The function and set up of the studio system can be considered an example of hegemony. Basically the studio system focused on having a main group of stars and actors/actresses available for movie productions in Hollywood so that they could promote different studio films. The five major studios (Paramount, MGM, Warner Brothers, Fox, and RKO) we the main companies in control of the film industry. Upon being the ones in power they all focused on having team of directors produce movies for them, they owned their own line of movie theatres and other production operations, they made both A and B movies, and they operated using vertical integration. In my opinion vertical integration play a major role in how the system worked and in what kinds of films they made.
Vertical integration, where one company is in control over many different steps of production, distribution, and exhibition. This not only allowed companies the ability to ensure that their movies were seen by a wide range of people, but also let them distribute their films how they wanted. This type of power and control held by only a few companies made it possible for them to show footage of whatever they wanted, since it wasn’t regulated at a higher level. An example of a controversial film was The Jazz Age, which had nudity and party scenes. Because of vertical integration, movies like these were allowed to be made. Also, because of the star system, many films came out that focused on the same main actor. When popularity of certain stars were seen, producers would hire them to be cast in movies so that they could make more of a profit and help promote the films. Because of these main 5 studio companies, it allowed for a wide range of movies, such as adventure, musicals, comedies, cartoons, and high quality films, which each company focusing on a particular genre.
examples used from Media Now 6th ed. (p. 192-96) and picture found in google images at :
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