“No wonder the film industry started in the desert in California where, like all desert dwellers, they dream their buildings, rather than design them.” Arthur Erickson. Since the rise of the film industry in the 19th century to the present day, a dream world reflected the individual minds of society. Resembling any other art some of the world’s most innovated people created films that stay with us for generations. Before the boom of film in 1965 there were directors who paved the way, this being Walt Disney. With a vision of a mouse, Disney transformed his unbelievable imagination into the classic fairy tales every child grows up with today. The first being “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” released December 21, 1937. The movie was “the first animated feature to be produced in English and in Technicolor” and “the film quickly grossed $8 million, a staggering sum during the Great Depression and the most made by any film up to that time.” Following Disney’s success several more movies, short films, and even Disneyland in 1955. According to critics, “Walt Disney famously said, ‘if you can dream it, you can do it.’ The story of his life and the creation of his company reminds us that once you dream it, you must continually re-dream and re-imagine it to succeed.” He not only set the bar for the entertainment business but opened the minds of society which lead to the uncovering of the 60’s and 70’s.

Discovering their own adventure in 1964, The Beatles released their mockumentary film “A Hard Day’s Night”. A wild, light-hearted movie featuring The Fab Four running around London, singing their signature hit songs, and avoiding work. To be televised each one of the band members gets distracted while they are trying to attempt to go on screen. With a low budget of $200,000 the entire cast and crew was worried if it was enough to increase the ever roaring “Beatlemania”. The expansion of “Beatlemania” is told that it might be  the fall of Communism due to their songs of freedom and life. The band’s songs reflected the world around them. Society wanted to break loose of old traditions through feminist movements, unique inventions (Barbie, bell-bottoms, Polaroid), and expressive movies (My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins). According to Hunter O’Neil “Overall, ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ was largely successful in expanding the ‘commercial and popular dominion’ of The Beatles (Womack). While being a marketing tool, it didn’t take advantage of the audience in any way, giving them the payoff of a concert performance at the end and ultimately poking fun at itself to make light of the capitalistic side of its own industry.” The Beatles merely expressed an imaginative state of mind through song while making a large, but underhanded statement, to the stubborn heritage of society.

Following the film, in 1967, is the tale of the dangerously, romantic couple “Bonnie and Clyde”. Based on real events, from the 1930’s, of the rampages and incidences of the mysterious upbringing of Bonnie and Clyde as they traveled through the South living the life they desired. Most movies back then had quick action shots and an unrealistic feel for violence. This film was one of the first to show blood and a realistic perspective of danger of guns. One of the most shocking moments is the last scene when the two were shot down by multiple gunfire.  According to an article from October 14, 1967 from The New Yorker states, “I am not saying that the violence in ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ is legally acceptable because the film is a work of art; I think that ‘Bonnie and Clyde,’ though flawed, is a work of art, but I think that the violence in ‘The Dirty Dozen,’ which isn’t a work of art, and whose violence offends me personally, should also be legally defensible, however morally questionable.” The couple wanted to live a “morally questionable” life which intrigued people to keep a close eye on them. To quote Maney Gault, “Used to be, you have to have talent to get published. Now you just have to shoot people.” Grasping at controversial morals during this period produced films such as “Bonnie and Clyde”, “The Graduate”, and “The Producers”. All of these films break go above and beyond the common ground. The unique directing style of Arthur Penn detailed upon this idea. “’Arthur Penn brought the sensibility of ’60s European art films to American movies,’ the writer-director Paul Schrader said. ‘He paved the way for the new generation of American directors who came out of film schools.’” stated The New York Times in 2010 right after his sudden passing. There could be no better director to emphasize the almost-glamorous, dangerous couple. The film inspired others such as “The Highwaymen”,  “Bonnie and Clyde: The True Story”, and “The Bonnie Parker Story”. Unfortunately, like the couple, there is always a tragic downfall.

Just as in 1974 a never more opposite movie hit the screens, directed by Mel Brooks is “Blazing Saddles”. A western comedy stretching the limits of society’s taboos was memorable but not in a way the film industry hoped for. One review stated that it “had no center of gravity.” For example the ending was a huge fight scene on a random set then all the characters head back to their own set and the sheriff rides off into the sunset only to hop into a car to continue on going. Definitely one of the most bizarre endings audiences have seen, it also reflected the same level of wit as the Monty Python movies. To quote Nicola Evans, “By offering a spoof black comedy at a time where the audience need to be reminded not to take anything too seriously and it is OK to laugh, the mood of the nation is elevated. It encompasses the phrase, ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’. ‘Blazing Saddles’ is certainly not your traditional western.” John Wayne even called the script “too silly” when presented with a part, he did rightfully so. During this period Nixon was President, the United States was part of the Cold War, and the “Space Race” was taking off. Such serious matters could use come comedy but most believe Mel Brooks pushed the boundaries a little too much. With a budget of $2.6 million Brooks was able to do pretty much whatever he wanted along with the talents of Gene Wilder and Cleavon Little. It was the highest grossing film of that year with nearly $47,800,000.

Before jumping 35 years ahead to explore the wonders of “Avatar” there were many classic films that changed the film industry. Starting with 1977 “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope” which “was nominated for ten Academy Awards (including Best Picture), and won in six (mostly technical) categories. It marked the first use of an animated 3-D wire-frame graphic, and extensively used CGI.” Then 1978’s “Superman” was released which surpassed George Lucas’s $200 million by grossing $300 million. The film also “proved to be a major influence on this kind of film in the future, with its origin story, the fact that the first two films were shot back to back, and that the major superhero character had a dual personality.” In 1993, however, Steven Spielberg directed the famous “Jurassic Park” which grossed $357 million and “was perhaps the most influential of all movies supplemented by CGI, and the biggest ‘monster movie’ of all time. It was the first major instance of extensively having computer-generated animated characters mixed with live action and animatronics.” This new technology helped Disney capitalize on the film industry even further with 1995 “Toy Story”. Not only was it the first full length animation film, it also passed “Jurassic Park” grossing $191.8 million making Pixar the premiere film studio in the world. This helped the production of “The Matrix” (1999), “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” (2001), and “The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring” (2001), each outshining the next.

Building upon this work is James Cameron’s “Avatar”, a movie that not only changed the use of technology in Hollywood but created another planet to hook people in. With the creative mind of James Cameron the film had a budget of $237,000,000 and nearly doubled its gross amount making it one of the most successful films of 2009. Defeating Cameron’s other national phenomenon, “Titanic”. The movie is about the fight for the Na’vi race’s homeland while the people of Earth come to “explore” the contents of Pandora. The main character Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) becomes an Avatar who then falls in love with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and discovers that their world is worth fighting for. The movie is much more than an action packed film, according to Isuf Bytyci, “But at the height of the 21st century environmental crisis, this film is also a good example of the recasting of fantasy cinema in favor of just causes. And this in itself already has a certain value, given the scarcity of vital commitment that characterizes our materialistic society. Pandora’s natives fight unequally against bad and ruthless humans as there are across continents to capture strategic mineral and energy resources.” As a materialistic society we thrive on what we have is what makes us. Exposing people to live more for than just themselves can help better our world no matter which generation we are in. Cameron discovered uses for technology that no one else had used in the film industry. In an interview with Cameron he explains, “To film the live-action sequences of Avatar, he used a modified version of the Fusion camera. The new 3D camera creates an augmented-reality view for Cameron as he shoots, sensing its position on a motion-capture stage, then integrating the live actors into CG environments on the viewfinder.” This gray area thinking is how the film industry pushes the limits between reality and machinery.

From the buttery smell of popcorn to the red fabric seats to the wide-screen captivating each and every wide eye you know you are at the theater. Since 1965 movies have changed just as society has changed. From the beginning with Walt Disney’s monumental “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” that captured the imaginative thoughts of youth. Transferring to the expressive rhythms of The Beatles in “A Hard Day’s Night” that showed how the 1960’s wanted to break away from the usual traditions and become more than what they are expected to be. Racing towards the lively couple of the murderous “Bonnie and Clyde” who displayed the law-breaking consequences of the 30’s but made beautiful misfits all the rage. “Blazing Saddles” not only made the outcast character the main character but they made fun of any stereotype in sight creating a sense of equality but offending everyone. This snowballed the technical discoveries in movies from the first animated film, “Toy Story”, to Middle Earth in “Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring”. These findings made the globally revolutionizing film “Avatar” transform the film industry in such a way that modern films can exist today. Every generation breaks ground upon a new achievement level for the next to crack. “It is kind of fun to do the impossible.” stated Walt Disney. This state of mind lingers upon Hollywood as a reminder and a aspiration for all who wish to inspire.