Index IntroductionThe economic forceThe social forceThe aesthetic forceThe industrial forceConclusionReferencesIntroductionHollywood experienced a drastic change in the late 1960s, Hollywood revolutionized the production process and the film administration, filmmaking style and techniques, as well as film themes. These changes had pushed Hollywood into the era widely recognized as “New Hollywood” or “Hollywood Renaissance.” Four crucial factors acted as pushing forces to revolutionize Hollywood in the 1960s, namely economic strength, social strength, aesthetic strength and industrial strength. The Graduate (Nichols 1967), as a typical “New Hollywood” film, reflects development in relation to these factors. This article will investigate the changes in Hollywood in the 1960s compared to The Graduate. Taking The Graduate as an example, this article will discuss the impacts of economic force, social force, aesthetic force and industrial force on the development of the “Hollywood Renaissance”. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Economic Strength In the 1960s, Hollywood was going through a financial crisis that was on the verge of bankruptcy. Hollywood was facing declining ticket sales and audiences were turning to television. Television has transformed the enjoyment of multimedia entertainment into a more convenient and family-friendly way. According to Casper (2011), the weekly number of moviegoers dropped from 44 million in 1963 to around 17-18 million between 1968 and 1970. To attract audiences to the cinema again, Hollywood, on the one hand, produced films for a variety of specialized target audiences; on the other hand, Hollywood has invested huge funds to produce huge production films. The heavily invested film The Sound of Music (1965) achieved a huge success that provided a false projection compared to large-production films. Directors were induced to produce highly produced films. Similar musicals produced after The Sound of Music such as Dr. Dolittle and Star! (Wise, 1968) resulted in large losses, the amounts reaching up to $11 million and $15 million respectively. Not to mention that foreign films, especially from Europe and the United Kingdom, have attracted the attention of American audiences, further reducing Hollywood's source of revenue. Although the losses were partly offset by sales of films to television, the profit stopped when television companies began producing their own programs. All of the above factors contributed to Hollywood's financial crisis in the 1960s and Hollywood nearly collapsed. However, the collapse of Hollywood pushed her to look for a new and safe way to earn profits. The new direction of film production focused on low-cost production films that minimized the risk of losses. Take The Graduate for example, the production was different from classic Hollywood films, it only cost 3 million dollars. The risk was relatively lower and the film's revenue of $49 million was encouraging. Then, the low production cost became one of the symbols of "New Hollywood" films. The financial crisis bothered Hollywood, but Hollywood had come up with a new way to protect the industry and its future. The diversified production strategy has transformed Hollywood into a healthier and more sustainable industry. Social Force In the 1960s, youth culture had an essential impact on Hollywood films, especially cinematic themes. In thedecade of the 1960s, baby boomers in America had become teenagers and teenagers. The number of young people increased from 24 million in 1960 to 35.5 million in 1970 and represented 17.5% of the total population. As much of the public, especially middle-aged Americans, had turned to television as entertainment, baby boomers were seen as a new source of audience and entertainment profit. To attract this “new audience,” Hollywood films have been modified to suit the tastes of young people. The typical characteristics of the films that resonated with young people were the feeling of isolation and rebellious action. Baby boomers, who mostly came from wealthy backgrounds, were reluctant to accept the corrupt society of the middle class. They were more self-aware and pursued truth and beauty. Therefore, these baby boomers have had difficulty becoming someone like their parents or the older generation and are confused about their future. This collective sense of alienation and confusion has been reflected in films aimed at teenagers. For example, in The Graduate, at the male protagonist Benjamin's graduation party, a guest advises Benjamin to go into the plastics industry. “Plastic” symbolized the prosperous but unreal and corrupt life of the upper middle class. Benjamin's hesitation over the suggestion reflects his reluctance to such a future. As discussed in the conversation between Benjamin and his father regarding Benjamin's future, Benjamin states that he wants a different one. Another scene from Benjamin's birthday party also drew attention to youthful alienation. Benjamin is forced to wear a wetsuit to perform in a swimming pool. The suit played the role of an insulator that isolates Benjamin from the outside world. He can only hear the sound produced by himself and this demonstrates his internal feeling of alienation. The isolation in Benjamin's life resonated with the lives of many other baby boomers. Thus the film captured the attention of teenagers of the time. In addition to the theme of isolation, the sense of rebellion also diminished among the young generation in the 1960s. According to King (2002), the social upheavals of the time called into question the values ​​of freedom and democracy. For the youth of the 1960s, these values ​​simply became the sugar for the misconduct, hypocrisy and indifference of established authority. They wanted the truth. They cared about minority rights, such as women's rights, and engaged in anti-war protest, such as the one to stop the Vietnam War, because they wanted to realize those values. However, the established order was contradictory to their pursuit. Therefore, they rebelled and demanded changes. As this collective feeling emerged, Hollywood films responded by incorporating themes of rebellion, which are also found in The Graduate. The most obvious rebellious action reflected in The Graduate is Benjamin leading the female protagonist Elaine to escape her wedding ceremony. This can be perceived as Benjamin's challenge to the older generations as Elaine's marriage is to some extent arranged and manipulated by her parents. The protagonists acted in a way that young people choose, appreciate and support. In addition to the reluctance to embrace established authority and power, The Graduate also touches on the topic of female sexuality, which was a major concern of young people in the 1960s. At that time, female sexuality was repressed by society. The challenge of the repression of female sexuality can also be interpreted as a questioning of the established order. Although Mrs. Robison, who seduced Benjamin in alove relationship, adopted a morally questionable way to free herself from patriarchal power and satisfy her sexuality, the film drew attention to women's rights and sexuality conforming to the interests of adolescent girls and boys. of isolation and rebellion were adopted in many films during the “Hollywood Renaissance”. They have become the selling point of films. The producers of the film intended to present what young people wanted to see and desired. This strategy achieved enormous success and revived a dying industry. Aesthetic Strength In the 1960s, American audiences loved foreign films such as British and European ones, and this trend pushed Hollywood to improve its cinematic style. Foreign films have been highly innovative under several cinematic “revolutions” such as Italian Neorealism and French New Wave. As part of these movements, foreign films tended to explore new themes and filming techniques such as editing and visual style. This wave has also affected young Hollywood directors as they want more say in film production instead of playing the role of puppets of businessmen. More importantly, the film's investors also realized the growing public interest found in foreign films. This gives filmmakers more space to experiment with their shots. Using the protagonist's point of view to reflect the atmosphere was one of the shooting styles learned from foreign films. According to Munich (1993), such practice was recognized as consciously artistic visual design in 1920s Germany, but such shooting style was not appreciated until the 1960s. The Graduate was one of many 1960s Hollywood films that recognized this style; cinematographer Surtees attached a camera to Benjamin's car to film Benjamin driving through the streets of Los Angeles from the actor's point of view. Another filming technique inspired by foreign films was the use of very long lenses in Benjamin's shots (Munich, 2003). Benjamin's floating in the pool was the typical scene using long lenses. The very long focal length allowed the lonely and isolated atmosphere to surround Benjamin. This visual design reinforced the theme of the film. In addition to cinematography, the editing style in Hollywood films has also innovated through movement inspiration. The transition of Benjamin drifting in the pool to Benjamin lying on Mrs. Robison's body in The Graduate has been widely discussed. With reference to Munich (2003), the transition between scenes was very smooth and suggested that the associative editing reinforced the feeling of loneliness, isolation and ambivalence. Furthermore, character designs in Hollywood films have also encountered a turning point. Casper (2011) suggested that the classic “hero vs. villain” dialectic gradually disappeared in Hollywood films of the 1960s. Evil and beauty coexist in the characters. For example, the male protagonist Benjamin in The Graduate is easily seduced by a married woman into a love affair, even though he knows it is morally unacceptable. It is the evil within him that drags him into this situation. The "bad guy" he must defeat lives in his soul and he is saved thanks to the courage to pursue true love: Elaine. Reflecting both the positive and negative sides of the character in the film, the character seemed more realistic and complex like a human being in real life. The influence of foreign films on Hollywood in the 1960s was strong and multiple movements spread across the European film industry. in Hollywood. This provided the foundation and pushed Hollywood to advance its film productions/