"The very earliest people who made film were magicians" - Francis Ford Coppola
This quote from one of the art form's most significant contributors rings true. Going to the movies has always been a magical experience, for audiences and filmmakers alike. To my mind, nothing even comes close to the glorious experience of sitting in the giant dark auditorium, surrounded by a crowd of strangers, all focused on the giant images flashing in front of them, accompanied by the magnificent sound, surrendering complete control of their senses to an artist; to allow the artist to dictate their moods, feelings, emotions, for a few hours.
Ever since pictures could move, people have been moved by them. And at the center of this surrendering of emotions is the powerful industrial might of Hollywood, America's hub of making movies for over 130 years. From classic westerns to epic musicals, from gangster movies to the gritty realism of the 70s, from small dramas to big-budget superhero blockbusters, the movies have it all. So it begs the question: What kind of movies have been the most popular among people? While the answer right now may seem obvious, superhero movies, this has not been the case for a large majority of Hollywood history. What happened to the genres that used to be popular? Where are they now?
In many ways, Hollywood cinema owes much of its popularity and widespread appeal among general audiences to the Great Depression of the late 1920s and 1930s. As people were struggling in their economic lives, they sought escapism and wonder on the big screen. The films they watched also reflected this sentiment of discontent with the financial systems of the United States because we see the first major Hollywood genre rise here, the gangster film. The gangster of the thirties was not a crudely formed villain, but rather a 'normal' looking average Joe, who would use violence to rise through social ranks, get money and lead richer lives. This allowed American audiences to identify with the protagonists, who got ahead of the system by cheating it, while also simultaneously satirizing the same system. The violence and excesses shown in these films were cause for concern for those of a more conservative mindset, and fearing a backlash from them, Hollywood producers decided to impose a code of production on themselves, called the Hays code. This disallowed them from showing profanity, violence, and sex on screen. This code was imposed in 1934 and was in place till 1968. Notable films from this genre include Little Ceasar (1931), Scarface (1932), and G-Men (1935). These films have become less frequent in the cinematic landscape, with movies focusing on small heist jobs rather than epic narratives of the rise and fall of immoral gangsters. However, they still are responsible for the greatest films of our time.
Now, any discussion of Hollywood genres is incomplete without a discussion of Westerns. There are few cinematic images more iconic than that of the American cowboy, standing in the blazing sun, gun in hand, ready for a duel. The Western film has existed since the silent film era, with the first one ever being Kidnapping by Indians (1899), and The Great Train Robbery (1903) being the first ever one. Interestingly, this is the only genre of film that is made distinct because of its setting; every other genre can be set wherever and whenever: a romance film can be set in the future or the past, and so can a musical, and so can a gangster film. However, a Western is distinctly set in the 19th and early 20th centuries. These films were immensely popular during the silent film era but fell out of popularity during the Great Depression. These films have been highly profitable, but the general audience seems to have left the Western in the past.
The question then, is, why did these genres that were at one point incredibly popular fall out of favour? The answer is that they haven't. Not entirely, anyway. Gangster films are still being made. Examples of modern gangster films include Public Enemies (2009), The Gentlemen (2019), and The Irishman (2019). And classic Westerns are still being made like Django Unchained (2013), The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018), and The Harder They Fall (2021). However, there has been a new genre on the rise that is intrinsically linked to the Western. This is called the neo-Western. These are films that are set in modern times but have distinctly Western characteristics such as lone protagonists, deserts near the Mexican border, and many more. Examples of these films include No Country for Old Men (2007), Hell or High Water (2016), and Gran Torino (2008). However, as previously mentioned, the box office is dominated by superhero films and blockbuster IP-driven movies, not the Western and the gangster film.
Both of these types of films are very distinctly American and their formula has remained largely unchanged since their inception. The gangster film is often about an immigrant to the United States, or someone belonging to an immigrant family, who rises through the social ranks using immoral means, eventually falls from grace, and either gets arrested or dies. The Western often involves cowboys, usually white men, with mysterious backstories, villains that are not morally ambiguous, outlaws, often ending with a fit of violence. These narrative conventions are largely still followed. However, there have been a few changes in the social phenomena surrounding these films. For example, the depiction of women in gangster films has gone from being an object of male desire, to actual strong characters that often rebel against the oppression they are subjected to by the men in their lives. A number of modern Westerns have started having people of colour and women as protagonists, which recontextualizes the symbolic power that white men have historically held in America.
But therein lies the problem: they are all about America. Back when Hollywood was in its infancy, films in America were made for Americans. International audiences got to see them, but only a select few. It was only after the Second World War that Hollywood became more accessible to large audiences around the world. This marked the beginning of the cultural imperialism of the United States over the rest of the world that continues to this day in the form of superhero films. The problem is, however, because of the gangster film and the Western film's centrality to the United States, along with the problematic history that followed them, these films had to adapt to the times. There were still classic Westerns like Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy and Coppola's Godfather Trilogy that were hugely popular across the globe, but these were far and few between. With the 80s on the horizon and the Cold War reaching a fever pitch, Hollywood began producing more films that glorified the American way of life rather than those that criticized it.
While it may seem like all that's made these days are superhero films and films based on pre-existing brands, great films are still being made, and they will be found by those who seek them. These two genres represent the Golden Age of Hollywood, a relic of a bygone era that many seem to have forgotten. However, as people interested in art, culture, and films, it is necessary for us to revisit them and remind ourselves of what made movies so very special in the first place. Old Hollywood’s Favourite Genres
