Deck 1: Beginnings: Multiple Cinemas, Multiple Audiences, 1895-1907

Question 1

Why was the Edison Company's Vitascope system seen as a different kind of screen experience than their older Kinetoscope?

A) The Vitascope projected images on a screen in front of an audience.
B) The Vitascope allowed for a greater range of subject matter.
C) The Vitascope experience was much less expensive.
D) The Vitascope included sound.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The career of Alice Guy-Blaché demonstrates:

A) How rare it was for women to participate in the early movie business.
B) The central importance of the influence of women filmmakers in the development of the movies.
C) How difficult it was for early audiences to accept movies made by women.
D) The lack of an international market for movies in early cinema.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following is most accurate about Thomas Edison?

A) He was personally responsible for the most important developments in the invention of moving pictures.
B) He greatly underestimated the potential popularity of movies.
C) He preferred to maintain a low profile and work behind the scenes.
D) He aggressively sought to achieve dominance in the movie business.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Cinematic representations of gender roles are important because:

A) They show how our most important ideas about gender have remained the same over the years.
B) They show how our ideas about gender have changed and developed over the years.
C) They are a true reflection of larger social ideas about gender.
D) Most early movies had few women in them.

Question 5

The Life of an American Fireman is significant because:

A) It was the first movie to feature firemen.
B) It led to important fire safety reforms.
C) It combined actuality footage with a fictional narrative.
D) It was one of the first movies based on a true story.

Question 6

The term "actuality" refers to:

A) Short movies about past historical events.
B) Short movies featuring realistic stories
C) Short movies of actual people, places, or events.
D) Short movies without people in them.

Question 7

Which of the following was not a primary purpose of the Motion Picture Patents Company?

A) Encouraging new filmmakers to enter the movie business.
B) Controlling the distribution of movies.
C) Enforcing the patents of the member companies.
D) Reducing the volatility and unpredictability of the movie business.

Question 8

The example of the early chase narrative Personal demonstrates what moviemaking practice that continues to this day?

A) Movies featuring a large cast of characters.
B) Copying and remaking the same popular story over and over.
C) The use of humor in the movies.
D) Movies about the plight of recent immigrants.

Question 9

Which of the following statements best describes the early movie business in America?

A) The production of early movies was a slow and painstaking process.
B) The complexity of early movie technology discouraged many people from getting involved in the new business.
C) The increasing demand for new short films led to an explosion of new movie companies.
D) Audiences were content to watch the same small group of movies over and over.

Question 10

Why is it difficult to pinpoint when movies were first invented?

A) Many different experiments and kinds of screen experiences contributed to the development of the movies.
B) Most of the early patent claims for movie technology have been lost.
C) Early pioneers like Thomas Edison or the Lumiére brothers were not interested in taking credit for inventing the movies.
D) There was little public interest in the early movies.

Question 11

Why was vaudeville such an important precursor to the movies?

A) Many early short films featured popular vaudeville performers.
B) Many early movies were included as parts of vaudeville shows.
C) The national circuit of vaudeville theaters provided an infrastructure for distributing early movies.
D) All of the above.

Question 12

The pioneering photographer and moving picture developer Eadweard Muybridge first experimented with using cameras to capture motion in order to settle what question?

A) How fast can a horse run?
B) Do horses run differently than other large animals?
C) Can a horse walk backwards?
D) Does a horse ever lift all its feet off the ground?

Question 13

The Great Train Robbery is most famous as an example of what important development in the early screen experiences of American movies?

A) The use of movies to inform viewers about current events.
B) The use of movies to tell a sustained narrative.
C) The use of violence in American movies.
D) The use of actors in American movies.

Question 14

What was a key difference between the Mutoscope and the Kinetoscope?

A) The Mutoscope experience was more expensive than the Kinetoscope.
B) The Mutoscope could only accommodate a single viewer at a time.
C) The Mutoscope became obsolete much more quickly.
D) The Mutoscope used a flip card system rather than moving film.

Question 15

Why did Edwin S. Porter find it increasingly difficult to work in the movie business later in his life?

A) He began to lose interest in movies as an art form.
B) Ill health prevented him from making more movies.
C) He became independently wealthy and didn't need to make movies anymore.
D) He found the increasing specialization of the movie industry difficult to accept.