All right, Kadas - you called down the thunder.....

As the result of my chosen vocation and love of the art form, I tend to synthesize my observations about society through the prism of cinema. As a tool for this task, it probably isn’t terribly effective, beyond articulating the pop-culture trends of the moment, but the correlations and evidence that something of the fantasy worlds created in film are, at least in part, reflections of the time and place in which they were created, seems valid enough.

Popular film making has often oscillated between periods of poignant social commentary and purely escapist fare (think the decline of Film Noir being followed by the mostly pompous trash of the early 60’s) but never before has Hollywood so gracelessly – and exclusively - embraced the vacuous mass-produced and mass-consumed blockbuster as they have come to over the past 10 years. I would go as far to say that American popular film might not recover from the disintegration of traditional cinematic convention that currently pervades the industry. A fundamental shift occurred in Hollywood during the past 30 years and I have yet to hear that trend well articulated - or even acknowledged in some corners.

Quantifying this shift is difficult because it has happened slowly and almost imperceptibly. It might best be illustrated by observing the vast differences between earlier and more current examples of the form. In the case of modern day cinema, to isolate the block of output from, say the early to mid 1970’s and compare that to the output since 2000, could possibly serve to show the trend more obviously and with greater impact than simply following the path chronologically.

It could be argued that the last golden era of Hollywood film making occurred in the period from roughly 1969 to 1974. This period coincided with the final collapse of the traditional Hollywood studio system and the rise of a youthful - and modestly independent – group of auteur/directors. Many American films released during this period are varied yet powerful indictments of the establishment (the Vietnam War and Watergate among the common themes) and the impact that these issues had on the psyche of the American population. It might be further argued that this intensely critical and often almost paranoid period of film making ran its course and served its purpose – offering insights and observations into counterculture and the disintegration of the publics' trust in its institutions and authority. What followed was another Hollywood oscillation into banal fantasy worlds that offered pat answers – Jaws, for example, serving to a) reduce “fear” to the realms of the unknown, and b) eliminate “cause and effect” from “actions and consequences”. The public ate it up, due in no small part to the removal of blame, implication and collective responsibility from the equation. The Conversation, Parallax View and Mean Streets, to name but a few had, just 2 or 3 years earlier, demanded the recognition of causality whereas the pure predatory instinct of a shark did not.

Star Wars, arguably the first true blockbuster in any modern sense, went one step further, facilitating a complete disconnect from reality using the intricate construction of a fantasy universe that required virtually nothing from its audience. The massive success of the Star Wars franchise announced the arrival of form over substance in American film making and the intervening 30 years has involved honing big budget pictures into what they have become today - almost perfect exercises in pacing, momentum and pure escapism. Filmmakers have distilled their product into its purest and most saleable form by draining it of anything that gets in the way of pacing. This evolution finds the typical movie audience often more bombarded than engaged and sadly leaves critical elements of the traditional film experience out of the equation. It should be noted that exceptions to the rule obviously exist and that a number of filmmakers have opted out of this creative cul-de-sac but the vast majority have not. It should be further noted that cinematic history is full of mediocrity and slapdash releases intent on offering nothing more than diversion. What is worth consideration, however, is just how much of present day cinema is devoted to offering little else.

A chicken and egg argument presents itself with regard to Hollywood’s output and that of the audience’s responses and expectations. Have films become inane exercises in hyper-mediocrity because the audience won’t support anything of merit? Drawing parallels to other forms of entertainment – books, television, music and so on, might suggest that filmmakers are simply responding to the market conditions of the day, but I think it’s rather more complicated than that. A better comparison might be to that of the huge expansion of gambling and casinos across North America. It would be hard to conjure up a more useless and destructive form of entertainment then a casino and yet the gambling industry’s growth shows no signs of slowing down. We have evolved into a society that demands instant and perpetual gratification from cradle to grave and film has come to reflect that fact. Film has the ability to provoke analysis and reflection on and about the human condition but unfortunately, it too, has been reduced to a simple commodity to be consumed, discarded and replaced by next weekend’s new big thing. Another pull on the one-armed bandit you could say.

One has to wonder whether American filmmakers can pull out of this creative nosedive or if, in fact, they even recognize that it’s happened. The blame for this creative dilemma needs to be applied to both the filmmakers and the audience. I sure some would argue that the splendidly dull and seamless visual stunts of the latest Bond film or the technical perfection of the next Marvel comic book adaptation is the natural and inevitable course for Hollywood’s dream factory, pointing to the huge box office receipts and critical acclaim that often accompanies these bloated amusement-park-ride flicks. The endless stimulation of video game graphics perhaps is the goal, but it is becoming increasingly evident that the emperor has no clothes. After the camera stops shaking and the sparks fizzle into darkness in the third act’s final display of pyrotechnics what remains is often an audience entertained but not engaged. The Wizards of Oz are exposed for what they are – illusionists without substance hiding behind blue screen wizardry and technical proficiency. The stories remain culled from old comics, TV shows and hack writers of dubious merit stitched together by screenwriters more apt at connecting big set pieces than telling tales.

It’s unlikely that the public will demand better. They are enamored with the simplicity and meekness of current film making. Great film requires more than just passive observation by the viewer. It demands engagement, presents questions, probes possibilities and integrates relevance and real issues by way of metaphor and allegory. We have been witness to the evolution of cinema that is, for all intents and purposes, reaching the apex of technical perfection while simultaneously hitting bottom with regard to the art of plot and character development and the telling of stories with any general relevance to the human condition. Critics and audiences alike are evidently bewildered by these diametrically opposed cycles and often confuse quality and efficiency. They are not the same thing.

Whether film reflects the state of society or the opposite holds true, those of us interested in the grandness and possibilities of cinema must search for it in other places and times. The past is rich with movie excellence and has never been more accessible than it is today. We also have the less diluted world of international film to explore, both past and present. Independent filmmakers continue to work outside the direct influence of Hollywood’s mainstream machinations and their work sometimes finds it’s way into distribution. The odd substantive Hollywood film continues to slip through the mediocrity grinder relatively unscathed and into the local Cineplex. This combination of alternative viewing options quietly keeps the art form (and its advocates) alive and well, even while the big boys are busy deciding what to blow up next.