NAZIMOVA’S VEILS (Patricia White)
I started thinking about readings in the terms of ‘what kind of history is this telling?’ In the case of Patricia White’s chapter, it is approaching history from a biographical as well as industrial lens. Biographically, she details the life and career of Alla Nazimova. White obviously concentrates on Nazimova’s portrayal and involvement in the production of Salome, however she also talks about Nazimova as a person and actress. So, a major point of analysis in the chapter is Nazimova’s queering of Salome. Many film critics cited in the chapter talk about the weirdness of her production of Salome due to casting gay actors as well as her own identity as a lesbian. As a person, they discuss her in terms of orientalism, talking about her conflicting identities of being Jewish and Russian. Industrial-wise, White talks about Nazimova’s career as an actress and director. She also talks about Nazimova’s Salome in contrast to other productions of Salome. Finally, she talks about Nazimova’s Salome in terms of film history and film reception; noting that it wasn’t accepted as a hollywood film, but it could be appreciated as an avante-garde film.
MANHATTAN NICKELODEONS (Ben Singer)
This article was interesting to me because it talked about socio-economic research in film history. This article questioned the two common paths for understanding nickelodeon theaters. The traditional view was that only lower-income people attended movies because white collar and the more affluent were above going to the movies; while the revisionist view claimed that the middle class frequently attended movies. Singer’s article really shows what a complex question this is. I like that he approached his historical analysis transparently; that is to say, he was constantly revealing the caveats to any of his questionable findings. The key findings of the chapter are as follows: “The nickelodeon boom” wasn’t as much of a boom as commonly thought. In fact, many theaters failed. Singer suggests that nickelodeons had about a 50% chance of surviving the first year. He also questions the idea of a primarily middle class audience, if not completely obliterates it. Previous research was based on the analysis of four locations in Manhattan; which turned out to not be as middle-class as previous reports suggested. Many were working class neighborhoods with “lower white collar” workers, where white collar workers existed at all. He also found that the placement of nickelodeon theaters had to do with population density more than any other factor. They were located in populated areas with high foot traffic. The chapter does a great job at showing that this research question is not straight forward and requires extensive analysis of population data and business records.
CINEMA AND WIRELESS IN TURN OF THE CENTURY POPULAR IMAGINATION (William Boddy)
This article tackles the comparisons as well as contrasts between media in terms of research and reception. Most importantly, the article emphasizes the idea that a medium doesn’t all of a sudden pop up from no where. There are precursors and technological advances that lead to the big ones. For example, television rose from radio and photography. An interesting challenge Boddy brings up, that I hadn’t considered before was that cinema comes from a more privileged position due to the wealth of primary sources; while with early radio, recordings just don’t exist. Some of the readings from a few weeks ago that dealt with radio got me thinking and wondering why radio isn’t as researched; this chapter explained that question for me. In part, it’s a data issue.
“BEFORE SHE WAS A VIRGIN…” DORIS DAY AND THE DECLINE OF FEMALE FILM COMEDY IN THE 1950s AND 1960s (Dennis Bingham)
This article is interesting for two key reasons. First, I find it interesting the Doris Day herself dismantled her own image, by penning an autobiography to set the record straight. The autobiography tarnished her good girl, pure image and in it, she critiqued her own movies. Second, it is interesting by establishing her role in comedy. The article says that in her films she is considered a comedian or a funny woman, yet she delivers her funny lines straight and it is often the men around her who are funny, telling jokes at her expense.
VAUDEVILLE: THE INCARNATION, TRANSFORMATION, AND RESILIENCE OF AN ENTERTAINMENT FORM (JoAnne Stober)
In this book chapter, Stober discusses the history of vaudeville. She talks about the changes vaudeville experienced as an industry and art form, trying to legitimize itself and bring in higher clientele or more affluent audiences. However, what I found the most interesting was its connections with cinema. First, I found it interesting that vaudeville and cinema were linked as joint programs. And then, I was surprised to see that the coming of sound cinema is what brought the decline of vaudeville as “[t]he adoption of an all-filmic program meant that the live character once lent to the exhibition was vanquished, therefore rendering exhibition practices and programs seamless and homogenous from milieu to milieu and city to city” (143).