The history of film began in the late 1880s with the invention of the first movie camera. Motion pictures were initially exhibited as a carnival novelty and developed to one of the most important tools of communication and entertainment, and mass media in the 20th century and into the 21st century. Most films before 1930 were silent. Motion picture films have substantially affected the arts, technology, and politics.[citation needed]
The movie theatre was considered a cheaper, simpler way to provide entertainment to the masses. Movies became the most popular visual art form of the late Victorian age. It was simpler because before the cinema people would have to travel long distances to see major dioramas or amusement parks. With the advent of the cinema this changed. During the first decade of the cinema's existence, inventors worked to improve the machines for making and showing films.