r18novel Page 740
Page 740
"Simply put, this is a program that brings radio dramas to television; you can think of it as a television version of a movie."
As the key person at CBS who communicated with Xu Fu, William Paley clearly had a better feel for television programs, especially since he had briefly considered the concept of a TV series as early as when Xu Fu was filming his first television commercial.
"If we were to adapt a radio drama into a television series, what would the costs be..."
However, while CBS executive William Paley was somewhat interested in the TV series Xu Fu was talking about, he also realized that the entire television production process was incredibly expensive.
Unlike radio dramas, television requires visuals, so a few simple voice actors are clearly not suitable for creating television dramas.
"We can start with the simplest series."
As a member of an emerging industry, William Paley's questions were naturally understandable to Xu Fu.
Television programs can only be broadcast live, a format that undoubtedly limits the vast majority of theatrical works.
"As far as I know, the BBC produced this TV series many years ago."
In 1930, the BBC produced the world's first television series, "The Man with Colorful Words," which tells the story of a seriously ill man telling a stranger about himself and his wife in an open-air café.
"CBS, no, the entire American television industry, has fallen behind the American broadcasting network."
During this period, relations between the United States and the United Kingdom were extremely difficult.
Although the United States is essentially a country that emerged from the separation from the United States, with the development of history in recent years, the United States has increasingly broken free from the control of the United States.
Especially during the golden 1920s, the glorious "Rakugo era".
The rapid economic development of the United States aroused the jealousy of the United States at the time, which led to Stevenson's Eucalyptus Act. This act more than doubled the prices of basic manufactured goods that the United States monopolized in the United States, thus triggering a trade war.
In addition, the Eagle restricted the exchange of technology and currency, closed markets to autonomous colonies, and established trade spheres within the British Empire to counter the aggressive Beauty Nation.
Necklace, technology war, trade war, closed markets, anti-free trade.
Familiar formula, familiar taste.
It was because of this story that when William Paley heard Xu Fu mention that the Eagle Broadcasting Company was leading the production of a TV series, his expression changed instantly, and he looked at Xu Fu firmly and said...
"I—no, CBS will not allow it! I assure you, Mr. Xu Fu, CBS will soon produce a television series that is no less than, no, far surpasses, that of the Eagle Broadcasting Company!"
We lose to anyone except the United States.
Chapter 900 Abolition of Prohibition
Despite William Paley's assurances, it remains to be seen whether CBS will actually foot the bill.
Especially in the era before television recording equipment, the only way to produce a complete episode of a TV series was through live broadcast.
The BBC used the same method when filming the movie "The Man Who Speaks".
Preparing to film a CBS television series takes a lot of time.
But before that, an even more important event occurred, attracting the attention of all of New York, and even the entire United States.
Not long ago, a formal debate was held on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., to continue enforcing Prohibition Amendment 18, which would have ended the 14-year-old Prohibition law.
As a latecomer, Xu Fu naturally realized that the repeal of Prohibition was a foregone conclusion, and it was during his campaign that he incorporated this proposal into Roosevelt's campaign policy.
But now, opinions on the "prohibition" are almost equally polarized.
If you study history, you will find that there was a powerful religious force behind the birth of Prohibition, because the Bible clearly states: "You shall not get drunk, for wine leads to debauchery, but you shall be filled with the Holy Spirit."
As early as 1840, Wesleyan Methodists launched the "dry" prohibition movement in various states, while Protestants (mostly of German descent) strongly opposed prohibition and were known as the "wet" prohibitionists. This was the earliest prototype of prohibition, and those who supported "dry" prohibition and those who opposed "wet" prohibition were only in the minority.
However, America at the end of the 19th century was still in the early stages of capitalism. Due to a series of problems such as religion, race, and factories owned by blacks, social welfare was very poor. At this time, the church forces, mainly the "suppressionists," stepped forward and pointed all their anger at alcohol.
People believe that it is because of the existence of alcohol that people drink when they have nothing to do, and once they get drunk, they are prone to alcoholism, domestic violence, fighting, and violating public order. Therefore, it is necessary to solve the problem of alcohol as the general solution to all problems by banning alcohol!
More and more people are convinced of this, and under the leadership of some radicals, they are advocating prohibition, claiming that it is necessary for public morality and health.
Some textbooks at the time even exaggerated the dangers of alcohol by suggesting that drinking could lead to spontaneous combustion. While this claim seems absurd in retrospect, it did contribute to the development of Prohibition.
Of course, besides religious reasons, women were also a major driving force behind the temperance movement. Domestic violence stemming from alcoholism made women a key driving force for the movement.
In 1874, the American Christian Women's Temperance League was founded. Besides advocating for alcohol, the league also championed women's suffrage. As women gained voting rights in some states, the advantage of female votes meant that proponents of prohibition often had a better chance of winning governorships or seats in Congress. This led to calls within the American federal government to amend the constitution to prohibit alcohol.
By 1893, the Women’s Temperance League and the “Temperance” Church had formed the Anti-Alcohol League, which, with the help of religious influence and the broad support of women, launched a nationwide temperance campaign.
With excessive propaganda, the number of "paperhangers" continued to increase. In order to win over the "paperhangers'" votes, both the Democratic and Republican parties actively courted them. Especially during World War I in 1917-1918, when the United States and Germany clashed fiercely and social problems frequently occurred in the United States, the influence of the "paperhangers" reached its peak.
By 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment to the American Constitution (the Eucalyptus) explicitly prohibited the brewing, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages, but permitted the use of wine for religious purposes.
Yes, while religion was the main force behind Prohibition, its own existence also contributed to some relaxation of restrictions.
Now, the drafting of the 18th Amendment Act has entered its 14th year, and prohibition is no longer just a revision of the law, but has attracted tremendous attention.
Clearly, repealing the law at this point is not a simple matter.
Even Maurice Shepard, the "father of Prohibition," publicly stated that repealing Prohibition was as unlikely as a hummingbird flying to Mars with the Washington Monument tied to its tail. In other words, it was impossible.
Of course, the reason why "prohibitionists" or supporters of alcohol were convicted is because Prohibition was protected by the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. To date, there has never been a case in American history where a constitutional amendment has been repealed.
This kind of "stability" is exactly what temperance advocates desire.
Even former President Hoover, who reportedly supported Prohibition in the 1928 presidential election, called Prohibition "a great social and economic experiment with noble motives and far-reaching consequences."
However, the latter still went to the Belgian embassy to buy a drink.
This also illustrates the difficulty of repealing the Eucalyptus 277 Act. However, no one could have predicted that the Great Depression would suddenly join the ranks of those who would be the catalyst for repealing Prohibition.
Its intensity even exceeded the imagination of "anti-prohibitionists".
It was under his impetus that the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, which banned the sale of alcohol, became the first constitutional amendment in American history to be repealed.
As for Hoover's promises, he's already out of office, so who cares what he thinks? Hoover himself might even be happy about abolishing the French eucalyptus trees, since that way he won't have to sneak off to the embassy to drink anymore.
In short, after the news came from Capitol Hill, the question of whether to repeal Prohibition became a topic of discussion on the streets of New York, and even the large ships in New York Harbor were immediately enveloped by strong winds.
As one of the key figures behind the abolition of French eucalyptus trees, Xu Fu naturally couldn't miss this opportunity.
As early as when the first news came from Washington, the Daily Courier reported on the enactment of Prohibition. In one news report, Xu Fu even had someone detail the entire process of the creation of Prohibition, seemingly wanting to put an end to the amended law that had been in effect for nearly fourteen years.
Chapter 901 One of the Positive Impacts
In the final part of the story, Xu Fu quite boldly added a "forbidden" element to the comic.
The well-known villain Lex Luthor reappears in the story, this time using some illegitimate means to bribe Congress. Regardless of whether they pushed through a law called "Ban Superheroes," in the comics, these congressmen all raise a question: It is precisely because of the existence of superheroes that so many supervillains cause fights and disrupt public order. This is just repeating the words of those who pushed for the "Ban Superheroes" order back then.
In the comics, after the "superhero ban," Superman was forced to lose his job, and even Batman, who was far away in Gotham City, was dragged into it.
When readers see two "unemployed" superheroes meet in a comic book, they will find it interesting and may also feel some sympathy.
The comic's plot not only coincides with recent discussions about Prohibition, but also cleverly touches on the topic of unemployment, indirectly suggesting that Prohibition was one of the causes of the Great Depression.
In fact, the repeal of Prohibition was one of the few, or perhaps only, positive effects of the Great Depression.
The implementation of Prohibition not only had a significant impact on people's daily lives, but also led to a huge shortfall in federal tax revenue. This might not have been apparent before the Great Depression, but the problem became particularly acute as the Depression continued, especially with the implementation of Prohibition. The government not only lost tax revenue from alcohol sales, but also had to spend huge sums of money on Prohibition and related issues.
It can be said that Roosevelt's pursuit of repealing the 18th Eucalyptus Amendment, following Xu Fu's lead, was also closely related to public finances.
Of course, revoking a law in a comic book is not as complicated as it is in real life.
At first, the citizens of Metropolis didn't pay much attention to the "superhero ban," but gradually, the crimes that were expected to decrease rather than disappear increased. Many supervillains who had gone into hiding because of Superman began to wreak havoc in the city, and Luther, as the instigator of all this, further revealed his ambition.
It turns out that the reason he pushed for the "superhero ban" was to prevent Superman from taking action, thereby allowing him to use Superman to rule the world.
At the end of the comic, Superman reappears in his iconic bodysuit and stops Luther's evil plan.
Luther: "No, Superman, aren't you afraid of the order to ban superheroes?"
Superman: "You forgot, Ruth, I'm not from Earth, I came to the moon, so your superhero ban doesn't do me any good."
The story ends with relatively humorous dialogue, and the "superhero ban" is officially lifted in the judge's announcement at the end.
She also appeared to be turning to the side, expressing a certain posture.
The ban "can also be overturned, just like in a comic book."
Because this issue of the Daily Courier focused on prohibition, sales immediately exceeded one million copies, and the serialized Superman became another reason for public support for repealing Prohibition.
Today, few openly support repealing Prohibition. While the influence of Prohibitionists has shifted significantly since the Great Depression, those who remain are staunch supporters of Prohibition, most of whom are religious extremists and gang members. The majority of them are controlled by religious extremists and gangs.
The former is driven by faith, the latter by self-interest.
...
"Mr. Xu Fu, could you tell us your position on Eucalyptus Amendment Bill 18?"
Early morning, in front of the Pulitzer Building in New York.
As soon as the reporters who had been waiting for a long time saw Xu Fu, they immediately rushed over.
Following his previous patent dispute with American Radio Corporation, Xu Fu gradually became a public figure in the public eye.
His hardline stance has also made him a frequent target of media harassment.
Xu Fu did not object: everything he did was destined to go unnoticed, and in some ways, the [Faith] series was exactly the kind of thing that needed a lot of attention to have any effect.
From another perspective, the fact that these reporters asked this question at least indicates that they had read another story on "Faith" in the Daily Courier's serialized book.
My stance is very clear.
Standing in front of the building, facing the media, Xu Fu gave a straightforward answer.
Behind him, a reporter from the Daily Mail also picked up a camera and cut into the crowd. Following the Daily Mail reporter's instructions, Xu Fu slightly adjusted the shooting angle so that as many reporters as possible could take pictures under his flag.