According to Oscar

Through the World War II, Hollywood had trained audiences en masse to absorb the messages placed among the entertainment they were watching, whether that was through the moral actions of characters or the enduring strife of others. With the war now over, writers and directors who had emigrated from Europe turned their attention towards the social problems that Americans were living with at home.

This realistic, and often journalistic, approach to American issues caught the eye of the US Government. Without clear international conflict the rally audience support towards, the government was fearful that liberal-minded filmmakers were turning the influential power of the film against America itself. Hollywood soon found itself fighting for the social problem edge it was just starting to carve out through films like The Lost Weekend, The Best Years of Our Lives, Gentleman's Agreement, and All the King's Men.

Oscar discusses America's relationship with the UK and how European talent influenced the growing 'film noir' genre in America. You'll learn how, when soldiers returned from the Second World War, movie attendance started to decline and art house theatres sprung up, showing foreign imports. As a result, Britain slowly built its film industry into one that rivalled Hollywood, causing the producers who created the Academy to pull their funding for the Awards ceremony.

This great decline in international relations starts with Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca and ends with Laurence Olivier's Hamlet.

Oscar reflects on how Hollywood changed as the prospect of America entering the Second World War loomed over the country. Many pro-interventionist voices worked in Hollywood, so did their part in reflecting the attitudes of public in their stories. After Pearl Harbour, President Roosevelt realised the power movies can have to entertain and inform audiences who saw them, and demanded less censorship so Hollywood could integrate war themes into its stories.

See how America's changing stance to the war is reflected in three Best Picture winners:

How Green Was My Valley - portraying the impeding loss of America's youth

Mrs Miniver - showing British efforts on the home front, in need of support

Casablanca - reinterpreting America's delayed action as a noble effort

Oscar takes a look back at the development of colour film, particularly the rise of the name most synonymous early Hollywood colour films - Technicolor - and the establishment of 'colour consciousness' thanks to Natalie Kalmus.

Learn how 'Gone with the Wind' used colour symbolism to direct the attention of the viewer, emphasise emotional moments, and create narrative closure on the road to becoming (still!) the most successful Hollywood film ever made.

Oscar explains the censorship that Hollywood studios had to comply with to keep their films exhibited across the country, and how keeping to the Hays Code discouraged films that challenged important social issues.

Learn how 'The Life of Emile Zola' was made under the watchful eye of antisemitic censors see if you can answer the question: do films have a responsibility to mirror the lives of the people who watch them, or should they merely provide 'harmless entertainment'?

Oscar explains how Hollywood's vision of an ideal America came from the European immigrants who established Hollywood, with special attention on Frank Capra's ability to put 'common man' values in the spotlight.

Learn how 'It Happened One Night', the movie almost nobody wanted to make, became a national sensation and catapulted Frank Capra into Hollywood stardom with an Academy Award sweep. Then hear how his second Best Picture winner, 'You Can't Take It With You', exemplifies the themes and story-telling that would become known as Capra-corn.

Oscar remembers Irving Thalberg, one of the most successful and influential producers of Early Hollywood.

Learn about some of Thalberg's greatest successes and how they reflect his technical innovations ('The Broadway Melody'), how he marketed MGM as a star-studded film studio ('Grand Hotel'), and personally turned troubled productions into successes ('Mutiny on the Bounty'). Then hear how his early passing was mourned in throughout Hollywood and reflected in 1936's 'The Great Ziegfeld'.

Oscar's story about the Best Picture winners rolls into the Great Depression.

Learn how 'prestige' films leveraged the fame of contemporary authors to raise the profile of their studios, and why 'Cimarron' and 'Cavalcade' won Best Picture for giving audiences tales of Depression-era optimism.

Hear the story of the Best Picture Award from Oscar himself.

His story starts in 1920s Los Angeles. Learn why the Academy was formed and how two early Best Picture winners, 'Wings' and 'All Quiet on the Western Front', were rewarded for their realistic portrayals of warfare.