How television fundamentally changed the way Hollywood tells stories
In short: In the late 1960s, a massive shift occurred in the American media ecology. As television began to replace cinema as the primary source of shared national narratives, the very nature of filmmaking underwent an astonishing transformation, moving away from consensus and toward subversion.
During the transition from the late 1960s into the 1970s, American cinema experienced a period of profound instability and change. This era was defined by a turbulent social history that mirrored the shifts occurring on screen. According to instructor David Thorburn, the most significant driver of this change was the rise of television, which began to supplant film as the primary medium for 'consensus narrative'—the shared stories that bind a society together. This era of cinematic upheaval was not an isolated artistic phenomenon but was deeply intertwined with the broader, often chaotic, social developments of the time.
As television took over the role of providing a central story system for the country, movies did not become unimportant. Instead, they were forced to occupy a new, specialized niche within the broader media ecology. This shift allowed for a new kind of filmmaking to emerge, one characterized by subversion and the dismantling of traditional cinematic forms. The films of this period began to occupy a distinct space within the nation's media ecology, functioning differently than the mass-marketed blockbusters of earlier generations.
This era of transformation is exemplified by the works of directors like Robert Altman. His films, such as 'McCabe & Mrs. Miller', 'The Long Goodbye', and 'MASH', serve as clear examples of this new, subversive mode of American movie making. The period also saw the rise of iconic performances, such as Jack Nicholson in 'Five Easy Pieces', marking a departure from the stable, unified narratives of previous decades. The lecture specifically highlights how these cinematic transformations became a dominant note in the industry's output. This shift in storytelling style was a defining characteristic of the decade's movie making.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: 15. American Film in the 1970s, Part I (2007)
- Also: Lecture 15: American Film in the 1970s, Part I (2007) | The Film Experience | Literature | MIT OpenCourseWare
- Also: Lecture 15: American Film in the 1970s, Part I (2007) | MIT Learn
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