• Under the Standard: MGM, AT&T, and the Academy's Regulation of Power

    Author(s):
    Eric Dienstfrey (see profile)
    Date:
    2020
    Group(s):
    Film Studies, Music and Sound, Science and Technology Studies (STS)
    Item Type:
    Article
    Permanent URL:
    https://doi.org/10.17613/84t7-w372
    Abstract:
    In the 1930s, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences implemented a technical standard—known as Academy Mono, or the Academy Curve—that dramatically impaired the sound quality of motion pictures. This article accounts for why the major studios agreed to this restrictive standard. I argue that they adopted Academy Mono to curtail the power that the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) wielded over exhibitors and to help studios consolidate their financial control over the industry. The history of Academy Mono illustrates how technical standards impeded competition and how such consequences remained invisible to the majority of Hollywood.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Published as:
    Journal article     Show details
    Pub. DOI:
    10.1353/cj.2020.0028
    Publisher:
    University of Texas Press
    Pub. Date:
    2020-4-26
    Journal:
    JCMS: Journal of Cinema and Media Studies
    Volume:
    59
    Issue:
    3
    Page Range:
    23 - 45
    ISSN:
    2578-4919
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    6 months ago
    License:
    Attribution
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