Film's Big Break

It is not hard to realize why film became so popular so fast. To experience such a novel idea as documented reality was awe-inspiring and quickly became popular entertainment. The very first films ever made were mainly experiments and had real people doing everyday tasks. These films were short, but with increased knowledge soon became longer. With the introduction of short films such as "Trip to the Moon" and "The Great Train Robbery" a more imaginative approach to film came alive. These films did not have to do with everyday events, but were staged from the mind of the producer. "Trip to the Moon" was a completely fictions account of a group of wizards who take a rocket to the moon and meet with the life forms present there. I find it rather comical that so many years ago the idea of other life forms was present as well. "Trip to the Moon" could easily be argued to be the precursor of the science fiction genre. Decades later we are still using the same general ideas, but with new technology. I got the same feeling from watching "The Great Train Robbery." While pertaining more to the "real" world, "The Great Train Robbery" was still a staged rendition. However, its subject matter was one of bad guys holding up a train. It was like watching the very first making of a Western movie. The plot is like a cookie cutter, it was used over and over again to make many different films. All one had to add was a few tweaks here and there and a whole new Western movie was born. It is very interesting to see that the movies today are based off of such age old ideas that came with the emergence of film.