The mid-60s had arrived. After the invention of the television and alongside major corporate scams inflicted by prominent film companies, audiences had hit rock bottom. For decades, these associations had been monopolizing film theatres to only exhibit its works which, upon knowing, caused great displeasure in the American citizens who felt that their trust had been broken. Consequently, the uprise of European movies in the United States was unavoidable. Soon enough, their stance became internationally notable in the showbiz world since they weren’t linked to the negative connotations that the Hollywood film industry had.
In no time, studios began accounting for great losses after investing in movies that had failed to capture the attention of the disaffected and revolted youth of the 60s who had found a connection with the “art films” of Europe. The money kept flowing out so, in an act of desperation, the big corporate bosses of Los Angeles decided to innovate. They started taking risks by hiring and greenlighting young filmmakers, giving them full creative control over their work. Thus, the world was taken by storm as the New Hollywood Movement emerged from the decrepit remains of its once dazzling golden days.
This new generation of artists, also called Movie-Brats, was marked by their creative brilliance as well as their self-indulgent acts of hedonism. The austerity of their backgrounds combined with their rebellious nature acted as an excuse for their promiscuity as the sheer wealth of temptation on offer led many directors to behave so wildly. There was something epic about their self-abuse, heroic even. In a way, these foolish acts of recklessness carried out by these vain young directors were inspiring as they gave life a sense of liberation. These satyr-like 1970s Hollywood figures often seemed to think that they had their own special licenses to transgress as they never conformed or obeyed their hiring studios due to the distrust and contempt they often had for their paymasters that represented a corrupted era.
Their off-duty lives and morals reflected on their work, as the motion pictures being produced started exploring all types of taboos such as sex and violence. Almost instantly, these movies became a huge success as they appealed to the masses who connected with the complex themes and morally ambiguous messages that reflected the nonconforming youth disillusioned by the Vietnam War, as well as upset with the rich and the elites. After some definitive works such as “Bonnie and Clyde” and “Easy Rider”, Hollywood filmmaking was reborn with new-found freedom.
Nearly a decade went by of box office successes and Academy Award Wins. However, as new genres appeared and studios continued innovating, it wasn’t long until the New Age Hollywood started dying out. All it took was a guy named Spielberg and a mechanical shark to mark the beginning of the end.
“Jaws”(1975) was the first blockbuster. Upon its release during summer, studio executives knew they had found a formula for success that could be endlessly repeated. As a result, the summer blockbuster was born.
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