It is a film that depicts the cinematic movies that were being made in the late 1920’s. It depicts the transition of silent films to films that contain synchronized sound (talkies).

 *How does Singing in the rain locate the development of Genres within the Hollywood Film Industry and the Studio System?

The film initially shows two huge stars Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont who work in the extremely popular format of silent films. The films were technically not silent as they were usually accompanied by a band or a narrator narrating the events. The actors used to portray mainly through their expressions and body language. Later in the film, the arrival of talkies forces the Monumental Pictures to release their own sound picture. They make The Dueling Cavalier into a talkie but they face huge difficulties. Lina is not fit for speaking with her high pitched and annoying voice. Dubbing emerges as Kathy, Don’s love interest who’s a stage performer and choir girl uses her voice to be used as Lina’s. We get to see how the location of microphones poses difficulties in their recording the sound. Ultimately when the film is released, the sound in one scene is out of sync and the dialogues seem superficial.

*What are the distinctive features of the Hollywood Studio filmmaking practice that you come across in the film which are crucial to the understanding of Genres?

Studio Filmmaking shown in the film through Monumental Pictures shows us how actors are contract bound. It shows us the army of people employed to make a film. The grandeur of the sets created and the costumes play an important part in the making of a musical. The sets are elaborate that give audiences the feeling of escapism. The musicals are all shot within this studio and they were all very high budget movies.