Mass Produced Objects: Movies and CDs

One thing my Art History: Photography in History class has taught me so far is that photography is easily reproduced and if photography is so easily distributed then films are too. Movies are quite possibly the easiest to reproduce, distribute, in a variety of ways. They industrially massed produced with the same contents, a CD and a plastic boxed case that protects said contents, and a strip of paper that illustrates the front with the title of the product and the summary in the back.

In many ways FILM itself is mass-produced, it is made FOR the people, it is made with people in MIND. The storyline itself it is always targeted at a group of people and its function is easy enough: to be your entertainment. Movies are very much a part of design; the commercials are cut to capture the consumer’s attention and each scene sets out to deliver the product (plotline).

The CD the movie finds itself encoded on, the box that contains it, and the wrapping is the physical industrially mass produced product. The function of this package is universal so that everyone can enjoy it. The product function is the same no matter where you go. The shape of the CD and the Box is generally the same, built for easily storage, protection, and organization. The CD and box are formed from two of the most basic shapes in the world the circle and the square.

The circular shape of the CD allows the ease to transmit information and designers have kept this traditional shape due to the cheap cost. I believe that this is the reason since it is easier, safer and longer lasting to carry information on a USB drive but it is easier to store it on a CD still since much of technology still use the CD to transmit information.

The box, itself, is just as universal since its main function is to protect the CD from breaking or gaining scratches. Even the thinner paper casings are used in the same basic way and function.

Thus, the film industry itself is an industrially mass produced object. It is an easily distributed object that can be passed and utilized worldwide. So in fact the CD is generally a very modern function that will not seem to be outmoded anytime soon.