This photograph was taken during the production of a short film I made while attending some classes at De Anza College in 2014. The short film was titled Scratch: a horror film inspired by the video game The Last of Us, in which a group of people try to evade a dangerous, sound-sensitive monster. It was one of the first short films I made that I was proud of, and it solidified my desire to become an artist. It is also one of the earliest examples of what would become my personal preferences in cinematography (using available and/or natural lighting, creating the color style in-camera rather than in post-production, using taller aspect ratios, etc.)
If you would like to see the short film, you can find a link to it on YouTube at the end of this blog entry.
I bring this up for a few reasons: one, to elaborate my commitment to the arts; two, to exemplify how originality comes from choices in presentation more than anything else; and three, to emphasize what I have come to recognize as Cinema, which is, in my experience, not what some of the greater powerhouses like Quentin Tarentino or Christopher Nolan (admirable and talented though they are) insist that it is. That sounds pretentious and arrogant. Still, I promise I don't intend to sound that way, nor do I mean to diminish the works or validation of other artists, be they professional or aspiring.
By now, you are aware that Netflix, the streaming giant, has won the bidding war to purchase one of the oldest movie studios in Hollywood, Warner Bros. There are many things to consider with this massive corporate purchase, and we will get to them in good time. But first, I want to address one of the more fundamental things that has led to this purchase. I have come to a conclusion that many of us may not want to hear, nor immediately agree with, but I hope you will understand it more clearly later on.
And that conclusion is this:
Hollywood is off balance, and will likely never rebalance itself again!
Now, what do I mean by that? Well, consider one of my favorite symbols, the yin-yang:
This symbol from Chinese philosophy represents dualism, harmony, and balance. It is a symbol I have appreciated and incorporated into many aspects of my life, including my passion for the arts. Because one of the most essential foundations of creating impactful and everlasting works is maintaining proper balance. While this has many interpretations depending on what you choose to pursue, in the realm of narrative filmmaking, it means balancing entertainment value and artistic merit.
Now, in an ideal world, the Hollywood system would function something like this: make tons of money with the blockbusters by having massive amounts of entertainment value along with good narrative resonance, then take some of the revenue from the blockbusters to put toward smaller films, perhaps give a little to some unknown talents and/or brand new aspiring IP's lying around looking for their chance at a big screen adaptation. The money is evenly distributed, the movies have a broad sense of variety, and audiences & artists alike are treated to an abundance of possibilities.
But alas, we do not live in an ideal world; we live in a crappy world! And in this crappy world, Hollywood has shifted the balance too far to one side with too many overinflated budgets, too much reliance on name recognition and nostalgia, and the abandonment of reasonable artistic risk.
While many arguments can be made about exactly when Hollywood's downfall began, there is no denying that it has finally reached its apex and completed its self-destruction. Oh sure, they'll still be "around," producing products for mass audiences, and there may be occasional releases of decent quality from talented artists who have grandfathered their way into the system, but that, too, is on its way out the door. Very soon, there will be nothing coming out of the Hollywood system that wasn't approved by their corporate (mostly conservative) overlords, who are more concerned with how many additional ads they can plaster on the screen before, during, and after showing the one-hundred-billion-dollar commercial, under the delusion that it's an actual movie.
The critical takeaway from this is that Hollywood, as we may have once revered it, is gone. No longer is it the artistic powerhouse we once viewed it as, and there is no hope of them reviving that way of thinking anytime soon.
But, take heart, for while Hollywood draws its last breath and fades away, Cinema itself will never die!
Like all worthwhile art forms through the ages, Cinema is undergoing a metamorphosis, changing and adjusting what we typify as artistic expression in film. The movie theater experience may be dying, and will likely fade away almost entirely in the next few years, but the joy of sharing Cinematic art with loved ones will never vanish.
Contrary to what some folks prefer to believe, Cinema is significantly simpler to define than you might think: the manipulation of images (with or without sound) to tell a story. That's it! With that in mind, many of the arguments made by Hollywood's elite (celluloid-only, insistence on theatrical release, outdated historical precedent, etc.) are unreasonable and impractical.
Let's examine some of the greater implications at play here.
The Death of Movie Theaters?
It's an unfortunate truth we must accept: the movie theater experience, as we once knew it, is dead. There is no sugarcoating this sad and heartbreaking reality. With a few notable exceptions, the general movie theater experience has reached its breaking point and cannot realistically survive in the modern age. While I genuinely wish the opposite were true (and would not object to being proven wrong in the future), we cannot ignore this eventuality anymore.
Now, this is not to say that going to the movies isn't still fun in some ways, nor is it to say that movie theaters of all kinds are going to disappear entirely. Still, with the rise of streaming platforms and digital rentals, and with theater release windows continuing to shrink, we are heading toward a reality in which movie theaters (and, by extension, theatrical releases) will become so small that they will hardly be a blip on people's radar, with a few notable exceptions, of course.
Even so, this does not mean the death of Cinema!
Cinema will simply move on to whatever new platform the times allow. Theatrical-style experiences may shift toward smaller community events, such as park and neighborhood screenings (which are already a remarkable trend today and will likely see a greater surge in popularity and demand in the future). Even better, many of these screenings will offer greater opportunities for smaller production groups, independent, and amateur filmmakers. These are the kinds of theatrical-style events that can offer a greater sense of community within the world of Cinema enthusiasm. As long as people want that experience, those who care most about it will provide it. Let us be sure to support them as much as possible when the time comes.
The End of Physical Media?
Another concern this potential sale has sparked is the future of physical media (DVDs, Blu-rays, 4K UHD, etc.) Most streaming services refuse to release their in-house products on any kind of physical media, and the ones that have made it there only did so at the behest of their commissioned creators (the only reason Netflix's House on Haunted Hill got a Blu-ray release was that the series director, Mike Flannigan, demanded it).
While this sounds like something some people in the entertainment industry might be interested in, I don't know enough about the ins and outs of physical media manufacturing to have an opinion on this possibility, other than I seriously hope they don't actually try to kill physical media. However, I do know enough about business to remind you, my beautiful readers, that the best way to protest and demand change is with our wallets. Our money speaks louder to companies than it should, and if we want them to deliver something specific, we have to show them it's what we're spending our money on.
The best way to tell companies we want physical media to stay is to buy it as often as possible (within reason). If you really want to get the message across, consider canceling whatever streaming service you have, at least temporarily, and put that money toward physical media.
Collectively taking money away from one area and aiming it at another is a serious way to demand change from any given company. We know this because shortly after Disney fired Jimmy Kimmel (at the demand of Trump and his FCC lackey), we all protested by canceling our Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions (mine remains canceled in case you were wondering), and the financial blow was hard enough to "encourage" Disney to not only reinstate Jimmy Kimmel, but also, later on, renew his contract for a few years.
Companies only listen to money! They don't read your social media comments, they don't listen to your protest chants, and they don't consider your petitions; they only speak in cash! So, the next time you see a company doing something that threatens a vital aspect of the arts or does anything that lessens the human experience, protest with your wallet. Also, FYI, this applies to many things beyond physical media.
The Death of Cinema itself?
As I have already stated, Cinema will never die! Because Cinema is, and always shall be, its own entity. So long as it remains the art of manipulating images (with or without sound) to tell a story, Cinema will be around in many shapes and forms.
The Hollywood system has been devolving into a conglomerate of corporate suits who don't want to make movies; they want to make giant, expensive commercials for products, services, and business ideas that, at the very least, "look" like movies. Essentially, Hollywood is no longer about Cinema; they're cosplaying as Cinema. Every once in a while, a work of genuine Cinema will burst its way through the cracks (Steven Spielberg's upcoming UFO drama Disclosure Day, for example). Still, they will gradually become fewer and farther between, only to eventually fade away entirely.
Conclusion
While it is unfortunate how Hollywood, a place that was initially founded as the bedrock of artistic freedom and expression, has devolved into the corporate mass it is today, we find ourselves at the beginning of a new revolution, one that we all can participate in and contribute to in many ways. We all can make works of Cinema in whatever capacity we choose. And as the sun rises on this new dawn, let us rejoice, for we have the freedom, the fortitude, and the ability to create meaningful and everlasting works of Cinema.
We are the real storytellers; hear us ROAR!
Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm; thank you all for reading.
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