CIN105Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Binary Opposition, Vistavision, Studio System
Document Summary
A film genre is both a static and a dynamic system. It has a familiar formula of interrelated narrative and cinematic components that serve to re-examine some basic cultural conflict. On the other hand, changes in cultural attitudes, new influential genre films, the economics of the industry, continually refine any film genre. Its nature is continually evolving genre functions as a dynamic system that undergoes revision, conventions that are continuous. The western has tremendous consistency: themes, conventions, narrative, visual, aural or technical of the film. Has been developing in an ongoing way in respond to changes within the film industry and the larger sociocultural context. Changes in film technology intro to widescreen in 1950s. Paramount pictures in 1954 (aspect ratio 1. 75:1 = wider). Used widescreens because western films lent themselves to a cinematic image that is wider than it is tall. This has to do with the importance of determinate space of the frontier/images of the landscape and horizon line.
