The word Hollywood is one of the best-known words in the English language when it comes to cinema and global media entertainment. Since the beginning of the 20th Century Hollywood became synonymous with US cinema as this was practised by a handful of major film studios (Paramount, Warner Bros., Universal, and others); however, in more recent decades it has become much more difficult to define in era of global media. There are as many mainstreams (such as the blockbuster) as there are margins (independent cinemas) that define the US media landscape. This is because “Hollywood” changed in the post-war period of the fifties onwards, the industry was industrially transformed, from competing against independent film companies, to now all under global media conglomerates. Additionally, “Hollywood” developed alongside a continuously shifting political, cultural, and social landscape which impacted on the representations, concerns, and filmmaking practices both taking place at the centre and at the margins and both on and off screen.
In this module we use “Hollywood” as a starting point, a useful term that anchorsUS Screen Media. We explore issues beyond that initial concept as a once coherent film industry called the studio system, alongside its parallels in independent filmmaking. Our approach to Hollywood is idiosyncratic and decentred, taking alternative routes and less known topics and in doing so offering a fresh and innovative take on “Hollywood” that is more than just blockbuster films, iconic films stars, and well-known genres and one that is equally a history of race, politics, and continually changing US and global media ecologies.