Let me start this article with saying I love movies. Movies have been a passion of mine for the last 5 years. I have watched movies that are terrible and movies that make me want to keep watching them over and over again. Cinema is an art form that will never go away but there is something happening in Hollywood that is deeply concerning. I'm not talking about the MeToo movement or any of the weird things directors, producers, and actors do. I'm talking about the movies being released in Hollywood today.
Over the past 100 years, cinema has gone through some drastic changes. We went from silent films in the early 1900s to "talking pictures" in the late 1920s. Hollywood has gone from the studio system that dominated the 1940s and 1950s to more independent features being presented to the general public in mainstream society. Grittier films started to begin in the 1960s and continued into the 1970s. The 1980s brought films that changed the landscape and introduced a different style of film making. The 1990s and 2000s continued this tradition and introduced CGI to audiences and changed the way a movie looks on the big screen. Starting in the 2010s, something changed in Hollywood. They still used the tactics of CGI and things like that, but something concerning has been happening in Hollywood for quite some time.
Today's movies are not original. Most movies today are franchises, sequels, remakes, and reboots. Hollywood has a big problem with originality these days. Ask yourself: When was the last big film that wasn't part of a franchise, sequel, remake, or reboot? I bet you can't think of a blockbuster that was an original idea. Don't get me wrong, I love superhero movies but there's no originality to them. Marvel follows the same formula for each of their solo movies. These movies do very well commercially and critically but it begs the question: Is Hollywood running out of ideas? That question will be answered over the next 10 years.
Every movie feels the same nowadays. A typical blockbuster nowadays has these three elements: action, CGI, and a fantasy creature/person/etc. These elements are great but these elements take away from what is most important in a film: the story. The story in a film is what makes a film great. The story makes you care about the characters and their problems. The story makes you root for the hero and hate the villain. A good story goes a long way in making a film great. Most of these movies focus on the CGI and action but don't focus on the story. The typical "blockbuster" today is not a good movie. Marvel movies are an exception because they get the story right. Marvel movies tell a compelling story which makes you care about the heroes you are watching on the big screen. These other blockbusters lack in the storytelling and character development that make movies great.
What can be done to fix Hollywood's problem? More spotlight on the movies are original. Most movies that are original nowadays are not seen by the common movie goer. Let's take a look at the great movie Another Round. Another Round is a movie about four high school teachers who decide to stay at a .05 BAC for 30 days. This movie is based on the theory of psychiatrist Finn Skarderud. His theory states we do everything better when we have a BAC of .05. In my opinion, it is the best movie of 2020 but didn't get the attention it deserved from the mainstream. I kept telling my family and friends about this movie and there response "I never heard of it." It broke my heart knowing people were not seeing this movie and how great it is. Bringing movies like this to the mainstream media will show Hollywood's creative side and create an appetite for these type of movies.
Do you think Hollywood has a problem with originality? Let us know in the comments below.
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