What the Public Wanted... and How I Used It.

Jurca, Catherine. "What the Public Wanted: Hollywood, 1937-1942." Cinema Journal 47.2 (2008): 3-25. Academic Search Premier. Web. 26 Mar. 2011.

This article takes a look at how the public worked to collaborate with executives and producers in creating movies that pleased the public in the troubled period of the late thirties and early forties. Jurca mentions George Gallup, founder of the Audience Research Institute. He was responsible for thousands of surveys for more than a dozen studios and independent producers in the 1940s which tested the public’s response to stars, stories, and titles before filming began (5). Jurca uses The Goldwyn Follies, All This and Heaven Too, Boom Town, and Mrs. Miniver to discuss this point. While The Goldwyn Follies and Boom Town were both created to test the public and find direction for Hollywood, All This and Heaven Too and Mrs. Minerva accent the public as a collaborator, not just a test dummy (7). Each of these films has its own way of gauging the public’s interests while dramatizing Hollywood’s duty to keep the public interested. The article discusses how characters in each story represent what the people want and portray Hollywood as deeply caring about the public’s interests (7). 

This week I read an article about how the public was used in film. The more I read the more I think I might have to stray away from musicals specifically. I don't know. It was an interesting article that opened up a lot of ideas for me. This, in conjunction with our, library sessions has helped me to find new inspiration. I ordered five books and two movies and e-mailed about five articles to myself to go over. Now the real work begins...