Stag and Hen Weekends From The MoviesFrom its inception in the latter part of the 19th century to present day, motion pictures have come a very long way indeed. If motion pictures were once much sought after purely for their sense of novelty, today, cinema is more than just entertainment. It is a medium of mass communication by reaching global audiences. Movies pervade our lives in ways we don’t even realise. I am not much of a movie buff, but when my wife and I were on our respective stag and hen weekend , movie costume night was one of the most successful and fun events of the trip for both of us! This is because popular culture, and mainly movies, is something that binds us all together, no matter what our individual tastes. Motion pictures were being experimented with by the end of the 19th century and ‘film’ at this point meant a single shot. People would go to theatres simply to watch the single shot! The novelty of seeing a ‘moving photograph’ must be truly fascinating at that time. Because these films were silent and there was no way known to integrate sound with image, musicians would play live music to match the visuals! By the early 20th century, the process of making and showing films was beginning to acquire the characteristics of an industry. Today, the film industry is one of the largest industries in the world, generating billions of dollars worth of business every year. |