America's New continuing age of entertainment, the rise of Videogames!: Entertaining America 1970 - present day

In the early 1970s, it was already amazing how far technology, interests, and consumerism had evolved since this Blog's starting point in 1860s. Plays became movies, radio broadcasts became radio shows which lead to television, and sports went from an old pastime of bringing happiness to families and a distraction from troubles, to becoming not just that but an enormous franchise, that pulls americans across country, glues them to their seats, where athletes became the new heroes of america right up there with soldiers! the 1970's, and all that followed boomed out of expectations with dozens and dozens of unforgettable films were released each decade, the personal computer became much more than a futuristic dream, but a complete and society dominating reality, and music branched out into new genres faster then those who listened could keep track of! And it is with the creation and faster then light evolution of videogames, that a new dominating side of society formed that no one could have possibly expected!.

To set the tone i think it would be right to start with the movies. though before 1970, there were definately films that today we recognize as wonderful pieces of art and american history, but when the 70s struck, the movie industry practically exploded from then on when it came to influential and unbelievable works!

 We are talking movies like the "Godfather", which moved viewers and gave the unique twist of people acting as gentlemen, with codes of conduct and honor, despite their criminal background and business. Another would be a movie that sparked a franchise that is still 100% in it's glory with its mind-blowing setting, story, characters, and effects (for it's time); "Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope" killed all expectations even with it's first 5 - 10 minutes as giant golden words of the prologue rolled upwards into the blackness of space, to loud engaging orchestra music, followed by an enormous ship that endlessly moved over the screen, keeping viewers eye's peeled open.

since this first movie, there has been 5 other movies, another in the marketing today, an array of novels, conventions, several tv series, and endless amount of marketing of course. Lets not get too carried away though. many other fantastic films came out this decade like "Jaws", with it's suspenseful music and terrifying horror of the sea. "Rocky" came out and through the years was followed by many films, as the stories kept bringing fans back to see the boxing legend. "Mad Max" showed and Dystopian future after nuclear war, where water has become one of the most precious of resources, complete with desert road gangs, and lots of action! "Blazing saddles" and "Young Frankenstein" made viewers laugh with parodies, Alien and the exorcist, frightened viewers but they loved them anyways...well most did since horror isn't for everyone, and movies like the beloved "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" touched people's hearts and filled everyone's brains with catchy songs that even today, as soon as we hear a few notes, we can never get it out of our heads! Heres a link for an example if you dont believe me!
yes the 70s was fantastic for the film world but the 80s was no different, though much of the representations and ideas in the films were influenced by outside sources, like "Back to the Future", which was followed by two direct sequels that decade and was not only was great but was fun, and a complete joy for viewers with the heroic protagonist Marty Mc. Fly and the wacky Doc Brown and his time machine made from a delorian (of all cars).

 The way this movie was influenced though was that it portrayed the 50s as this perfect utopian time, despite the stereotypical bully antagonist of course. other films surprised viewers of the 80s, like the Indiana Jones series, with its fast pace, unforgettable background music, loveable actor Harrison Ford, as the treasure hunting protagonist. Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Kahn", made up for the first movie's failures 110%, and excited fans of the popular TV series even more then before! Who could forget "Terminator", which starred the great actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and started it's own blockbuster franchise. "Karate Kid" inspired younger audiences and brought a new love to martial arts and brought families an entertaining and moving story which was followed by several great sequels. Star Wars episodes 5 and 6 were released this decade and only furthered what the previous movie had accomplished already, including plot twists that blew the minds of fans, though they were still confused why the episodes started at 4 and not 1. which would be answered in the 90s.
The 90s was the beginning of when Americans could no longer be more surprised by the film industry, yet nor did their amazement stop.

 Hits like "Home Alone" and  and "The Lion King" became Film industry icons for family movies. some like Home Alone even became yearly traditions, like around christmas. much of the films of this decade were morse-so directed to families and the younger generation, compared to some of the serious films of the past. Matrix attracted young audiences with it's stunning effects and interesting sci-fi concept, and Godzilla took an americanized look at the popular giant monster of japan, directed to families. "Independance Day", which happens to be getting its first sequel in the next one or two years was action filled, enjoyable science fiction film that was not only great but reminded americans of the country's principal values of equality and freedom, as the president lead a worldwide attack on alien invaders who possessed technology that was hundreds of years ahead of our own. the film industry hasn't slowed down since the 70s and it seems like we get another masterpiece at least once a year! some films dont even need much to be artful masterpieces.

Music exploded of course since the 50s but it was the 70s where it really began to kick off into multiple unpredictable branches of style, genre, and interests. the 70s brought an expansive division of rock and other genres into many sub genres like Heavy Metal, Punk-Rock, and Jazz-Rock.  Disco was especially influential but was also incredibly hated through the 70s. most who didn't like it kept it bottled up though, and toward the end of the decade, the hatred exploded outward, and disco was nearly dead by 1980.  In 1978 for example, an event in the white sox stadium went completely out of control and the baseball team had to forfeit because of the disgraceful actions of the anti disco riot that formed, now known as Disco Demolition Night. Rap came in the 1980s when musical artists found ways to express themselves in new ways, of rhythm and meaning, but to the sadness of many, a lot of it was about drugs, sex, and crime; causing a more verbal dislike for the genre, mostly from adults as expected.  Huge Stars hit the scene though, such as the world famous Willie Nelson. At first he was barely known, but when the 70s hit, nearly everyone knew who Willie Nelson was. someone couldn't leave their house without hearing one of his songs, and as of today he has put out over 2500 songs, and over 300 records! He was such a hit, he became a must have as film guest stars or even main characters. many of his songs are still unmistakable like "On the Road Again".

For years computer had already been around, but were huge, hard to maintain, and very expensive, but when the Personal Computer (PC) was invented in 1974, everything began to change. At first the PC was just a build it yourself computer with no keybored, and just flashing lights and switches, but for $400 dollars, EVERYONE had to have one. then in 1975. two Harvard students, Bill Gates, and  Paul G Allen were hired to adapt a programing language for the Altair, a personal computer that was cheaper and more efficient. afterwords they used that money to open their own company called microsoft, and began to create their own computer designs. In 1976, and other pair, Steve Jobs and Stephan Wozniak, in a computer club in the now digitally famous Silicon valley, built their own better computer called the Apple. this was not only better, but included a keyboard, and the ability to create applications (or apps) on it, like games, using computer language. this was also the first time people could store data on their machine and on external drives that could be switched in and out. from there on computers skyrocketed to the small powerful devices we can keep in our pocket, the large but portable laptops, and the very large Home PCs with a tower like engine/processor and "practically" limitless capability. We have the internet, which stores data in a digital cloud, and the ability to communicate with people face to face around the world! Computers have utterly and completely changed the face of how the world runs now, and it's still rapidly evolving.

Games were no surprise to come to the new computing world, people just didn't know when it would happen and how. surprisingly videogames technically did exist before the 70s, but only as programs in non keyboard based, flashing light computers that couldn't do much, and expressed itself with light-bulbs, like in 1950 when a computer whose mane program was to calculate chess moves but couldn't move the pieces itself. but in he 70s, parring with the release of PCs, College students (and toy companies), began to think, and they began to build, and improvise, and soon, just before the 70s in 1968, the first traditionally named video-game was born, it was a home system with two buttons that you plug into the television and play simple, blocky versions of games like Tennis,  and other games, this was called the Oddessey. in 1971 though, a difficult simulator game called "The Oregon Trail" was invented, allowing players to play through what those hardships and travels were like. in 1972, the first Arcade style system was born, for a game we all know even today called "PONG". this style of game was for the use in stores, to attract younger customers to challenge each other and constantly feed their quarters too. in 1977 came the first multi game Console was invented called the Atari, which would spark an evolution in video-games, leading to the consoles of today such as the Xbox one, and the Playstation 4, using controls much more advance today then they were then. Consoles are for the purpose of switching out physical copies of games with ease to play different games, whenever the user wanted. as time went by, arcades were born, places where people could deposit their quarters and have tons of fun on an array of games. for a long time arcades were a major pastime for children. 1986 brought the marketing of Learning games. games parents could have their kids play and learn at the same time, though many kids seem to figure this out and it became less fun since it was learning. in 1989, 12 years after the first console, the release of the first handheld video game was created, and though less entertaining then larger consoles for televisions or in arcades. they were portable and through the years would evolve to great heights. 1991 brought character marketing, attracting buyers with lovable cartoon characters, in this case, it began with SEGA's Sonic the hedgehog.

The company VALVE, known for it's PC specific games created Steam, which took discs out of the equation for video-games, where people could easily and cheaply download copies of games strait to thier computer from the cloud, but more importantly opened up a larger world for those who wished to go into the game design businesses. Steam is great for people to sell their own creations and start themselves off, Now we have a new marketing technique for video games called "Free to Play" where, as in the name, the games are free to download, install, and play, but parts of the game (in some cases large pieces of content) would REQUIRE payment to include them in your experience. its an extremely profitable way to make money and customers can now try out a game before-hand, to see if they want the full experience or not.

Today the Wii U is the first portable game that is also a television console! Video Games are now even considered a form of sport, with teams of gamers compete against each other in tournaments with prize money int he Millions!it is impossible to say where these will lead but the virtual world has definitely taken a permanent foothold in society

A league of Legends Tournament, Cash prize of over 2 million

Something of honorable mention that is definitely part of today's society is online videos. people do video blogs, show how to information, but for the most part, it is for entertainment. today the largest sight for this would be Youtube. where anyone could create an account and upload a video they made themselves with complete ease.

When it comes to entertainment, the 70s through today has been the most evolving era. with technology rapidly growing. new effects for television and films, technology constantly being adapted to make life easier and easier for the common person, and the continuous need for some sort of recreational output or entertainment to keep our lives up. it has been this way for centuries and it will never change.