challenging entertainment
There has been a lot written about the Oscars in the last few days. Much of it critical of Hollywood. There seemed to be a clear expectation among observers that this year’s award ceremony would suffer the lowest ratings ever. A lot of the “disinterest” sentiment seems to be pointed at the nomination of “unpopular” movies this year… Movies like “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Milk” that may not have been blockbusters at the box office but were a triumph of storytelling or cinematic art nevertheless.
I have several problems with this. First, this sentiment seems to imply that filmmaking should in some way consider the sellability of the Oscars telecast when producing a movie. Haha. Wrong. Second, this would imply that the Academy should select/nominate films that would lead to good ratings on the Oscars telecast. Haha. Wrong.
There is a balance in this industry. One between art and entertainment. Were the industry to abandon the artistic aspects of filmmaking in favor of generating consistent mass appeal, the content would eventually devolve and the industry would implode. Similarly, if the industry abandoned the need to hold an audience for artistic zeal, it would lose its purpose, and thus, implode.
So, to the extent that the film industry can continue to produce challenging content – content that challenges the audience to undestand something, to exit the comfort zone, to experience something… more power to it. American audiences need to be challenged.
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giannii
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Galileo627
