Geography meets Film History: Urban economics in the early Hollywood era

I recently wrote about how the multidisciplinary nature of Geography encourages an exploration of other fields of study and the building of synoptic links between them. One such example is Film History. While film can itself be a method of geographical investigation, the film industry is also a particularly fascinating topic of study within the field of urban economics. This is something I have looked at in a recent piece of coursework.

In this paper I argued that vertical integration and localisation economies of scale, which characterised the Hollywood studio system, enabled much faster and more widely adopted innovations in the film industry than when it was centred in New York. This was done through a comparison of the swift and widespread incorporation of sound into cinema during the Hollywood era - in the space of a year, films went from being almost all silent to entirely spoken - with the more disparate and localised advancements that occurred on the East Coast.

Hanssen’s (2010) defines vertical integration as the process by which a business manages its entire supply chain. The Hollywood studio system clearly demonstrated vertical integration from its earliest days. This dates back to 1915 when Adolph Zukor merged the distribution company Famous Players with the Laksy Company and Paramount Theatres and moved to Los Angeles. The business born out of this would manage all three key stages of the film industry: production, distribution and exhibition*.

Localisation economies of scale, as defined by Storper (2013), occur when clustered companies of the same industry experience greater productivity and innovation. Scott and Soja (1996) explain why Hollywood is seen as the archetypal localisation economy of scale. Here companies are able to hire talented and short-term employees from a large labour pool, something of particular benefit in the project orientated film industry. Additionally, companies are able to learn from one another through ‘knowledge spillovers’ which is of particular significance when considering why innovations spread so quickly in Hollywood (Glaeser et al. 1992).

The rapid adoption of sound by the film industry is a perfect example of vertical integration and localisation economies of scale at work. While the technology for sound had been around since the 19th century, a previous inhibitor of this incorporation was the potential magnitude and cost of wiring studios and theatres for sound synchronisation and amplification. Without a guarantee of theatres that could play your films or a steady supply of talking pictures for your theatre, nobody wanted to take the first step (Sklar 1975). However once they owned both the theatres and studios, film companies were finally able to facilitate the transition at both the production and exhibition end. In addition to this, an ability to learn from surrounding companies through localisation economies of scale played a key role in the transition. A salient example of this is the boom microphone, first used to capture Clara Bow’s voice in The Wild Party (1929). This was swiftly adopted by other companies who quickly learned about the technology either through observation, spying or labour transfers (Mayne 1995). Thus, without these processes it is unlikely that the adoption of sound into cinema would have occurred in such a rapid and widespread manner.

To demonstrate this further, I examined the film industry when it was spread around the state of New York. During this time there were advancements in film, prominent examples being increased film lengths, large format film and panning camera shots (Sklar 1975). These innovations do however differ in their nature. Without vertical integration or economies of scale, such advancements were disparate and more locally fixed within the confines of the company that had pioneered them instead of being spread across the entire film industry.

Thus the film industry creates an interesting backdrop to examine the role of urban economics in the creation and growth of businesses in a certain time and space. This further demonstrates the interconnectivity of Geography as a field of study that expands into many others, in this case Film History.

*This ended in 1948 when the US Supreme Court’s anti-trust rule broke down the Hollywood oligopoly.

References

Hanssen, F. (2010) ‘Vertical Integration during the Hollywood Studio Era’, Journal of Law and Economics, 53, 3, 519-543.

Glaeser, E., H. Kallal, J. Scheinkman and A. Shleifer (1992) ‘Growth in Cities’, Journal of Political Economy, 100, 6, 1126-1152.

Mayne, J. (1994) Directed by Dorothy Arzner, Bloomington: Indiana University.

Scott, A.J and E.W. Soja (1996) The City: Los Angeles and Urban Theory at the End of the Twentieth Century, Berkeley: University of California Press.

Sklar, R. (1975) Movie-made America, New York: Random House.

Storper, M. (2013) Keys to the City: How Economics, Institutions, Social Interaction, and Politics Shape Development, New Jersey: University of Princeton.

San Francisco: the fourth epoch of development

In his article Urban Development and Redevelopment in San Francisco, Brian Godfrey discusses the three roughly 25 year periods of development that have shaped the city and its eclectic architectural styles:

- first between 1849-1875 following the California Gold Rush,
- then between 1906-1930 after the earthquake and fire that razed the city in 1906,
- and finally 1960-1985, the era that gave birth to the modern high-rise city.

Early Victorian Row House

The modern high-rises of Downtown San Francisco

Writing in 1997, Godfrey also theorised that the city was entering a fourth stage of development. This would be characterised by rising property prices and a shift in demographics as the countercultural, contrarian and famously gay population that previously defined the city (itself the product of an earlier wave of gentrification) gets replaced by the young new wave of wealthy employees from the nearby budding tech companies. 

Last weekend I visited San Francisco, keeping an eye out to see if Godfrey’s premonitions had come to fruition. And, as we came in over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, we were met with countless billboards advertising jobs to the numerous industry workers who have now come to occupy the city. While this influx of software developers is no big news, another of Godfrey’s predictions appears to have more subtly come true: there does appear to be a decline in the visibility of the gay community. 

Having never previously visited San Francisco I am obviously unable to make such comparative inferences based purely on what I see and, as a visitor, I cannot deduce what is going on behind the scenes. However, data produced by UCLA think-tank the Williams Institute (Gates 2006) and analytics company Gallop (Newport and Gates 2015) show that the LGB community in San Francisco has indeed declined by 2% between 2006 and 2014, now comprising around 6.4% of the city’s population.

While some traditional gay neighbourhoods are still visible around San Francisco, Castro Street being perhaps the most prevalent, the culture seems less authentic and more commodified for tourists like myself. Overpriced restaurants and bars like The Sausage Factory and QBar seem to appeal less to locals and more to outsiders who are visiting the city to consume its famous culture. 

Brunch menu at the famous Red Door Cafe, now a tourist spot known for its gay themed menu

The squeezing out of San Francisco’s gay community appears to have been caused by another of Godfrey’s predictions coming true: gentrification and the consequent rapid rise in property prices as outlined in an article by Adam Hudson (2015). In the past 40 years the value of real estate in San Francisco has risen far faster than state or national averages (Dpaul Brown 2014). This has had a powerful impact on the demographics of local neighbourhoods. For example Potrero Hill, once a hotbed for the LGBT community, now appears to be dominated by upmarket restaurants and shops baring little resemblance to their previous incarnations. Furthermore, the local patrons of these establishments, most accompanied with their families, appeared to be middle-class and heterosexual.

Median home sales price by year in San Francisco, California and the United States (Dpaul Brown 2014)

View of San Francisco from the now gentrified Potrero Hill

I absolutely loved San Francisco. It seemed to be everything Los Angeles is not: a self-contained, pedestrianised city with good public transport networks and (at least in my opinion) a great climate. However, being a city of only 49 square miles, San Francisco is susceptible to widespread changes in very short periods as proven by Godfrey. I hope that the ‘bourgeois consolidation’ that has come to distinguish the current epoch of change does not entirely displace San Francisco’s characteristic ‘nontraditional social identities’ (Godfrey 1997: 310).

References

Dpaul Brown (2014) ‘Mid-Year Review Statistics’ (WWW), San Francisco: Dpaul Brown (http://dpaulsf.com/2014/08/04/mid-year-review-statistics/; 15 October 2015).

Gates, G.J. (2006) ‘Same-sex Couples and the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Population: New Estimates from the American Community Survey’ (WWW), Los Angeles: The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy (http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Gates-Same-Sex-Couples-GLB-Pop-ACS-Oct-2006.pdf; 15 October 2015).

Godfrey, B.J. (1997) ‘Urban Development and Redevelopment in San Francisco’, The Geographical Review, 87, 3, 309-333.

Hudson, A. (2015) ‘With Soaring Rents and a Vanishing Middle Class, San Francisco Becomes a City for the Rich’ (WWW), Sacramento: Truth-Out (http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/34031-with-soaring-rents-and-a-vanishing-middle-class-san-francisco-becomes-a-city-for-the-rich; 15 October 2015).

Newport, F. and G.J. Gates (2015) ‘San Francisco Metro Area Ranks Highest in LGBT Percentage’  (WWW), Los Angeles: Gallup (http://www.gallup.com/poll/182051/san-francisco-metro-area-ranks-highest-lgbt-percentage.aspx; 15 October 2015).

Here are some more photos from my trip:

The Golden Gate Bridge

Alleyway in Telegraph Hill 

Muir Woods National Monument

Indian style floating house in Sausalito Yacht Harbour

Fall Quarter Classes

In his book What is Geography?, Alastair Bonnett (2008) attempts to address a question which has since my first day at UCL constantly reappeared as a inherent query in this overly-introspective field of study. His answer, while typically ambiguous like those that have come before, is in my opinion one of the best. Bonnett believes Geography to be the fundamental fascination with exploration. This is not just meant in a traditional sense, but also in a more conceptual way that sees us looking to study all aspects of the world both near and far. Indeed, the scope of what can be studied in Geography is enormous with the four classical groupings of environmental, economic, political and social only drawing further attention to the infinite breadth of the subject.

Out of this breadth and ambiguity is born a fantastic opportunity for a geography student abroad to explore new and unfamiliar territories. Enabled by the US’s university structure, which encourages a far more diverse educational experience than that of the UK, this exploratory drive has been my rationale while selecting the following classes for the Fall Quarter at UCLA:

Film And Television 106A - History of American Motion Picture

The purpose of this class is to explore the history of the American film industry from its origins to its current form. While it may not be initially apparent, the class is linked to Geography in multiple ways. Indeed, as frequently as film comes up in Geography, through studies of cultural and historical representation (Rose 2012), the ‘reel vs. the real’ (Aitken and Zonn 1994) and its role in the US’s global cultural hegemony (Wasser 2009), so too does Geography make itself known in film studies. Such examples include:

- the urban economics of vertical integration and economies of scale that hastened the creation of the Hollywood studio system,
- the importance of changes in social classes across the 20th century in the US that enabled film’s rise to become the most powerful and accessible means of entertainment to the masses,
- and the place of film as a geopolitical ploy, both during the era of wartime propaganda but also today as a means of reasserting US dominance around the world (Sklar 1975).

Assessment: 20% attendance and participation, 20% research paper, 20% mid-term exam, 20% reflective paper, 20% final exam.

International Development Studies 191 - China’s Trade with Africa: Neocolonial or Win-Win?

Perhaps demonstrating the most obvious links to Geography, this class examines the new and asymmetrical relationship between China and Sub-Saharan Africa. Based on concepts also covered in UCL’s Development Geography (GEOG2014) module, such as neo- and post-colonialism and the development of the African middle classes (Birdsall 2010; Kothari 2005), IDS 191 raises the question of whether China’s trade with Africa will be mutually beneficial or solely neocolonial and exploitative. While the class is an excellent opportunity to study what looks to become one of the world’s most lucrative trade ‘partnerships’, it is also a valuable chance to gauge an American perspective over its greatest global opponent. Indeed, the class taught by an ex-consultant for U.S.A.I.D and the World Bank meaning the overall impression of China given to students is overwhelmingly negative. It therefore seems unlikely that ‘win-win’ will be the answer to the class’ title question. Whether or not this is true will be seen through the group research projects undertaken by students. In these each group will investigate a specific African country’s trade relationship with China. My group assignment will be Tanzania.

Assessment: 100% group research project.

Religious Studies 120 - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: Comparative Approach

One of the most appalling and tragic conflicts that has gripped the world for decades is the spread of violence through much of the Middle East. While clearly political, these conflicts are also deeply religious. Having studied such issues from a geopolitical standpoint, both at UCL and through the informative documentaries of Adam Curtis, I am now keen to gauge why such conflicts exist from a religious sense. As a student of a secular senior school my religious education was limited to the confines of a grudgingly attended Jewish Sunday-schooling. Thus RS 120 will provide an excellent opportunity to learn about the interconnectedness of the three Abrahamic religions and the conflicts arising both between them and internally among their many denominations. Composed by students from a range of religious backgrounds (an aspect which itself lends the opportunity to learn about others’ religious experiences and perspectives), the class is taught through a mixture of readings, discussions and guest speakers. It aims to cover topics from religious ancestors to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Assessment: 20% weekly reflective question/comment, 30% mid-term exam, 50% research paper. 

I hope that through their synoptic ties, these classes will expand my geographical studies both inside and outside the classroom.

References

Aitken, S.C. and L.E. Zonn (1994) Place, Power, Situation, and Spectacle: A Geography of Film, Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. 

Birdsall, N. (2010) ‘The (indispensable) middle class in developing countries; or, the rich and the rest, not the poor and rest’, Centre for Global Development Working Paper 207, Washington DC.

Bonnett, A. (2008) What is Geography?, Los Angeles: Sage.

Kothari, U. ( 2005) ‘From colonial administration to development studies: a post-colonial critique of the history of development studies’ in Kothari, A Radical History of Development Studies, London: Zed Books, 47-66.

Rose, G. (2012) Visual Methodologies, London: Sage.

Sklar, R. (1975) Movie-made America, New York: Random House.

Wasser, F. (1995) ‘Is Hollywood America? The trans-nationalization of the American film industry’, Critical Studies in Mass Communication, 12, 4, 423-437.

Class Enrolment

Having reached the end of the Fall 2015 enrolment appointment and chosen my classes for the autumn quarter (I will provide more detail regarding my choices in my next post), I can now reflect on the enrolment process and education structure here at UCLA.

My 'class planner' for the fall quarter

For the first two weeks of the fall quarter at UCLA students are given the chance to enrol in and drop as many classes as they please*. Throughout the process I have come across three aspects of higher education at UCLA that differ quite significantly from UCL which I will discuss below.

• Majors and minors - This is perhaps the greatest difference between the two university structures. Degrees at UCL are entirely focussed on studying a your applied subject (with the exception of ancillary modules). However UCLA follows the majors and optional minors system which is dominant in the US. This means that though a student may have applied to study Geography, they can also take classes from a range of other courses during their university career. Thus students are able to wait until junior (third) year before being forced to declare a major. Once a major has been declared students must obtain enough credits within that field in order to graduate. While this system offers students a greater breadth of education, it is far more complicated than the arrangement at home. Though I am unsure which I prefer, I find this very different mode of education particularly fascinating.

• Class durations - Compared with UCL Geography, where each module involves two hours of lectures per week and counts for an equal amount towards your degree, the time, structure and value of each class at UCLA varies. For example, one of my six credit classes (FILM TV 106A) is composed by eight hours of lectures and a one hour seminar per week, while another four credit class (INTL DEV 191) is just a single three hour seminar. Another dissimilarity is that all exams take place during the quarter in which you are taking that class, rather than in the final term of the year as is the case in UCL’s Geography department. 

• Class eligibility - Because of the vastly more flexible education system at UCLA, enrolment in a class is not restricted by what year you are in. Instead classes are divided into ability levels identified as lower and upper division. Though some classes are restricted by major, most are open to all students. Thus a fourth year (senior) student can take a lower division class, while a first year (freshman) could enrol in an upper division class providing they meet the required prerequisites. This contrasts with UCL Geography where GEOG1###, GEOG2### and GEOG3### modules are restricted only to first, second and third year students respectively. 

These dissimilarities make for a very different university experience. While all three allow for a far broader and diverse education experience, they also make the process of creating a working timetable far more challenging. Unlike UCL Geography which attempts to organise its schedule to avoid clashing modules, the infinitely larger selection of available classes at UCLA means that clashes are inevitable and thus a major consideration throughout the enrolment process.

I have also noticed that this enrolment structure leads to an entirely different social experience. UCL students studying for the same degree generally take the same modules, thus large cohesive friendship groups evolve out of shared experiences within the degree. For example the mutual burden of three different deadlines falling in the same week! However at UCLA every single student appears to have an entirely unique schedule, even in the more vocational degrees such as medicine and architecture. Thus a person’s social circle appears much less contained as they make friends in more places such as classes, societies and dorms. Using my own experiences to verify this, I have so far only met one fellow geography student with the majority of my new friends coming from outside my major. This contrasting social structure leads also to a broader and more varied university experience as students come together to discuss their different fields.

* Beyond this point, students attempting to enrol or drop a class must pay a fee