Media Term Thursday #32

Nickelodeon

One of the first cinemas opening in 1905 in Pittsburgh, USA by Harry Davis. It was a makeshift establishment and charged patrons a nickel (hence the name) to see a short, single reel film combined with a vaudeville act. Ninety-six people crammed into a storefront on wooden chairs.

Soon there were hundreds of Nickelodeon’s around the country and foreshadowed the mass viewing and money making potential of cinema. A cable television network that screens programs primarily for children and teenagers. This channel started in the US but now has channels in several countries. This was the first cable channel in the world to devote all of their programming to children/youth.

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Media Term Thursday #24

Blacklisting

Refers to the list of workers in the film, television, media and arts industries in the 1950s in the United States who were either formally or informally prevented from working due to their personal, political, religious or social beliefs. This was a result of the House Un-American Activities Committee set up by the anti-communist Senator Joseph McCarthy.

This committee was formed during the Cold War when the West (Democracy) was in a superpower struggle and stalemate with the Eastern Bloc and U.S.S.R (Communism). Because both blocs were nuclear powers and mutual destruction would have occurred had these two enemies gone to war, each side became paranoid that the other would use subversive means of conquest.

In the US, the government believed the entertainment industry had a large influence on the population and so movies and other media would be ideal for the enemy to infiltrate and present anti-American, communist ideas. Because of this belief the FBI were ordered to hunt down "spies, subversives and others working in Hollywood, television and other media and who might be a threat.

Consequently, many actors, directors, scriptwriters and others lost their jobs and were prevented from working in the industry for many years - they were put on the blacklist

Excerpt from Media Key Terms and Concepts.