Asian American Pioneers

At the time of the birth of Hollywood, Asian actors and characters were treated as stereotypes of their culture and they were often cast in roles that played them off as a villain, and had little ethnic relevance. There were several anti-miscegenation laws active during the early 1900's, and so Asian actors were prevented from taking on roles that involved romance with a white lead. Even when a script called for an Oriental lead, white actors were often cast in that place with yellow face, which prevented many Asian actors from landing roles mean't for them. After reading about some of the biggest Asian American stars at the time, I can most relate to Hayakawa's story because he was introduced to the world of theater and cinema after watching a theater performance, which is a similar way I got intrigued by the arts. I found his achievements to be significant because he went from flunking out of school to landing several roles with legendary directors like DeMile and Ince, as well as being the first Asian American to open and operate a Hollywood studio, known as Haworth Pictures Corp.

African American Silent Film

Micheaux was so important in film history because he tackled many controversial issues like lynching, interracial relationships, and most importantly racism, which he examined in D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation. Although he came from a modest background, Oscar Micheaux started as a writer and he raised enough money to start his own production company. He usually worked with marginal budgets, and he was known for taking on all aspects of production, including releasing his films out of the back of his car. Some of his achievements include being the first African-American to have his work shown in "white" theaters, as well as the first filmmaker to direct a talkie. His films were based on portraying real people with everyday concerns, instead of just stereotyping certain characters. During the time period, his achievements were so significant because cinema was dominated by white ideals and values, and his films were unique in giving a voice to those who were marginalized.  

Charlie Chaplin

Chaplin got his start on the stage at the age of thirteen, and he went on to join a pantomime troupe six years later. During one of his tours, he landed a film contract with Mack Sennett and his Keystone Film Company, which prompted him to move to Hollywood and try his hand at movies. After being a Keystone actor, Charlie Chaplin moved to the Essanay Film Company and became a mega-star in films that he had total control of. His talents included comedy and visual storytelling as his portrayal of a tramp character was beloved by millions of Americans. I admire that Chaplin spent several years perfecting his tramp character, as well as had the motivation to do more in the film industry than just act. Later in his career, he formed United Artists with three other prominent filmmakers in an effort to gain more control over his work. I find it unique that despite all his success, certain politicians still considered Chaplin a war monger because of some of his films, and he had his U.S. Visa revoked some years after making "The Great Dictator".

Women Pioneers

Mabel was famous for being a slapstick comedian and starring in over a hundred fifty short films, and then being one of the first silent film actors to transition into a director, with most of her work at Keystone Film Company. Some of her most significant films were Mabel's Dramatic Career, where she solidified her career as a Keystone actress, Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life, in which she portrayed the iconic women tied to the tracks, and Tillie's Punctured Romance, a slapstick comedy where she starred alongside Charlie Chaplin. Her downfall occurred when her come-back film got spoiled by Fatty Arbuckle's rape trials, and other scandals emerged including the murder of her close friend, William Desmond Taylor. Mabel was also known to suffer from alcoholism and drug use, and she had some interesting romances that are still being speculated about today. I'm surprised that she had no previous background in theatre, and yet became a leading performer and studio owner, especially considering her background was in modeling.

Nickelodeon to Movie Palace

Nickelodeons usually consisted of small rooms, a white screen tacked to the wall, and row benches for seating, which wasn't terrible considering they only cost a nickel. On the contrast, movie palaces were designed to attract citizens through their beauty and new features, like a lobby, orchestra, ushers, and regal draperies. The first movie palace was opened by a pair of brothers in Times Square, New York in 1914. It was named the Mark Strand Theater, and its new upscale amenities attracted the upper and middle classes. The move to movies palaces was influenced by large movie studios and their decision to buy existing theaters and revamp them, thus making the experience of going to the movies more appealing. These movie palaces were so important because they changed the stereotype of who could go watch movies, and inspired a new audience for the next wave of films.

The Patent Wars

Thomas Edison and his plan to monopolize on the film industry led to its transfer from New Jersey to Los Angeles. His mission was to hijack the industry by assembling representatives of the nation's largest movie companies, and then filing patents on every essential motion picture camera system. He named this new company the Motion Picture Patents Company, and they set out to prosecute the smaller movie producers who used similar equipment on the grounds of patent infringement. Edison's empire grew as he overwhelmed his rivals, and so a small group of independent film producers decided to move their work to Los Angeles to get away from the MPPC, and enjoy the benefits of sunshine. At the time, motion pictures were being screened at an all-time high in about 14,000 Nickelodeon theaters across the country, but these film projections were slowly merging into "real" theaters that held more patrons and catered to the upper class.

The Latham Loop

The Latham loop is a process of pulling film through the threading device of a camera so the sprockets didn't tear. It's used in film projection and it changed cinema by allowing films to be projected for extended periods of time. This feat was possible because the film could gently spool over from the back of the camera to the front, and the film strip didn't tear because it was isolated from vibration and tension. The loop was created by a father and his two sons in their quest to film and screen a boxing match. After their initial success, they teamed up with Edison to create a device that would indefinitely allow for longer pictures, so more boxing matches could be projected for admission. They were successful with Edison and continued to to screen spectacles until their money ran out, although they received a patent on their mechanism in 1902.