They're Singin'!!!

I love watching Singin' in the Rain and tonight's reading made it even better. Starting off with silent films and then talking films, such as Singin' in the Rain, was a great way to appreciate this film and its history. There is so much that this film references to silent films and where the film industry is going. The detail to how theater was regarded as the talented actor's medium and film was for people that looked good and were not talented, was great to watch between Don and Debbie. It was great to see how quickly people got over sound and embraced it, which was shown through the Monumental Pictures chief. It just showed how fast the industry can change once everyone adopts a new medium. When they reference The Jazz Singer it was very special, because this was an actual film that made a big impact on the Hollywood industry.

I like the funny technological struggles that they demonstrated from where to place microphones and actors with bad voices. It must have been a big struggle for people that didn't have good voices and have to take speaking lessons. However, as the article mentioned it could favor some people with, "exotica", accents that were foreign born.

Another thing that was brought up was the fact that a number of characters were "based on popular figures of the silent era". The introduction to this movie was great. I immediately thought of the fan magazines, which they constantly mention later, and how it affected the way that people interacted with celebrities and received their information on them and their personal lives.

During the film I called out, James Cameron, when they mentioned that people didn't think sound would last. I know I keep bringing up 3-D but I can't help but see similar comparisons here. 3-D has failed before but now technology is here to sustain the medium and push it passed boundaries that were not accessible before. They even just came out with a television that doesn't require 3-D glasses. In order for film to stay ahead of television it will need to continue to evolve. Such as IMAX, great writing, and new technology.