Television In The 1940's

Have you sat on the couch on a Saturday night with the decision of going to the movies or staying at home and watch television? Even though at the time it may be a difficult choice, it is still a pretty pleasant decision to make. When television came to the United stated in the 1940’s it would affect the way the people would be entertained forever.

Many witnessed television for the first time in local bars, hairdressing business, and gas stations or through department store windows but not until the late 1940’s did television sales skyrocket. Everyone could not afford a Television of their own, so they would often stop by and have “T.V. parties”. Against other new home inventions, it stood out to be the most popular and fastest growing

Cinema attendance rapidly declined which resulted in Hollywood losing money. Film companies were forced to adapt by creating movies for television in order to compensate the lack of audiences in the theatre. As television dominated the industry film genre’s started to change in the 1960’s. Movies were fun focused, rock n’ roll driven with entertainment as a priority and not drama like the previous eras.

With the Vietnam War at the front of political and social issues, a burden was placed on the film industry. In 1963 film production was as low as it was in the 1920’s. Film companies again had to change direction in order to maintain revenue and focused on the music industry and primarily on television series. In the 1970’s the industry felt a depression and most film studios were purchased by major companies. The Wonderful Era of Hollywood was ended.

The Film industry always participated in an uphill climb; every era had its own challenges and obstacles to overcome. From 1939 to 1968 major film companies enforced a set of guidelines to ensure the public was not subjected to certain thigs they view as inappropriate. These codes were formerly known as the Motion Picture Production Code or “Hays

Television has incorporated VHS, CD’s, and cable while Film companies have incorporated suspenseful films with boundless graphics and special effects. Television grew rapidly and has not stopped since its arrival in the United States. It serves many purposes other than entertainment, such as broadcasting news of social and political events. Another use is the broadcasting of advertisements. Television brain washes its audience to think they are not accepted socially unless they wash their clothes with a certain detergent or drive a certain model car. It seems to dictate our daily lives without us ever realizing it (television) is the