Classical hollywood productions framed the production of films during the 20th century, and it became a brand associated with formalism, idealism and high budget productions. However, the evolution of the Hollywood style into t0 the sleek and modern financial behemoth of today has been far from fluid, and its progress has been constantly moulded by the social and economic fluctuations of history.
It was during the "roaring twenties" of the United States that the Hollywood industry reached its zenith, both in terms of the rate of cinematic production and the sheer financial buttress provided by a booming American economy. It was during this period that the focus of society became more lucid and was freed from the rigid structure of hard work, and began to assume luxuries such as the theatre and the cinema, which became a commodity geared not only at the elite but also at the mass market of Americans. In Chicago over 40,000,000 cinema tickets were sold, which reflected the massive appetite within the United States for entertainment.
However, the security and prosperity of the United States was brought to a dramatic collapse in 1929 which heralded the decade depression. During the 1930s all American industries were severely damaged, however the entertainment industry was perhaps the most extensively damaged, as luxury became rarer and rarer throughout american society. As a direct result of this economic calamity, Hollywood had to adapt to a less decadent and more efficient style of production. The perfect example of this is shown with the growth of Warner Brothers, which adapted its policies to maximize efficiency of production to ensure a stable revenue. To contrast this the film studio MGM which had dominated much of the 1920s fell into a period of incorrigible decline, which was exacerbated by its preservation of its pre 1930s style.
The post-war period hosted the renaissance of Hollywood, which came to represent the classical American family, and was a strong promoter of American values and ideals. Hollywood cinema developed significantly from its war year role of propaganda yet it did not completely shed this function. In fact, the close ideological rivalry between the communist bloc of the east and the western capitalist nations ignited a new wave of propaganda which was channeled through the Hollywood medium.
The modern role of Hollywood is still extremely significant across the globe, and yet its domination on western cinema has been eroded by the growth of Art House productions and a globalist competitive environment in which financial resources are more accessible.