Remember When Movies Mattered? or, The Dumbing Down of America

Remember a time when movies mattered?

I don't mean to suggest that we've lost our interest in the cinema.  To be certain, the movie business is booming, heralding record amounts of eager viewers and cold hard cash.  "SpiderMan 3", the latest in the increasingly numbing web-slinging saga, beat down all competition on its opening weekend with a stellar $151 million gross; besting last summer's previous record holder "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" by a whopping $16 million.  That record is certain to stick until the third "Pirates" film enjoys its earth-shattering, bank busting opening weekend on May 25.

No, I'm quite sure that we still care about the movies; or, at least the kind that resemble the latest thrill-a-second roller coasters at our state's theme parks.  But do movies still care about us?

A glance at this season's schedule of releases tells us all we need to know.  It's difficult to find a title that isn't followed by a Roman numeral and isn't promising bigger, badder explosions:  we're on our fourth "Die Hard", our third "Rush Hour, our second "Fantastic Four". Do you crave something outside of sequel territory?  Try "Transformers" on July 4th weekend.  And, of course, peppered into the mix are a predictable slate of juvenile, libidinous comedies and blood-and-guts slasher flicks for good measure.

Even if you're not watching a sequel, you've still seen it all before.

Often I am accused of being a movie snob.  When I begin this argument (which I simply view as my crusade for better cinema), it is automatically assumed that something has to reek of sterile quality and pomposity to warrant my respectful consideration.  In fact, I enjoy the occasional big, dumb, action-crazed "event" film as much as the next guy.  I realize, though, that movies are capable of doing more than bludgeoning you.  More than any other modern art form, movies have the power to elate, inform, inspire and transform.  And who says films that have serious agendas aren't entertaining?  When did enlightenment and entertainment become such wildly opposing concepts? And how can you blame so many moviegoers for not recognizing this versatility when their 18-screen megaplex is almost completely occupied with the same tiresome trash?

Pop culture is all-powerful, and movies are the all-powerful component of the pop culture movement.  It is often said that movies merely hold a mirror to society and reflect the lives of those who watch.  I believe it is just as likely that the viewer defines who they are by the movies themselves.  Pop culture dictates public consumption.  It tells us what we should wear, what trends we should follow, what films we should be watching, the "news" stories we should really be concerned about. 

When studios realized in the mid-seventies the awesome amounts of cash that could be had from the newly minted "blockbuster" craze, they tore down a path from which there seems to be no return. Ever since the supremely exciting, meticulously crafted "Jaws" first smashed box office records and the supremely simple, sloppily crafted "Star Wars" continued the trend, the "idea" films that once defined that great decade were orphaned and left struggling to find a proper home.  The movie's pop culture voice called for more surface and less depth.  Sadly, we have been conditioned to accept this trend through almost three full decades.  Worst of all, this conditioning has infected the minds of our artists as well. Artistic success is dictated by the dollar, and not the content.

If you doubt the severity of the dilemna, then consider the short history of film for the last fifty years: Alfred Hitchcock begat Martin Scorsese who begat Steven Spielberg who begat George Lucas who then begat Michael Bay.  Our one-time future artists who were once driven to the art form by "The Searchers" or "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" are now being primarily inspired by the likes of "Armageddon" and "Wild Hogs".

There's a reason why many film purists have a particular affinity for the films of the early 1970's. This was a time when "idea" films flourished. Movie audiences flocked to a refreshing series of young voices who brought something substantial to the cinemascape. "Nashville", "The Conversation", "The Godfather", "McCabe and Mrs. Miller", and "Last Tango in Paris" are just a few of the titles that spoke to the country's Vietnam and Watergate-induced sense of corruption, distrust, unrest and paranoia.  It's no surprise that the flighty pleasures of the "Star Wars" series caught on after our country had pulled out of the war.  Americans were ready to unburden themselves from the weight of the world they had so long carried on their shoulders.  These newly relaxed attitudes made way for disco as well.  But disco died a long time ago and the blockbuster craze lives on.

Today, we are embroiled in a highly divisive war that has drawn many parallels to Vietnam.  Where are the 70's-style films that speak to these current struggles?  Sadly, they're casualties in the war between art and commerce. Films are more concerned with explosions and CGI supervillians than they are with human emotions and perceptions.  Moviegoers have long been conditioned to crave these films.  The same brand of invasive conditioning makes it possible for the fast food industry to thrive as well.  When fatty burgers and sophomoric films are the only options we're being fed around every corner, it's no wonder we wind up with fat bellies and empty heads.

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