"We went to the movies often. The screen would light up, and we'd feel a thrill. But Madeleline and I were usually disappointed. But Madeleline and I were usually disappointed. The images were dated and jumpy. Marilyn Monroe had aged badly. We felt sad. It wasn't the movie of our dreams. It wasn't that total film we carried inside ourselves. That film we would have liked to make, or, more secretly, no doubt, the film we wanted to live" -Masculin Feminin*I hope to chop the broccoli on this entry in a more relaxed tone; less preachy, less pretentious, but we’ll see how I manage. I'll try to keep this post more Chef Boyardee rather than Foie gras. And here we go…
To watch a movie such as Predators blow away a movie like I Am Love at the box office, blows me away. Not because I would think such an "arty" movie would stand a chance out preforming an action movie, but rather because such an great arty movie would get completely stomped on by such an shitty action movie. I'm talk'n "MMA tap out" kinda beating. Very troubling indications for the art of film-making indeed!
I Am Love is such a daring and uncommon film, it really bums me out to see it get by-passed. I just wish movies such as these were not so out of range from the common film-goers catalog. I wish more adults treated the movies as also an art, and not just "entertainment". There's just so much more to explore with this media. I mean, imagine if painting were only entertainment, or sculpture there only to entertain.
Imagine if all our buildings look like fun and cool architecture. The Disney Music Hall looked like Goofy's Fun house, and not the complex it is. Were Notre Dame Cathedral not awed at, and instead people rather looked at track homes for inspiration. Cause really isn't Notre Dame a little gawdy? Gawdy and high maintenance! I mean really who's it trying to be, Kim Kardashian? And then it's so "dramatic", it's a fucking downer, it's just plain embarrassing. Lets not even get started on the written word; move over Shakespeare, make way for Stephen King! Preferably in a pop-up book format with an Mp3 embedded in it, you know, to read the book when you open it up. An audio pop-up book, now that would be fuckin cool!
Now I like Lady GaGaas much as the next person, but if your stereo was stuck on The Fame Monster, how fun would that be? I'd rather be stuck on stupid. Yes I know, I'm being just a tad dramatic, but you catching my drift? It takes music of all kinds to fulfill our many diverse moods.
It takes many kinds to break the mold, and push forward. Punk, Hip-Hop/Rap, was once unfashionable, was once dangerous, was once... dare I say: not trendy. They weren’t playing by the rules, and they were not playing it safe with beats you were use to, with messages for the masses. They were loaded locked and sights set, on it's intended individuals, speaking to those "in" on it. These art forms were not afraid to cuss, although they might not obtain radio play because of it. Integrity?
So why is it films are thought to be "good" if they have mass box-office pull. If it hits all the marks of the template that has been set, then it's a doozy. From a business stand point I get it, for sure; "it's all about the bucks baby!" But as an audience member, why would we give a shit? I mean really why do we care if it sold this many tickets or that many. And after all, the “Suits” are just puppets to the audience, for it’s ultimately the audience that decides.
Now I understand it's nice to be on the same page as everybody else. It's nice to be "hip" and up to date on what everyone is giddy about. You can talk about the movie you saw last night with your co-workers at lunch. It gives you a sense of camaraderie. It's fun to go to the movies with a group of people and make an event of it. There's a time and place for everything. You might not want to take a date to see Revolutionary Road, I get it, I really do, but movies are not just for group entertainment, they are so much more than that.What happened to taking “risks”? Isn’t that a virtue anymore?Now I'm not saying Predators is a shitty movie, and that movies like that shouldn't be made (that's in your own head). What I'm saying is don't we have better things to do? Don't we once in awhile want more? Are we that easy to please, and that indifferent?
As we move further into a new era (one that is changing quicker than a click), the future of cinema is yet to be decided. With the Internet and other new technologies evolving every day; 3-D movies/T.V., On Demand, Ipods, etc, who knows where films will eventually make their home, and who knows if the “Theater” experience will survive. But one thing is for sure: Content will always be decided by the audience! What the audience wants is what will get produced. What gets produced is a reflection of society, is a reflection of ourselves. After all in those audiences are artist bred; every filmmaker was once only a film-goer. We are the dream makers, so why be so boring and toothless. I say lets live it up, lets be grand, lets push the boundaries, who’s with coming with me?Here’s to those filmmakers that aren’t afraid to make the films they want, even if that film doesn’t “speak” to masses.But more than this, here’s to the audiences that have complexities, that have dimensions, and that are not afraid to stray into new territories, to break the mold, who gives a shit if your co-worker hasn't seen it. This is for all those individuals in the audience.
Eat your popcorn, enjoy your jujubes, but don’t fear something a little more “filling” once in awhile… something a little more than this:
and a lot more like this:
So try this next time you go to the movies: leave little Jimmy & Janie with the baby sitter, make a sharp turn away from your local megaplex, and go hit up the art house shack tucked away in a corner of your city. You might just be surprised. And for those of you that already do just that, well then to you I say: "Keep up the good fight".*Update: All said and done there is hope! Inception is having a killer opening weekend. But Inception is the exception more often than not.
P.S. I love you Stephen King, but if that was all there was to read, that'd be pure Misery.Furthermore, loved On Writing!!!
