What's wrong with Hollywood?

F

Firm1

Hollywood seems to depict everything in a way that isn’t reflective of our time…But man those numbers in the box office keep rising. And that’s what’s concerning to me because it shows how complacent and ignorant we really are. One of the biggest voices out there for our generation is communicating ideas that are no longer relevant and we don’t even realize it. It’s clouding our perception of the issues we’re facing right now and that’s pretty scary, if you ask me.

Thoughts?
 
Firm1 said:
It’s clouding our perception of the issues we’re facing right now and that’s pretty scary, if you ask me.

Thoughts?
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By "it's" I take it you mean "Hollywood". What issues we're facing is
Hollywood clouding? How about a few example of what you find scary.
 
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I don't know. Hollywood seems to reflect the society (market) (and of course that market is increasingly global) in which it resides. It gives people what they want and pretty efficiently.

Now, if it starts making propaganda films telling us from which end we must start to eat our hard boiled eggs, well then...that will be scary.
 
Firm1 said:
Hollywood seems to depict everything in a way that isn’t reflective of our time…But man those numbers in the box office keep rising. And that’s what’s concerning to me because it shows how complacent and ignorant we really are. One of the biggest voices out there for our generation is communicating ideas that are no longer relevant and we don’t even realize it. It’s clouding our perception of the issues we’re facing right now and that’s pretty scary, if you ask me.

Thoughts?
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dont listen to hollywood. He's one of those complacent people still trying to justify more than looking at the hollywood sign everyone morning and telling himself he's "made it"


Everything you say is true. Hence indie film. You can make a difference no one said that would be easy
 
Firm1 said:
Hollywood seems to depict everything in a way that isn’t reflective of our time…But man those numbers in the box office keep rising. And that’s what’s concerning to me because it shows how complacent and ignorant we really are. One of the biggest voices out there for our generation is communicating ideas that are no longer relevant and we don’t even realize it. It’s clouding our perception of the issues we’re facing right now and that’s pretty scary, if you ask me.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

You obviously have some specific examples in mind, why be so vague? For instance, who is "one of the biggest voices out there for our generation"? Do you mean hollywood in general? Which generation is that the "biggest voice" of? What are the ideas being communicated, and why aren't they relevant? What's not being reflected accurately? Which issues are they clouding? How is it different than previous generations?
 
Also, why do you assume that Hollywood needs to do things the way you think they should? Did somebody say that's the way it's supposed to be?
 
ItDonnedOnMe said:
You obviously have some specific examples in mind, why be so vague? For instance, who is "one of the biggest voices out there for our generation"? Do you mean hollywood in general? Which generation is that the "biggest voice" of? What are the ideas being communicated, and why aren't they relevant? What's not being reflected accurately? Which issues are they clouding? How is it different than previous generations?
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My thoughts, exactly.

It's an interesting premise; "Hollywood seems to depict everything in a way
that isn’t reflective of our time" I'd love some examples.

"Hollywood" is a money making machine. The studios primary goal is to make
money not to communicate ideas. Of course some movie makers what to
communicate ideas and many get the opportunity, but "Hollywood" is a small
collection of privileged, usually wealthy, very insulated people who run the studios.
And they have one goal; make money for their investors.

So I, too, would love some examples of what Hollywood movies you feel are
clouding our perception of the issues we’re facing right now.
 
directorik said:
By "it's" I take it you mean "Hollywood". What issues we're facing is
Hollywood clouding? How about a few example of what you find scary.
Click to expand...

Well, a lot of issues are being clouded through simplistic cookie-cutter stories. Modern-day racism, the dynamic make-up of modern-day wars, the relationship between humans and machines, implications related to big data analytics and the Internet of Things, automation, and of course a holistic understanding of human consciousness and what drives us to do the things we do.

I think its concerning that a lot of big budget films aren't taking more risks to depict themes that are more relevant to us. I mean, the best we get is what? Planet of the Apes? Transcendence? It's too black and white. There isn't a grey zone anymore. We're no longer pushing the envelop and inquiring more about the World and although I don't blame Hollywood, I definitely think its reflected in Hollywood...After all, its a money-making machine so it's going to do what it's always done: Reflect the times so they can reap the profits.

They do what they do because we want it that way...That's kinda fucked up. Don't you think?
 
mussonman said:
Also, why do you assume that Hollywood needs to do things the way you think they should? Did somebody say that's the way it's supposed to be?
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Hollywood doesn't have to do anything because one day, they'll be irrelevant. But, that's a different matter altogether.

Also, this has nothing to do with me. It has everything to do with the "Global Brain". When has that ever been given a voice? It hasn't. This whole time, it's been a handful of writers synthesizing THEIR understanding of reality when in fact reality is an agglomeration of individual realities coalescing into the World that we see, today.

Its waaaay more complicated than we believe it to be. But we should be more complex in our thinking and that should be reflected in our media, not because I say it should. Rather, its because we're transitioning into a much more complicated state of affairs that's either going to make or break us. So literally, in order for us to survive as a species we need to be more complex.
 
davidevans10 said:
dont listen to hollywood. He's one of those complacent people still trying to justify more than looking at the hollywood sign everyone morning and telling himself he's "made it"


Everything you say is true. Hence indie film. You can make a difference no one said that would be easy
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I agree but, I still feel that Indi films are limiting. They don't appeal to a mass audience. There's gotta be a way to create a self-sustaining online engine that generates well-made productions at the same rate that Netflix and Xfinity do and be able to convey them both online and at the movie theaters.

We're seeing a lot of great Indi films being made but they're individual pieces and they're only reaching a specific niche. There's gotta be a better/more naturalistic way to create films.
 
richy said:
I don't know. Hollywood seems to reflect the society (market) (and of course that market is increasingly global) in which it resides. It gives people what they want and pretty efficiently.

Now, if it starts making propaganda films telling us from which end we must start to eat our hard boiled eggs, well then...that will be scary.
Click to expand...

Exactly! Hollywood is reflection of what we want and we just want...Nothing. But, shouldn't we be inspired to go further with stories? Shouldn't we strive to be more inventive and mind-boggling? It's like we all want the T.V dinners instead of the gourmet meal because we've never tasted anything better than what we're getting.

I'm not saying we should start brain-washing society. Rather, we should inspire society to develop new ideas for themselves.
 
Firm1 said:
They do what they do because we want it that way...That's kinda fucked up. Don't you think?
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Not really.

I typically go to the movies to escape the dynamic make up of modern
day wars and racism. I am quite interested in understanding what drives
us to do what we do, but I don't go to the movies to find answers or even
explore that.


Firm1 said:
We're no longer pushing the envelop and inquiring more about the World and although I don't blame Hollywood, I definitely think its reflected in Hollywood...
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You say we no longer push the envelope. When did "Hollywood" push
the envelope? So to answer your question from my perspective there
is nothing wrong with "Hollywood". We (the collective "we") do inquire
more about the world. At least among the people I know and read. I
spend a lot of time reading and talking about deeper issues like racism
and the make up of modern day wars and the relationship between
humans and machines and what drives us to do the things we do. I
just don't look the movie studios (Hollywood) to do it.

I'm not suggesting there have never been movies that explore racism
or wars, just that I can't recall a time when "Hollywood" pushed the
envelope regarding these issues. Independent producer, writers and
directors have pushed the envelope, but "Hollywood" only wants to
make money. Not kinda fucked up at all. Just two very different entities
- the individual artist and the money driven machine.

You know, of course, that if people paid to see stories that explored the
issues you mention then the studio machine would make them. But
the rare times a movie is made about more important issues people do
not pay to watch them. A bit of the chicken-and-the-egg issue, isn't it?
 
Firm1 said:
There's gotta be a better/more naturalistic way to create films.
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And who better than you to get that started?

New innovation begins with someone like you - someone who sees the
problem and works to find the solution.
 
I think I'm just fine with Hollywood providing us with escapism. More than fine. In fact, quite pleased with it. Thrilled.

Yes, a certain amount of more challenging drama would probably be nice too. But it actually does get made, at least around the edges, even if few and far between. But I suspect such content almost by definition has to be made around the edges. (Or, apparently, on premium television.) That sort of content is by nature not as popular by comparison. And, importantly, not as likely to create a profit. Naturally. That's why it gets made around the edges. If at all.

If you mean to say you want more movies about racism and war, then you've lost me. I mean, that's fine, if that's what you want. But I don't want. I think contemporary life, at least for those of us who do not have our heads buried in the sand, is in fact saturated by relentless drama surrounding those things. Those things inundate our lives thanks to other media. The papers. Television. The internet. Books and Magazines. Yada yada yada, ad nauseam. There's already a din of such noise all around us. I don't understand it when people say there isn't enough already; they want even more.

Generally, I do want escape from a movie. Mind-boggling would also be very nice. But then, too, mostly in the service of entertainment. And good luck boggling the minds of twenty-first century audiences. (Meant sincerely of course, not snarkily.) By that I simply mean it must be extraordinarily difficult to boggle anyone's mind with a movie these days.

Come to think of it, though I won't try to make it here and now, you can easily make the argument that movies and TV (both largely Hollywood these days, aren't they? ...owned by the same corporations?) have done some very significant things, if at the time seemingly small, but leading to some significant social changes, if that's what we're talking about here, over the last couple decades.

Okay. one example. Whether you're (meaning anyone) happy with its impact, or not. Will & Grace. I'm guessing it hasn't been scientifically studied, if that's even possible. But I would bet that one show went a long way towards mitigating the demonization of gay men...at least in America. Well, maybe, at least, to some (possibly) measurable degree.

?

=)
 
I think you should sit down and watch all 5 seasons of BREAKING BAD. That should fill you up. ;)

My favorite movie, this year, was the fun and adventurous, EDGE OF TOMORROW. I've also been happy with some recent Red Box rentals: AFFLICTED (Derek Lee, Clif Prowse), OPEN GRAVE (Sharlto Copley) and THE POSSESSION OF MICHAEL KING.

I see no shortage of War movies. HURT LOCKER, LONE SURVIVOR and ZERO DARK THIRTY had a lot of interesting bits.

For a mind-boggling time, I recommend the Antonio Banderas movie, THE SKIN I LIVE IN. (non-Hollywood, of course. Ha ha!)
 
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I think Hollywood is actually just fine the way it is. Movies have never been better IMO. I don't think it clouds our perceptions of any issues we face because it is just entertainment. That's like that old myth that entertainment only exists to distract you from important things going on in the world. Well, it never has
 
Scoopicman said:
My favorite movie, this year, was the fun and adventurous, EDGE OF TOMORROW.
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Check out some of christopher mcquarries other work if you haven't seen it.
Jack Reacher (also with tom cruise)
Way of the Gun
The Usual Suspects

I am really excited to see edge of tomorrow, I've listened to the sound track a bunch of times and everyone says such great things about it. Haven't looked forward to a movie this much in a long time. Finally comes out on DVD next month!
 
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