Fordism in the film industry.

Fordism and Taylorism is the term which we're going to talk about today. I chose this topic because I mistakenly wrote about James Bond and orientalism and all that lovely stuff. I chose Fordism on Oscar weekend because I wish to discuss how the movie industry has changed into a new world order or disorder of you will indulge me. The original structure included the writers, editors, actors, and directors being under contract to the studio. This allowed for complete studio control which also was creative constraining. This changed in the nineteen seventies and more independent studios formed and changed the layout of the industry.  Most employees became independent contractors and only studio facilities were owned by the studios. This changed the layout of the industry where no one had a lifetime job and securing job security was y. increasingly. As these changes occurred most employees seeking work have had to attain more tools of the trade. Versatility has become more than a trend in the industry. It means you will get hired. Writer and director and actor etc. that is the new world order in the industry.

Writers are easier to hire if they can direct a project. Actors, writers and directors are even more easier to hire by the studios. Think of Robert Rodriguez. Th man writes, operates the camera, directs, edits and often scores the films he directs. He has bought his own equipment and needs little from the studio system. There is a degree of autonomy from the system that this has given to the artists. While there have been a few artists of this caliber who have been able to change the way the auteur has been percieved the majority have not prospered nearly as well. Many people in the industry became unemployed or underemployed. The animation field dried up quickly in the nine teen nineties. Many hand drawing artists were forced to find a new means of conducting animation. I met a middle aged man in the junior college I attended and he shared with me that he had been left behind when the old order was swept away. Computer animation had become the new outlet for the industry and he ad to retrain and learn new skills. In the meantime he was divorced by his wife, lost his children and procured a manuel labor job to make ends meet while attending school. I believe that technology has a place in our ever evolving society. However the human element is often swept away in the process. The old world order created stability for those looking for it. The new world does not have this stability. It feels like we are waiting for the next change in evolution and management of companies are hoping to for see the trend so that they can tap into it and make a greater profit off of it. It is not fair or right of this to occur but it seems to take the form of natural selection or survival of the fittest.