In the textbook 'American Film: A History', Jon Lewis discusses components that he believes are indicators of “the end of cinema as we know it”. By cinema, Jon Lewis means the all-encompassing aspect of making and watching films, as well as the marketing and business side of Hollywood itself. Changes resulting from the conglomerate's business model, the industry's marketing system, and technological advancement are the main topics Lewis discusses, however I think technology itself is really the overall cause of the changes that have been seen. Under the subtitle “New New Hollywood,” Lewis explains the vast reach of the media conglomerates that were called The Top Six at the time. AOL Time Warner, whose entertainment holdings were larger than all others at the end of 2005, is a prime example of the synergies that conglomerates hold. Movie studios, television networks, magazines, AOL's online services, a baseball team, and a number of theme parks were all owned by AOL Time Warner, and under this blanket of ownership they could therefore use every form of entertainment to market their products. . With this market research became a necessity for large companies, who could not only test the popularity of cast members through a test audience, but could test and promote their products through their various entertainment industry chains. company (television, films, magazines, etc.) The advent of the home theater made it possible to distribute films in a variety of formats and to project them on various types of equipment. Studios have started to consider converting films into multiple formats as a top priority. While box office numbers remained important indicators of success, it was not the primary source of revenue... middle of paper... Lewis's assessment of motion pictures, with the increase of technology and modern home theater capabilities; at this point there is no turning back, and cinema as it once was will never be again. Even with the upheaval of remakes of classic films, the technology available to filmmakers makes it impossible for films to ever be made the way they once were. This is evident in the way films have progressed over their time periods as human knowledge has expanded introducing new filming and acting techniques, where technology still has no ceiling, and cinema is set to change with every progress. Works Cited American Cinema: A History, Jon Lewis, 2008. The Lord of the Rings, Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings_film_trilogy#Special_effects The Polar Express, Wikipediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_Express_%28film%29