0:15:00.160
<v Speaker 1>best work even after they broke up. They broke up,

0:15:00.200 --> 0:15:02.240
<v Speaker 1>they were still in their late twenties most of them.

0:15:02.280 --> 0:15:05.880
<v Speaker 1>Everything that the Beatles did, their contributions were that was

0:15:06.000 --> 0:15:08.400
<v Speaker 1>like under the age of thirty. That was an amazing

0:15:08.440 --> 0:15:11.680
<v Speaker 1>generation when you think of what what they what they

0:15:11.720 --> 0:15:14.560
<v Speaker 1>did in such a short period of time. The next movie,

0:15:15.000 --> 0:15:20.400
<v Speaker 1>the final movie, Jaws, directed by the great Steven Spielberg.

0:15:20.760 --> 0:15:27.000
<v Speaker 1>There's an extraordinary musical build up where just before the

0:15:27.040 --> 0:15:31.880
<v Speaker 1>first person is attacked by the shark. It really is

0:15:32.000 --> 0:15:34.760
<v Speaker 1>one of the most memorable moments in film. Well, you'll

0:15:34.800 --> 0:15:37.480
<v Speaker 1>say there are certain films where like in Psycho, Bernard

0:15:37.480 --> 0:15:41.560
<v Speaker 1>Herman's score all Strings steals the show, obviously John Williams

0:15:41.600 --> 0:15:47.240
<v Speaker 1>score and Jaws steals the show. Uh, people didn't want

0:15:47.240 --> 0:15:50.200
<v Speaker 1>to go to the beach. They were terrified to put

0:15:50.200 --> 0:15:52.920
<v Speaker 1>a tone in the water. And so when you think

0:15:52.960 --> 0:15:57.400
<v Speaker 1>about movies that affect behavior in a mass way, that

0:15:57.560 --> 0:16:01.880
<v Speaker 1>is pretty phenomenal. What makes him different Spielberg is that

0:16:01.920 --> 0:16:06.800
<v Speaker 1>he was the first generation of university trained filmmakers. He

0:16:07.160 --> 0:16:11.600
<v Speaker 1>people like Scorsese, later, Spike Lee, George Lucas, they're going

0:16:11.640 --> 0:16:15.440
<v Speaker 1>to have this kind of love of the cinema where

0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:18.480
<v Speaker 1>they actually know what has come before them, they've studied it.

0:16:19.000 --> 0:16:23.280
<v Speaker 1>You say in your one day university lecture that this

0:16:23.760 --> 0:16:29.400
<v Speaker 1>movie with with its happy ending, changed film Jaws is

0:16:29.520 --> 0:16:32.440
<v Speaker 1>very significant. I mean Steven Spielberg, you know, he's a

0:16:32.480 --> 0:16:35.240
<v Speaker 1>major talent. He has more talent in his little finger

0:16:35.360 --> 0:16:38.080
<v Speaker 1>the most filmmakers would ever have in their whole body

0:16:38.520 --> 0:16:41.200
<v Speaker 1>on a good day, on their best day. There's something

0:16:41.240 --> 0:16:43.600
<v Speaker 1>about how this guy knows how to tell a story

0:16:43.640 --> 0:16:45.680
<v Speaker 1>and then make it to his advantage. The shark malfunction

0:16:45.760 --> 0:16:48.680
<v Speaker 1>throughout the shoot. Then instead of like pulling his hair

0:16:48.720 --> 0:16:50.840
<v Speaker 1>out or letting it look fake, he actually said, well,

0:16:50.840 --> 0:16:53.720
<v Speaker 1>we'll hide the shark. And that hiding of the shark

0:16:54.040 --> 0:16:56.880
<v Speaker 1>was the master stroke because it build up even greater

0:16:57.000 --> 0:17:00.880
<v Speaker 1>suspense for when you finally do see it. No film

0:17:00.920 --> 0:17:04.680
<v Speaker 1>prior to in the history of cinema had ever grossed

0:17:04.960 --> 0:17:07.800
<v Speaker 1>a hundred million dollars at the box office, but Godfather, Wow,

0:17:07.880 --> 0:17:11.760
<v Speaker 1>it came close. Guess what this movie not only crossed

0:17:11.800 --> 0:17:14.720
<v Speaker 1>the hundred million dollar threshold, it will make in its

0:17:14.720 --> 0:17:20.680
<v Speaker 1>initial run domestically over two hundred and twenty million dollars. Wow,

0:17:20.920 --> 0:17:24.000
<v Speaker 1>is right. So it was so huge that they said, Okay,

0:17:24.000 --> 0:17:26.960
<v Speaker 1>we have got to figure out number one. We've got

0:17:26.960 --> 0:17:29.840
<v Speaker 1>to start endowing all these m f A programs, because

0:17:29.840 --> 0:17:31.960
<v Speaker 1>if this is what's coming out of these these colleges,

0:17:32.080 --> 0:17:34.280
<v Speaker 1>we gotta get the next Spielberg. We gotta we gotta

0:17:34.320 --> 0:17:37.199
<v Speaker 1>nurture the next generation of Spielberg's. And of course there

0:17:37.240 --> 0:17:40.119
<v Speaker 1>was Lucas too. Lucas made just as much money with

0:17:40.200 --> 0:17:42.840
<v Speaker 1>Star Wars and that franchise as Spielberg has made with

0:17:42.880 --> 0:17:46.320
<v Speaker 1>all of his franchises. So you create a franchise and

0:17:46.400 --> 0:17:49.280
<v Speaker 1>see That's what this was the birth of because you know,

0:17:49.320 --> 0:17:52.159
<v Speaker 1>Star Wars is a franchise, Jaws became a franchise. But

0:17:52.800 --> 0:17:57.119
<v Speaker 1>I will say this, all of those movies right happy endings,

0:17:57.200 --> 0:17:59.960
<v Speaker 1>they make a ton of money, not just for their

0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:03.359
<v Speaker 1>initial commercial release, but with all the ancillary products that

0:18:03.440 --> 0:18:08.000
<v Speaker 1>they actually generate, the towels, the lunch boxes, the video games,

0:18:08.119 --> 0:18:11.199
<v Speaker 1>the action figures, and so there's so much money to

0:18:11.240 --> 0:18:14.480
<v Speaker 1>be made. And what what happened with Spielberg and Lucas

0:18:15.040 --> 0:18:20.600
<v Speaker 1>Their success actually put the brakes on what was America's

0:18:21.119 --> 0:18:24.880
<v Speaker 1>true golden age of cinema. Let me ask you about

0:18:24.960 --> 0:18:29.879
<v Speaker 1>your one day university lecturers, what are some of the

0:18:30.240 --> 0:18:33.520
<v Speaker 1>or giving an example of a great question you've had

0:18:33.720 --> 0:18:37.679
<v Speaker 1>from the audience. Wow, the most profound question is why

0:18:37.680 --> 0:18:41.080
<v Speaker 1>aren't there movies today that actually changed American the way

0:18:41.119 --> 0:18:43.399
<v Speaker 1>these Obviously, you know you made a pretty good case

0:18:43.800 --> 0:18:47.480
<v Speaker 1>in the the thirties, We went to the sixties, went

0:18:47.520 --> 0:18:49.800
<v Speaker 1>into the seventies, and you know you could go into

0:18:49.800 --> 0:18:52.800
<v Speaker 1>the eighties. But where are they today? How do you

0:18:52.880 --> 0:18:55.640
<v Speaker 1>answer that question? The way you answer it is that

0:18:55.800 --> 0:18:58.320
<v Speaker 1>cinema used to have heft, It used to have prestige.

0:18:58.359 --> 0:19:00.639
<v Speaker 1>You used to be an event that you went to

0:19:01.400 --> 0:19:04.520
<v Speaker 1>and it was exciting to go to this darkened room

0:19:04.560 --> 0:19:08.040
<v Speaker 1>in this big theater and this huge screen lights up.

0:19:08.640 --> 0:19:10.480
<v Speaker 1>It can change the way I look at things. It

0:19:10.520 --> 0:19:13.240
<v Speaker 1>can change the way I feel about myself. We wanted

0:19:13.280 --> 0:19:16.240
<v Speaker 1>to be transformative. We wanted to be something that makes

0:19:16.320 --> 0:19:19.680
<v Speaker 1>us a different person, a better person. You walk out

0:19:19.680 --> 0:19:21.959
<v Speaker 1>of that, you walk out of that movie just energized.

0:19:22.600 --> 0:19:25.359
<v Speaker 1>But see today, I'm not really sure if that is

0:19:25.520 --> 0:19:28.280
<v Speaker 1>necessarily the case. Because we are seeing them on our

0:19:28.280 --> 0:19:30.560
<v Speaker 1>cell phones. We are watching them at home kind of

0:19:30.600 --> 0:19:33.200
<v Speaker 1>while we're doing the laundry, while we're ironing, while we're cooking.

0:19:33.560 --> 0:19:35.800
<v Speaker 1>We're not really paying attention. We're kind of hearing it,

0:19:35.920 --> 0:19:39.240
<v Speaker 1>sort of seeing it. Movies require us to really focus

0:19:39.280 --> 0:19:42.560
<v Speaker 1>because these directors that are really careful, they're putting stuff

0:19:42.600 --> 0:19:45.560
<v Speaker 1>all over this canvas, and we have to pay attention.

0:19:50.600 --> 0:19:54.639
<v Speaker 1>I'm Richard Davis. Thanks for listening. Sign up on our

0:19:54.680 --> 0:19:57.280
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