The New Optimism

Once the war in Vietnam had been concluded…American were forced to deal with problems closer to home–econ hard times.

People wanted escape, hope, and cheer from their movies, and audiences found these qualities in such blockbuster hits as Rocky (1976)

After mid-decade, movies became progressively more optimistic, less concerned with social tensions. (sick of it all-no resolution!)

The happy ending made a comeback, as did such traditional values as the success ethic.

The characters were less complex–straightforward and goal-oriented.

Action frequently took precedence over theme or depth of characterization.

Above all, American movies after the mid-1970s sought to uplift the spirit in an entertaining way. They did so primarily by escaping from the real world and entering the reel world, where perseverance, hard work and sincerity always pays off.

Most film historians point to Star Wars (1977) as the beginning of a new epoch in American filmmaking, characterized by a nostalgic longing for the simplicities of bygone days. People wanted escape, hope, and cheer from their movies, and audiences found these qualities in such blockbuster hits as the Rocky films, the James Bond series, the Superman movies, and especially the Star Wars trilogy of George Lucas –$216 mill in Canada and U.S. The Star Wars trilogy’s charm and whimsy–not to speak of its superb special effects–appealed especially to teens, many of whom returned again and again. Example American Graffiti (1973) Set in Kennedy era of early 1960s, this immensely pop movie was largely responsible for the nostalgia craze that swept the country in the 1970s.

BUT film attendance began to rise.

Youth Market:

Most of this expanding audience was young (75 % under age thirty) and well-educated

American movies also reasserted their dominance on the intl. scene.  50 per cent of grosses earned abroad. Since most profitable films of period made on small budgets and w/o important stars, execs willing to gamble.  Too, country racked by runaway inflation–film prod costs increased more than 200 % during this pd–the studios prospered. Tax shelter laws allowed outside investors to finance a film risk-free–if failed, then a tax write off.

The 1970s began in turmoil and ended in a return to traditional values, best illustrated perhaps by the conservative agenda of the Reagan years in the 1980s.  For some a trip from darkness to light–others it represented the transformation of a great promise into the familiar 1980s phrase–” diminished expectations.”

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