WJEC Sport Leisure and Tourism: LEISURE notes

Theatres and music halls

• 1900; most theatres were luxuriousand frequented by the middle/higher class
• Music halls were popular with the working class; they were looked down on by others due to the raucous behavior.

Churches and chapels

• Choirs, brass bands, drama groups, penny readings
• Only forms of entertainment in rural areas

Pubs and intstitutes

• Working class funded/created institutes. Used by sports teams as headquarters
• Billiard rooms, concert halls and libraries
• Drinking of workers avoided due to wives, chapels and empolyers' concerns. 

Cinema

• Novelty shown in music halls/ fairs: 1914; 4000+ cinemas in Britain

Landmark Films

• "The Great Train Robbery" (1903); inspiration for later westerns 
• "Voyage To The Moon" (1904); broke all records. 260 minute long film costing 10,000 francs and took 3+ months to make.
• 1927; first talkies film, "The Jazz Singer"
• "Extraordinary Cab Accident" by R.W. Paul; one of first special effects 'stop motion' photography
• Movement of train towards camera=standard staging method over next few years

Fim Stars

• 1920s; Charlie Chaplin's silent comedies
• 1930s; "talkies" stars like Clark Gable and Greta Garbo were globally famous

Government/Propganda

• WW2; cinemas only closed for a week because govt realised they were vital for morale
• British/German govt used film for propaganda. Ministry of info set up to monitor media

• Popular with working class; it wasa quick escape from everyday life
• 1920s: popularity and investment grew
• Companies like MGM, Fox and Warner Bros dominate Hollywood
• Highest attendance: 1.6 billion, 196. "Golden Age of Cinema"
• Lowest attendance: 54 million, 1984 (due to recession)
• 1950s: access to TV. Less cinema attendances
• 1980s: VCR - films hired to watch at home

Negativity around cinema

• National Council of Public Morals accused cinema of encouraging crime and indecent behaviour in the dark.
• Church blames film for decline in attendance

Cinema key points

• Popular with working class; it wasa quick escape from everyday life
• 1920s: popularity and investment grew
• People encouraged to idolize stars
• Companies like MGM, Fox and Warner Bros dominate Hollywood
• Highest attendance: 1.6 billion, 196. "Golden Age of Cinema"
• Lowest attendance: 54 million, 1984 (due to recession)
• 1950s: access to TV. Less cinema attendances
• 1980s: VCR - films hired to watch at home

Negativity around cinema

• National Council of Public Morals accused cinema of encouraging crime and indecent behaviour in the dark.
• Church blames film for decline in attendance

• Introduced in 1930s; to expensive to afford.
• More popular during the 50's; more parts of Britain recieved signal meaning more radio and TV licenses were being sold
• 1953; Queen Elizabeth's coronation watched by half the population on TV
• 1955; commercial TV begins with ITV (funded by adverts)
• 1958; ITV had 79% of total viewers
• 1966; 85% of homes had a TV. 33 million watched England win the World Cup Final
• 1960s; comedies, dramas, sport, soap operas, music and news all being watched
• 1982; Channel 4
• Satellite and cable TV (1989). TV is now the most popular form of entertainment

The Impact of TV

• Some disapproved due to bad language, sexuality, procrastination and concentration problems in children
• Others admired the educational aspect and how news could be known without newspapers or magazines.

• Appear in 1920s as the "wireless"
• 1922; BBC created; radio licenses bought to fund it
• 1927; first FA cup broadcast
• 1935; half of Welsh population had radio license
• Govt used radio as propaganda during WW2; speeches were given and morale kept high
• 1973; first commercial radio stations

• 1950s; most listened to music on the radio 
• Music became a central part of lives and young people expressed themselves through it
• 1950s; rock'n'roll. Elvis Presley was influential to young people, whereas elders prefered Frank Sinatra (Crooners)
• 1960s; The Beatles. One of the most influential bands and the only ones to make it in America.
• The teenager developed in the swinging sixties; they had money to spend on records 
• Pop stars influence fashion sense (mods and rockers)
• Music used to protest and make people politically aware (Bob Dylan)
• 1970s; Glamrock and punk rock (David Bowie, The Sex Pistols)
• 1980s; Britpop emerges. Big business was in music (Michael Jackson)
• 1990s; first British girl band "The Spice Girls" 
• Satellite TV meant there were channels dedicated to music. Shows follow music (The X Factor)