Analysis on the Studio System of Hollywood in the Golden Era Essay Example for Free

Analysis on the Studio System of Hollywood in the Golden Era Essay The Fall of Monopoly ‘As far as the filmmaking process is concerned, stars are essentially worthless and absolutely essential. ’ -William Goldman It started with Florence Lawrence as the ‘Biograph Girl’ in the early 1900’s, and bred into the formation of the Universal Studios by one smart producer by the name of Carl Laemmle. The birth of Hollywood had never experienced a joyful transition for editors and actors, who back in the day were treated like hired help by directors. The silent film era was not the commercial enterprise it is today; it was a mere impression of Vaudeville, and studios generated cheap and generic content, while actors remained anonymous and low paid. Florence was one of the popular actresses of the time who helped create a celebrity culture that was infact a farce used by Studios to promote their cinematographic content. And this farce became known in history as the Golden Age of Hollywood. The celebrity culture that is idolized today was in actuality a ploy used to attract an audience following. Stars were created, not born. The Studio System comprised of The Big Five (MGM, Paramount, Warner Brothers, RKO and Fox), who are credited for creating some of the most legendary stars of the time, thus leading to the term ‘star system’. Studios invested a great deal of time and money into grooming and publicizing an actor, and owning him in the process, simply by signing him to a contract. When an actor had inscribed his name on the formidable piece of paper, he had no future of his own. Depending on his talent and the response his image got from the audience, he was either crucial or dispensable to the Studio he had been employed by. The industry was relentless when it came to the treatment of actors. Fame, in all its shallow glory, was a high price to pay for the compensation of no personal life and no personal choice. Actors were required to play the roles they were assigned to without question or argument, made to indulge in publicity stints, and traded off or loaned to another Studio on mutually agreed upon arrangements without their consent. Performers were very similar to the posters their faces were displayed on because they had absolutely no control over their careers, just as a poster has no control over how it is used or interpreted. An example of the extent to which a Studio went to glamourize its artists is Rita Hayworth, who was coerced into changing her name from Margarita Casino and made to get plastic surgery performed (hairline electrolysis) to make her more marketable. However, that is not to say that actors were treated with any respect when the silent era fell off its crippling platform. The past was not a happy place for an actor before the term ‘celebrity’ came into being. The release of ‘The Jazz Singer’ is known to be the pedestal on which the studio era was founded upon because it was the first motion picture with a few minutes of synchronized sound. When sound entered the frame, Vaudeville rapidly depleted into obscurity, and former Vaudeville actors were faced with the bitter reality of unemployment, forcing them to migrate into the film industry. This immigration created a domino effect for the entertainers already present in the enterprise. They had never been exposed to the element of voice being incorporated into a motion picture, and could not adjust to the inclusion of sound. Various hurdles included bad voices, thick accents and the inability to remember dialogues. Moreover, the Big Five circulated their own theatre chains, and adopted specific genre as labels for their reputation and glory. In this process, actors were never given much flexibility to explore or expand their potential, but were in a constant state of repeating the same theme over and over again in each new production. On a more positive note, this repetition led to the recognition of some very creative artists, who explored a theme with such unabashed inquisition that no two films were ever shown in a tiresome cycle of alliteration. ‘One well-known actor in this situation was Gene Kelly. Gene Kelly was associated with musical films such as  An American in Paris,  Les Girls,  Brigadoon, and  Singin’ in the Rain. In virtually all of his movies, Kelly would sing and go through intricate dance numbers. MGM, the studio Kelly was contracted with, knew people expected this from Kelly, so the studio made sure to put Kelly in musical films. The few movies Kelly was in that weren’t musicals did not do nearly as well as the ones he sang and danced in. When people saw a trailer for a movie with Gene Kelly in it, they expected to see a musical; this expectation kept people coming back to see more of Kelly’s movies, which brought MGM more and more revenue. ’ The Studio System did not only control the lives of its performers within the confines of its sets or production houses. An employee had no concept of privacy or freedom of indulging in the luxuries offered outside the bubble of the world of film. Due to the incredulous amount of acclamation an actor received, he could not ruin his public image, even by making the mistakes a common citizen could afford to overlook. Studios had contracts drawn with ‘morality clauses’ that forbade an employee from engaging in the utility of drug abuse, divorce and adultery as these would lead to the consequence of a foiled public image, thus resulting in loss of annuity. However, even though such social control was oppressive, it retained a modest reputation and acted as a form of deterrence for the artists. However, the violation of these clauses led to no direct effect on the perpetrators, because the Studio they were assigned to would pay off the witnesses or offer exclusive stories to tabloids in exchange for not reporting on the truth of the matter. In this sense, actors were provided with free reign to do as they pleased. ‘Cinema is the culmination of the obsessive, mechanistic male drive in western culture. The movie projector is an Apollonian straight-shooter, demonstrating the link between aggression and art. Every pictorial framing is a ritual limitation, a barred precinct. -Camille Paglia Was it the male drive in western culture -if the term western culture can be deemed as appropriate- that led to the birth of explicit content in Hollywood, or the market demand for it? Censorship created a massive propaganda in the late 1920’s. It was one of the major reasons why The Motion Picture Commission was established in 1921, the strongest form of government that induced censorship on films for the next 44 years. It began with ‘The Kiss’ in 1896, in which a man and a woman shared a kiss that barely lasted half a minute, leading on to ‘Know Thy Husband’ (1919), in hich the protagonist contracted a horrible disease after indulging in his primal desires in the city, evolving further into ‘Outside the Law’ (1921), a crime film with the same connotations. Hollywood was never subtle with its aesthetic imagination, and actors, as a result, developed a notorious reputation. Infact, Hollywood itself was renowned to be a place infested with scandal and immoral behavior. This splintered imagery of the sensational mirror that reflected the flaws of Hollywood was not for the righteous offence of the general public alone. Celebrities suffered directly from the environment they presided in- literally in the fatal sense. For instance, one of the most tragic deaths a star faced was Thelma Todd, a young actress who had costarred in a number of classic comedies with the Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, and Buster Keaton (Monkey Business’ ‘Horse Feathers’). She died at the age of 30, in 1935, believed to have committed an accidental suicide when she was found dead in her car, although the general opinion suggested suspicions of cold blooded murder. Film as dream, film as music. No art passes our conscience in the way film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of our souls. -Ingmar Bergman The Studio System gave rise to legendary personalities, faces of people that are remembered as icons of inspiration and unadulterated talent. It gave rise to films like ‘Casablanca’, ‘Gone with the Wind’, ’The Maltese Falcon’ and ‘Singin’ in the Rain’. It gave us Marilyn Monroe, Fred Astaire, and countless other idols to look up to and admire. However, with the emergence of Sound and Studio, even when Hollywood acquired so much recognition and wealth, it lost the sense of morality and the image of an honest corporation by degrading its own reputation, and that of its main components, the actors. Cinema is now associated with superficial glamour, it is a world that is infested with deceit and facade. A false pretense of joy through fame, a bubble of happiness that does not seem to exist in the first place. Ironically, the fall of the Studio System began with the reason for its accession. War brought people to theatres, and war became its undoing. After World War II legal, technological and social developments converged on the Hollywood film industry, undermining the economic foundation of the studio system. The antitrust suit against Paramount in 1948, combined with the increasing strength of unions, encouraged the growing practice of freelancing’. This decision not only outlawed the practice of block booking, it also forced the studios to sell their theater chains, and reduce the number of productions. What was once a monopoly of the ‘Big Five’ turned out to be a doorway for minor studios and independent filmmakers to thrive in. As far as the actors were concerned, they found the opportunity to become more genre savvy, and demand the right to refuse a contract, or opt to go to a free agency instead. They found the leeway to become more selective and demanding in their preferences regarding their professional services. The star system crumbled, but the stars found liberation. References: http://www.hollywoodmoviememories.com/articles/hollywood-history/hollywood-studio-system-golden.php http://www.moderntimes.com/palace/apex/ http://www.filmsite.org/30sintro2.html http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood?from=Main.GoldenAgeOfHollywood http://www.ritahayworth.com/ http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/2009/09/the-rise-and-fall-of-hollywood-studio-system.html http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/FallOfTheStudioSystem?from=Main.FallOfTheStudioSystem

J Sainsbury PLC :: Business and Management Studies

J Sainsbury PLC INTRODUCTION J Sainsbury PLC is one of the leading food retailers in the UK and also has interests in financial services. It comprises of Sainsbury's Supermarkets, Bells Stores, Jackson's Stores and Sainsbury's Bank. There are currently 583 Sainsbury’s supermarkets throughout the UK employing over 145,000 people, offering over 34,000 products and serving over 11 million customers a week. It is for these reasons that careful management of operations within each of the stores is vital to ensure that all processes are kept running smoothly so that customers can be served and products can be replenished. PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES Customers want a quality service when they shop. A quality service is defined as ‘a service that consistently meets or exceeds a customers expectations’. The supermarket needs to look at the current value of a customer – how can they make this person spend as much money as possible in the store. They also need to look at the future value of the customer – how can they make sure that this person will return, when they will spend more. The objectives of the supermarket need to be looked at and worked towards very carefully. The diagram below shows the main performance objectives that are worked towards in the supermarket. Things operations should do†¦ Objective Provide error free goods and services Quality Minimise lead time Speed Keep delivery promises Dependability Adapt to change in circumstances Flexibility Minimise cost Cost Dr Andi Smart, University of Exeter For the customer to have a hassle free shopping experience then most, if not all, of these objectives need to be met. The first, and arguably the most important, objective in the store is quality. It is important because it is the most visible part of what operations do and therefore customers are easily able to make judgements on quality. In real terms inside the supermarket this means ensuring that products are in good condition, that the store is clean, that the interior decorations are appropriate and of a good standard and ensuring that staff are polite and friendly. Quality is managed very carefully within the store. The floor manager is responsible for overseeing the operation as a whole and controls the managers from each section of the store. These managers in-turn oversee staff in their own section and control stock rotation, cleanliness of the isles and goods and ensure that all fixtures are maintained. This top-down approach to the operation ensures that quality is maintained successfully within the store. The next objective is speed – ensuring a short transaction time at the checkout and making products readily available is the only way that speed can be managed within the supermarket. A checkout manager controls the checkouts, increasing and reducing the number of staff on

ABC Case Study

Inc. Has made some crucial errors within their company. Failed organization, teamwork, lack of proper training and time management seem to play the largest role in the problems that BBC is currently facing. These problems can all be worked on and inevitably corrected with the usage of the correct solution. Background Carl Robins has been appointed the new recruiter for BBC, Inc. Upon entry of his new position, he has been assigned the task of recruiting and hiring new employees for the Operations Supervisor, Monica Carroll.This Job would leave him with many there responsibilities, which Include, but are not limited to: scheduling the training, hosting orientation, preparing manuals and policy booklets, conducting physicals, and sending recruits in to be drug tested. Confident in his abilities to accomplish this, Carl Robins assures Robin that he could handle this, no problem. Even though Carl had roughly 2 months to prepare for the orientation and hiring of his new recruits, he faile d to look over his materials in a timely manner.Just a couple weeks before the orientation, he noticed that none of the trainees had been sent to drug jesting and a number of them had incomplete applications and transcripts. On top of that, he had no complete orientation manuals prepared for the 15 recruits. While running out of time and already frustrated with the current situation, he goes to the training room and realizes that it has been double booked during the time when he was to be giving the orientations. Carl has become overwhelmed and does not know what to do next. Key Problems The problems within BBC, Inc. As well as with Carl Robins, are obvious. There is a serious lack of team effort In a place and Job that requires such. Being able to work within a team Improves productivity and success, as well as enriches employee relationships (Mukluk, 2013). It would be in BBC, Inc. ‘s best interest to improve upon this. Proper teamwork would also improve Abs's organizational skills which seem to be lacking. Incomplete manuals and double booking of a training room would likely not occur with proper organization and team ability. On the Job training is also lacking within this company.Carl Robins was clearly unprepared for his Job of recruiting and training his prospective employees. He had no real understanding of hat all went into this before taking on such a big project. It's clear that he assumed things would be more organized and prepared for him to where he could wait until the last minute and be K. This was not the case and brings us into another key problem for Carl Robins, which is time management. Carl had ample time in the beginning to prepare for this Job, yet he waited over a month to start reviewing all his paperwork and scheduling affairs for his recruitment.He would not have felt near the overwhelming sense of pressure had he used his time wisely. Alternatives There are many different ways that BBC, Inc. Could've made this process go smoo ther and with more efficiency. Carl Robins, first, could have shadowed the former recruiter prior to taking on this Job. This way he would have known exactly what to expect when doing it on his own. He would know: where everything is, what is normal procedure, what typical problems arise and how long it takes to accomplish each increase his time management, Carl could have created a checklist and a deadline for each item on the checklist.This way he would not be pressed for time and would not verse any important factors within his efforts. This would increase his organization, as well as allow him to focus on one thing at a time. Another thing he could do to make this process go better, and within a timely manner, is to create a team within the workplace in which he could delegate different Jobs to. With the checklist and deadlines, he would know exactly what needs to get done and when, of which he could relay to his teammates.In response to the double booked room, Carl could try to work something out with his co-worker where he would give him the space for the ay of orientation, or he could find a different room to use. If he uses a different room, there's a chance it will not be able to accommodate all 15 trainees and he may have to split their orientations into two separate days. Proposed Solutions My proposed solution is to increase on the Job training. BBC had given a Job to an employee who was ill prepared. There is no reason that he should have expected manuals to be completed for future recruits when there wasn't even one available.This shows the lack of organization within the company prior to the entrance of Mr.. Robins. If this was a known fact, it should've been relayed to him with proper communication from his supervisor or any other co-workers who work alongside him. Carl should not have been thrown into a situation, first thing, where he had many hoops to Jump through. I also encourage creating checklists with deadlines. Focusing on one thing at a time decreases the chances of getting overwhelmed. For example, he should make sure all applications were completed, one recruit at a time, and then moved them straight into the drug testing.Drug testing should be done quickly as a arm of pre-qualification for the Job. Since drug testing costs money, it should go along with a complete application, in which also pre-qualifies the recruit for the Job. This would go more smoothly if not only he had a checklist for each task, but for each recruit. This way he could see his progress and overall completion for each trainee. He would not be surprised with every incomplete document and the fact that no one has been drug tested. He should be working with his co-workers with effective communication skills in order to ensure these things get completed.Team building exercises should be implemented within the whole company. Many problems factor back to a lack of teamwork and communication between employees. Some possible demodulating exercise s for BBC could be, Job shadowing (Hatfield, 2014), lunch room discussions, and back-to-back drawings (Middleton, 2014). Job shadowing is to be done within different departments (Hatfield, 2014). Allow employees the chance to shadow someone outside of their own department so they are familiarized with what other employees are doing. This would eliminate confusion on who is accessibility for what Job at BBC, Inc.This could also spark ideas of how employees could work together more effectively to accomplish tasks. Lunch room discussions would involve employees splitting off into discussion groups during a scheduled lunch time (Middleton, 2014). Employees would be split up at random with the intermingling of each department. In these groups, they will discuss problems within the workplace, as well as, examples of problems that could arise and what solutions they come up with for each issue. This would be very beneficial in creating a team deter communication.Two employees sit back-to-b ack and try to work together to complete a goal, solely with communication. One person has a shape in mind and the other person has a pencil and paper. The employee with the shape has to explain what to do with the pencil in order to complete the proper drawing without using any examples of the shapes itself. When finished, the two employees compare the shapes and encourage questions on communication and interpretations of employees. Recommendations I highly encourage team building exercises throughout the entire company.This will allow employees to understand what is happening with all their co-workers and gives them a better understanding of where they fit in. This will also allow them to work together in order to avoid scheduling conflicts. I also recommend better on-the-Job training. Carl should have been left in a much better position than what he was, despite some failures on his part. I also encourage organizational skills to be added into the workplace. Focusing on organizat ion is important to complete each Job in an effective and timely manner.

Case of Unidentified Companies - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 1 Words: 256 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2017/09/19 Category Finance Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? We decided to group all the retail companies together by understanding that a retail company will have a relatively low collection period and then break them down further based upon our knowledge and research of industry averages. We believe that the Department store is represented by column K. The first aspect that caught our attention was the fact that there was a very large amount of inventory, which makes sense because a department store will need to have a continuous flow of inventory in order to make sure the most current goods are being represented on the shelf, while the older items get cycled out. Also, column K had a relatively low inventory turnover due to the fact that it will only completely sell its inventory a few times a year. This will be sold to either the customers of the store or to different resellers, who will buy the goods at a discounted price and sell them for a cheaper price to customers. Another aspect of column K is the fact that the collection period is 16 days. This is due to the fact that they issue their own charge card, which is most likely billed at the end of every month. So averaging the people who pay with cash or their debit card with the people who use the charge card or their credit card will result in a collection period of 16 days. After doing some research we concluded that the online book company would have the balance sheet and financial data of column A. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Case of Unidentified Companies" essay for you Create order