Movies and the entertainment system
Cinema and virtual entertainment became a staple and significant invention during the early 20th century and would become the modernized advanced successor of stage plays and circuses. Cinema attracted millions of Americans by how intriguing this rising idea was as a play with a screen. It redefined ways for people to entertain themselves and showed Americans a new age of technology that would contribute to the other outlets to be satisfied during our leisure time. In addition, movies changed a lot during this time period as well from being introduced in the 1890's to the innovation of sound in movies. The first movies were referenced as silent movies in which they didn't produce sound and instead showed visual text with the scenes coming right after and though this attracted lots of people, it didn't start gaining popularity until sound would become implemented into these movies and music. But the overall idea of movies would be a distinctive leisure activity that the majority of Americans enjoyed partaking in.
Movies were introduced during a time in which vaudevilles were also very popular and these two activities would become even more notable during leisure time because they were the only activities that allowed people to witness stories being played out by other people. However, movies would eventually become the more interesting activity due to it's high variation in which many different movies were coming out at a rate higher than different vaudevilles being made. Movies were also a lot cheaper compared to vaudeville tickets during this time which made them even more accessible to those who weren't financially stable. "could easily afford to set up a profitable business while only charging five cents a person. And for that nickel the customer could enjoy an hour of varied entertainment:"2 So with the introduction silent and sound movies, it would become a popular option for Americans as way to enjoy their free time because not only was it easily accessible for the middle class but it was a type of entertainment that was never seen before and that's how it would gain much popularity through it's new modernistic innovation.
With movies and stop motion becoming so popular, not only did it lead to a significant hobby that Americans enjoy to do on their free time, but it also allowed new jobs for people in these new buildings called theaters (Nickeloeons called at the time) made specifically for movies as they were built in order for Americans to comfortably find a space for them to enjoy this hobby. "The first movie houses were dubbed "nickelodeons," combining the price of admission with the Greek word for theater. By 1908, there were nearly 8,000 nickelodeon theaters in the U.S. and in two years the number had grown to 10,000."1Some of the first movie theaters would be called movie nickelodeons for their cheap entrance fees which would contribute to their significant popularity as a outlet for entertainment. So theaters would eventually be the ideal locations for those wanting to enjoy a movie during their time for themselves.
1 Pickford, Mary. “Early Movie Audiences.” PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, 2023. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/pickford-early-movie-audiences/#:~:text=The%20first%20movie%20houses%20were,number%20had%20grown%20to%2010%2C000.
2 Sisser, Gerald. “Blog Post.” Hancock Historical Museum, 2020. https://hancockhistoricalmuseum.org/i-love-the-1920s/movie-going-1920s/.