Discussion

1. What made Titanic a worldwide success?

2. In what way did the film’s crew contribute to Titanic’s success?

3. Is good education enough to be a successful actor (actress)?

Project Topics

1. Film crew and their responsibilities.

2. Movie actor/actress: his/her way to fame.

3. Commercial success and serious films.

Lesson 3. Television in the united states Quiz

1. What television networks and TV channels in America do you know?

2. What is Emmy Awards? Name some Emmy Awards categories.

3. Have you seen Beverly Hills? What is your opinion of U.S serial dramas?

Cable Television

After World War II, American homes were invaded by a powerful new force – television. The idea of seeing "live" shows in the living room was immediately attractive. Television has developed since World War II into the most popular medium in the United States, one that has had great influence on American way of life. Practically every American household – 98% in 1999 – has at least one TV set. Seven in ten Americans in 1991 reported getting most of their news from TV. Three large privately-owned networks – NBC, CBS and ABC – occupied 90 percent of the TV market from the 1950s through the 1970s with free broadcasts.

However, the rapid spread of pay cable TV in the 1980s broke the hegemony of the big three. By 1999, close to 70% of American households had subscribed to cable TV. Cable TV, carried by coaxial and fiber-optic cables, originated in 1948 to better serve individuals in mountainous or geographically remote areas who could not receive over-the-air TV stations. Cable television as it is known today originates from the domestic communications satellite service.

The new technology became a cost-effective method of national and international distribution of information. In December 1975, Home Box Office, an all-movie channel owned by Time, Inc., began to distribute its signal via satellite. The next service to use the satellite was a local television station in Atlanta owned by Ted Turner. It became known as the first "superstation," sending its signal off a satellite to reach a nationwide audience. The same technology allowed Turner in 1980 to found the Cable News Network, CNN, the world's first 24-hour all-news channel. By early 1993, MTV, the leading American rock music TV network, had an audience of 46 million in the United States and 32 other countries. Cable television has also been successfully used to reach very special audiences. Beginning in the late 1970s, a growing number of U.S. cable systems began "narrowcasting" or offering television programming when a channel serves a narrow section of the audience.

Advanced digital technology and increased use of fiber-optic cable are giving cable TV subscribers a lot of new interactive services. The convergence of the computer with TV provides a lot of new "interactive" services in which the viewer no longer watches passively, for example "Movies on demand" which allows a viewer to choose between several thousand videos is one interactive service. Another example is "shop-at-home" channels.