Planning - Soundies

Soundies

Soundies was a form of entertainment in the 1940s, they are 3 minute black and white films with an optical soundtrack designed to be shown on a self contained  coin operated projection machine. Located in bars, diners, night clubs, roadhouses etc. The films were glorious little time capsules of music, social history, dance styles, fashion and modes from a seemingly care free America of the 1940s. These films featured artists from the Jazz, Swing and Big Band Era e.g. Duke Ellington, Court Basie etc. These filmed can be viewed for a dime through a machine called Panoram, a movie juke box. In the 1929s- 30s it would have be very controversial to have a black person on screen especially to be seen to be wearing a sexually suggestive outfit. But today the outfits worn would not be considered controversial, this is due to the desensitisation of what is considered provocative. Also due to it becoming a normal thing in the music videos to be revealing and be appealing to the target audience of men. In the beginning this was not acceptable and was seen as taboo.


An example of this is
"thats the spirit" with Cara LaRedd featuring the Noble Sissle Orchestra where there is a black women shown wearing revealing clothing and dancing in an overly sexual way. This is controversial because not only was she dressed that way but back then black people were not considered equal to white people and this was considered as unacceptable.