William, Wolfgang, August, and Me

The United States, at its birth, was constructed to mimic the classic values of Greece and Rome, as understood by the founding fathers. As the years continued to march on towards the Civil War, this focus on borrowing classic roots continued to hold strong: the capitol building was built in a Roman style, a statue of the first president, George Washington, was cast to look like Zeus, and cities and streets were named after Athens, Rome, and Troy. This desire to be seen as a classical Republic held through the Civil War, during which the battlefield of Gettysburg was dedicated with a two hour rhetorical speech that likened the event to Athenian funerals. It was worried that, should these classical values be forgotten, the United States would reach an eventual collapse, just like the societies of Greece and Rome, on which the US was built. This belief in the importance of a Greco-Roman foundation was so tightly held that a common way to mock the black population was by pointing out t...

In 1927,  The Jazz Singer,  with its introduction of the talking picture, successfully began a new era in Hollywood. Along with completely changing the ways that film was shot, displayed, and viewed, the Talkie era also upset the  s tar  s ystem hierarchy. Though the concept of  s tar had been evolving since the beginning of the industry, this era shifted what was necessary for success so drastically that film favorites were soon cast to the side as they failed to adjust to the new era.  It was   b y tapping into this past  that  television upended Hollywood’s star system  at the turn of the third  film  era . Hollywood had long been preaching survival of the fittest and writing faded stars off as having lost the interest of the public. However, as television brought stars back to the spotlight, actors proved that they had audience appeal and they found a way to survive outside of Hollywood’s control. Through television, acto...