Classic movies – you love them, or you hate them for their old-fashioned ways. Either way, they are part of America’s popular culture. As 2014 marks the 75th anniversary of the release of the films “Gone with the Wind” and “The Wizard of Oz,” Dr. Timothy White, associate professor of film at Missouri State University, says few films of today will have such a lasting impact on the American cultural experience.
Due in part to higher ticket prices, as well as the availability of DVDs, rentals, downloads and other movie services, fewer people view feature films in the movie theater – which used to be a universal experience, he said.
“The percentage of the American public that goes to see that is so small compared to something like ‘Gone with the Wind,’ so it’s not the same type of a big deal as it was back then. And we tend to forget these things a lot faster,” said White.
Blockbuster films – especially ones produced like the works of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and James Cameron – have the greatest chance of becoming a classic, he noted, as they stay true to more conservative storytelling techniques.
“One of the things that these films have in common is that they’re conservative in terms of storytelling. They are very much like 19th century novels – like Dickens’ novels…and they use American mythologies,” said White. These mythologies – like “there’s no place like home” – comfort the viewer.
In addition to these commonalities, White noted that 1939 is often dubbed the best year in filmmaking. While films from that era are considered classic cinema now, they were utilizing the latest technologies in spectacular fashion – technologies like Technicolor and sound.
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