@brooksmd
Economic history is fascinating to study for many reasons. But one is the allocation of laborers to work activities. This allocation can shift dramatically over time. Barely a century ago, most of us were required to farm, now a tiny share of that number are needed. Most of us are now required for service work. A century from now AI and robots and cyborgs will do most of it. In 1930s studio Hollywood, vast numbers too numerous to mention in credits were required just to build the city facades, sets, lighting electricals and costumes. I watched a TCM short that showed just the carpenters used to constantly redo just one sound stage. It was stunning. And there were hundreds of sound stages in that era of Hollywood. Now this number is hugely less, because so much is shot on location, on a blue screen. But now the number of FX personnel on a movie makes screen credits interminably longer. And so it goes.
