Many people have commented and noticed the decline that cinema has had over the last two decades or so. Films today seem to be increasingly lighter, very little complex and often downright laughable. Of course, there are still great movies made, but they barely make into the mainstream or in the public consciousness. The tone is set of course, by American cinema, which influences the worldwide trends and cinematic experiences of viewers from all around the world.
When cinema first started, it was a novelty art, which only a few could access. Then, it became an alternative to live theater. After the 1950s, it can be said that cinema had turned into a veritable form of art and entertainment. The movies of the 50s, 60s and even some from the 70s can be considered veritable contenders to novels and even to philosophical books. And, while those films were not necessarily for everyone, if you come to think about it, they were part of the public conscience and people were looking forward to seeing Tarkovsky’s or Kubrick’s newest releases. Dialogues of the 1950s movies were complex and meaningful and the symbols of the films released during the 60s gave many people goose bumps.
Later, television appeared and movies overall reached wider audiences. As technology developed and international accords become more friendly, Hollywood movies made it into the projection halls of the whole world.
At the beginning of the 21st century, most US blockbusters could be watched anywhere in the world: from Eastern Europe to China and the Arab nations.
However, at the same time, the quality of film making decreased considerably. Films now are highly immature, they rely on clichés too much (instead of relying on archetypes), they are uberpredictable and don’t convey much meaning. It can even be said that cinema has reached an all-time low, although, it can get a lot worse.
There are a few factors that have contributed to the decline in quality in cinema. The first one is the expected one: the changing age of the average movie-goer. If in the past, adults with high education and strong cultural knowledge were the main people to attend a screening, now it’s mostly bored teens who scroll through their phones during filler scenes. Given that the quality of education has decreased in most countries, most teens don’t really have many cultural references anymore; it’s hard for them to connect dots and discover hidden meanings by themselves.
Hollywood movies of today are divided into two main categories: firstly, there is the bulk of movies made for American audiences. These movies are based on American pop-culture and convey a feeling of being full with meaning and depth, even though they don’t really have any. Moreover, given the tense political situation of the States, most of these movies are made to lecture people about what Hollywood and their overlords consider to be social morality. The second category is described by the movies made for export. These are the usual blockbusters featuring many explosions and tons of CGI (which makes films look more and more the same, à la the “orange and teal effect”), ending with a huge fight between two monsters. These films, which makes most of Hollywood’s money, are made by design to appeal to international audiences: they don’t feature any cultural references, since at least one or two markets would not understand them, they don’t discuss any deep topics, since there would be at least one or two markets where certain topics are taboo and they can’t really have cool dialogue either, since most viewers will watch dubbed versions of the film, so no plays on words make it to the screen. The characters in the films of the 2010s are washed-down so that anyone can relate to them, which unfortunately makes them bland and uni-dimensional.
Controversy is, of course, out of the question, since it can cost a lot of money at the box office.
Popular, widespread culture has become very monotone and algorithm-based. So-called “patrons” of the “arts” pour money only in formulas they know will succeed, and people are looking towards the past, when films and television were more authentic. These two factors are the clear reasons why today we see so many prequels, sequels, re-inventions, adaptations of old movies and repackaged stories.
Can cinema recover? Of course. But, in order to have the much-needed renaissance, we need to establish a common ground of dialogue, a pyramid of true values and the respect for these and to add meaning to our lives. Otherwise, not only cinema will be doomed, but everything else will go with it too.