Hollywood: The Rise of Television, 1948 HOLLYWOOD

Welcome to Hollywood! The year is 1948 and things have finally begun to settle down from the war. It is now the time of the teens with paper shakers and greasers. Common outings include soda shops, drive ins, and dancing the jive. Film represents a highly influential aspect of American culture and as such, production companies hold a level of prestige and power. However, this decade also marks a turning point in popular media, as television sets invade living rooms across America. Box office revenues dip, audiences fragment, and film studios begin to scramble. As the small screen grows in popularity and sales, film studios, such as our own, must respond to this new cultural change. How will movie studios adapt to this new medium? How will they change their marketing strategies? Work to increase ticket sales? Respond to strikes?

Our hybrid committee will transport delegates to the heart of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), one of the most powerful studios of the Golden Age. MGM is now facing unprecedented challenges from a rapidly changing entertainment landscape, and must adapt or risk going bankrupt. Television threatens the monopoly of the silver screen, while antitrust rulings from congress erode the economic structure that once guaranteed production company’s profit. At the same time, shifting audience preferences, political targeting, and growing demands of labor unions test the strength of Hollywood. Delegates will assume the roles of executives, actors, directors, union representatives, and early television moguls. They will debate critical issues such as talent poaching, anti-trust lawsuits, content control, labor strikes, and shifting production strategies; blending the glitz of classic Hollywood with the hard-hitting reality of business, law, and media evolution. Throughout the conference delegates will negotiate, strategize, and manage crises that could define the future of American entertainment. How will MGM adapt to survive, thrive, and perhaps dominate this new era? Will stars like Elizabeth Taylor or Clark Gable jump to television? Will studios resist or embrace the small screen? In a world where image is everything, the decisions made here may echo far beyond the hills of Los Angeles.

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