Cthy's recommendation!

 

Albert Music Hall. Traditional musical gatherings of the NJ Pinelands. An evening of live country, bluegrass, and pinelands music each Saturday night at 7:30 PM. Year round

Berg, Charles Merrell. “Cinema Sings the Blues.” Cinema Journal, 17.2 (Spring 1978): 1-12. University of Texas Press. University of Pennsylvania Library, Philadelphia. 7 April 2008. .

In this article, Berg discusses the relationship between jazz and film—two four-letter words that have experienced criticism, praise, and evolution. Beginning with the similarities between the two, Berg recounts how the origins of jazz and film both begin on the outskirts of society, without much popular support and created through the use of experimentation. Both have experienced problems with the development of technology, both have represented political and social issues, and both have unquestionably transformed American culture, Berg claims. From jazz’s impact on World War I to ragtime, the blues, and the consequent Jazz Age, Berg notes that the highpoint of jazz and the Golden Age of Hollywood were rather simultaneous. Jazz was particularly important once sound was introduced to film, and became a rather commercial commodity once Hollywood began to utilize it (leading to Hollywood’s attempt to “jazz up jazz”). It breathed life into animation, shed light on the significance of black culture in America, vividly portrayed the urban landscapes from which is was born, and soon became a viable alternative to traditional film scores provided by orchestras and symphonies.
Jazz happened to become “officially legitimized” in Hollywood during the early 1950s—exactly when A Streetcar Named Desire was made. Why the 1950s? By this time, Berg states, jazz had experienced its own renaissance, and had become much more sophisticated in sound. Varied and a “sound of surprise,” jazz became a dramatic element in narrative film score, and Streetcar’s soundtrack is no exception. Due to the more realistic content of 1950s film, along with its increased attention toward “misfits and deviants” (Blanche DuBois being a prime example), jazz seemed the most appropriate music to underscore the mood, tension, and storylines of feature films. Just as Tennessee Williams believed there were no rules as to what content he was allowed to comment on, jazz’s use of improvisation and spontaneity complements his forward thinking style in an age where tradition and conformity were still strongly adhered to.

The author of this article uses supply and demand econometrics to quantitatively describe the life cycle of new product introductions and their diffusion into the consumer marketplace. He establishes that there is interdependence between related products, and this is the basis by which one should study how new products are developed and introduced. Thus, color televisions and VCRs are used as the case study example.

In general, there are three steps that take place in consumer goods markets that induce new product introductions. First, once the existing product, in this case television, saturates the market to a certain level, the marginal cost to achieve sales growth exceeds marginal revenue. Second, due to disappointing growth prospects, manufacturers are induced to develop new and innovative products. In fact, with the VCR, Sony had the technology available, but only released the Betamax in 1977 when demand for television started to slow. Finally, once the new product is released, the demand functions for the two interrelated products (the VCR and TV) become intimately correlated. The overarching argument is that new products are more likely to be introduced when the demand for existing products declines due to market saturation.

Importance for thesis:

This paper helps make the conceptual argument, based on both marketing research and econometrics, that the evolution of new technologies is a market force.  Thus, when media companies try to fight this inevitable evolution, they are inherently fighting a lost cause.  This research empowers my thesis that media companies should have seen the VCR as an opportunity to grow profits, not as the end to their existence.  Also, it supports my stance that adapting to new technologies is vital, considering the evidence that new technologies are born from emerging market demands.  Thus, meeting these demands should lead to higher growth and profits than trying to stifle it.  

 

This bibliography combines sources that cover multiple topics including: the French New Wave movement in film, concepts of free will, and sociological analyses of prostitution. The purpose is to examine the Jean-Luc Godard's goals in using French New Wave techniques to portray a woman's descent into prostitution in the film "Vivre Sa Vie".

This bibliography combines sources that cover multiple topics including: the French New Wave movement in film, concepts of free will, and sociological analyses of prostitution. The purpose is to examine the Jean-Luc Godard's goals in using French New Wave techniques to portray a woman's descent into prostitution in the film "Vivre Sa Vie".

yellow cake with cream cheese icing.

you just might not like it. it's a new kind of cake.