2008 Woodie Awards
Cinema sans originality, depth
Film: Words are not as important in movies as before
By: Jocelyn Saddi
Issue date: 4/29/04 Section: The Arts
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In the darkness of a movie theater, anything can happen. What might be more surprising, however, is not how comfortable viewers are with the soundtrack, but with how simple it is to mouth that "famous" line from the movie before the character finishes saying it.
With predictable dialogue dominating Hollywood cinema today, the average moviegoer has to wonder about what has happened to originality, creativity and substance.
Psychology major Lana McCarthy, 24, said that we are living in a money-driven society, where demands for profit outweigh the needs of viewing educational, intellectually stimulating films.
"Hollywood cinema is focused on delivering a guaranteed hit with well-known actors and old, regurgitated plots," McCarthy said.
Stars mean more than plot
"Let's put in famous people with familiar plots; you don't need a script when this happens. It depresses me that my generation will be known for remakes," McCarthy said.
"It is pathetic, sad and disgusting. I'm not saying that those movies shouldn't be here, but there needs to be a balance."
Filmmaker and editing professor Alan Fraser said that the problem with remakes and putting red-hot movie stars in the films is that the characters they play do not have to be realistic.
"One of the problems with movies today is the emotion and feeling viewers have toward these characters - they don't exist," Fraser said.
"Viewers don't really worry about them. They don't think about the characters five minutes after they've left the movie theater; it is disappointing."
Lack of original screenplays
The current trend of adapting comic books, novels and classic films has caused meaningful dialogue to disappear because when audiences know their pop culture, there is little that needs to be said or explained, Fraser said.
"These films don't need dialogues. They need big visual elements, unique characters and big action scenes. They're not looking for exploration through dialogues," Fraser said.
With predictable dialogue dominating Hollywood cinema today, the average moviegoer has to wonder about what has happened to originality, creativity and substance.
Psychology major Lana McCarthy, 24, said that we are living in a money-driven society, where demands for profit outweigh the needs of viewing educational, intellectually stimulating films.
"Hollywood cinema is focused on delivering a guaranteed hit with well-known actors and old, regurgitated plots," McCarthy said.
Stars mean more than plot
"Let's put in famous people with familiar plots; you don't need a script when this happens. It depresses me that my generation will be known for remakes," McCarthy said.
"It is pathetic, sad and disgusting. I'm not saying that those movies shouldn't be here, but there needs to be a balance."
Filmmaker and editing professor Alan Fraser said that the problem with remakes and putting red-hot movie stars in the films is that the characters they play do not have to be realistic.
"One of the problems with movies today is the emotion and feeling viewers have toward these characters - they don't exist," Fraser said.
"Viewers don't really worry about them. They don't think about the characters five minutes after they've left the movie theater; it is disappointing."
Lack of original screenplays
The current trend of adapting comic books, novels and classic films has caused meaningful dialogue to disappear because when audiences know their pop culture, there is little that needs to be said or explained, Fraser said.
"These films don't need dialogues. They need big visual elements, unique characters and big action scenes. They're not looking for exploration through dialogues," Fraser said.