These elements are classics for a reason.
Lately, I have fallen into a rabbithole of watching Turner Classic Movies on HBO Max and have been getting into a lot of classic Hollywood cinema. There is something simple yet moving about these classic films that either end with a happy ending—or death.
Classic Hollywood cinema, or the Golden Age of Hollywood, is a vague term that describes films made by the big eight Hollywood studios of the era. These films can sometimes feel cheesy from a modern perspective, but classic Hollywood cinema laid the groundwork for how we approach storytelling in film and decided what narrative beats need to be hit to have a fully functioning plot.
Jordan Schonig, a professor with a Ph.D. in Cinema and Media Studies from the University of Chicago, breaks down the key elements of the classic Hollywood narrator in his film studies lecture, and how we can still see the seed of the Golden Age of Hollywood in modern storytelling. You can check out his full lecture below.
Author: Alyssa Miller
This article comes from No Film School and can be read on the original site.
