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1910s Film
In 1915 The Birth Of A Nation about the American Civil War, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and the rise of the KKK premiered and became the most profitable film at the time. This film is now known as one of the most racist movies ever made because they praise the KKK, blamed Southern black people for the South losing the Civil War, and portrays black men as rapists. This shows that the culture during the 1910s was very racist with lynchings against people of colour happening very often. -
1930s Film
During the 1930s the Great Depression happened where the unemployment rate skyrocketed. The only cheap source of entertainment during this time was the cinema. The film genre of fantasy like the Wizard of Oz grew in popularity because audiences wanted to escape from their depressing life. Musicals starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were also popular during this time because they reflected this culture of escapism. People could pretend to be rich and happy like the characters on the screen. -
1960s Film
Through out the 1960s the hippie culture was rising with a main part of it being rebellion against authority and the distrust of the government. The films of the the 1960s reflect this culture of rebellion against the system like the film Cool Hand Luke. Cool Hand Luke is about a man rebelling against authority. He is a prisoner on a work gang in the Deep South time and time again he defies authority and in the end he inspires his fellow prisoners to do the same. -
1970s Film
The movies of the 1970s reflect the culture of violence of that decade. People were inundated with violence through the mainstream media. On the 6 o'clock news, viewers would see the violence of the Vietnam war and terrorist bombings by the PLO. Newspapers would contain details of the Ted Bundy murders. The most popular movies of the time were very violent like The Godfather, Taxi Driver, and A Clockwork Orange and this reflected the culture the audiences were living in. -
1980s Film
During the 1980s the fear of a nuclear war happening was rising. This led to the popularity of horror movies like the Halloween movies, The Shining, Friday the 13th, and The Evil Dead so people could put their anxiety into something other then the thoughts of a nuclear war. The culture of the time was dominated by fear and this is reflected in the movies. -
1990s Film
The culture of the 1990s embraced the new wave of technology like the creation of cell phones, the internet, and personal computers. This reflected in films being produced at the time like The Matrix, Jurassic Park, and Terminator 2: Judgement Day. These movies gained popularity because people were embracing technology and people loved to see what the technology can create. -
2010s Film
The culture of the last fifteen years has been greatly influenced by the rise of wanting diversity in all parts of life. Superhero films have became very popular and getting minorities playing these heroes was a big issue at the start of the 2010s. In 2018 Marvel studios released Black Panther which had almost all cast and crew members being people of colour. This movie became popular grossing $859 million because it was the first time black people had a movie that represented their culture. -
2020s Film
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and everyone having to live in quarantine made lots of new films have themes of loneliness. A film by Martin McDonagh called The Banshees of Inisherin came out last year about a group of extremely lonely people on a small Irish island who are unable to stay friends due to their brokenness and ignorance. The loneliness around the film clicked with audiences because every house became a lonely island as a result of the pandemic culture of loneliness.