As if to reinforce my conviction that modern, mainstream cinema is going to the dogs; I have been informed that come Wednesday four of the largest auditoria (an entire fifth of those available) at the cinema in which I work will be dedicated solely to showing "High School Musical 3".
I understand that the movie business is exactly that, a business. Film companies will always choose to fund a format that has a guaranteed fan base and will therefore turn a profit. That, right there is capitalism in action, be it for the good of mankind or otherwise. It is not the actions of the studios that worry me. They are acting out of a sense of self-preservation in an incredibly competitive field. What I find so disturbing is the type of "product" that has become so prevalent in the multiplexes of the world. These films speak more about the state of modern society than they do of the business practices of Hollywood Producers. Supply and demand, it is as simple as that. I worry that the growth in lowest common denominator film making is a sign of the dumbing down of society. Give us 500 years and the world may well be like the one shown to us in Mike Judges' hilarious, if blunt film "Idiocracy".
The redeeming factor for HSM3 is that it comes from Disney. This should at least guarantee that it provides wholesome fun and some sickly sweet life lessons that will be ignored by the vast majority of the pig-ignorant youth that will head through our doors. The resurgence of the musical has a lot to answer for. I, myself will be running a check of one of the four copies of the film tomorrow night, so you can expect an in-depth review by Monday morning.
Until then, I leave you with this thought:
We cannot begin to expect more of our entertainment until we start to expect more of ourselves.
I understand that the movie business is exactly that, a business. Film companies will always choose to fund a format that has a guaranteed fan base and will therefore turn a profit. That, right there is capitalism in action, be it for the good of mankind or otherwise. It is not the actions of the studios that worry me. They are acting out of a sense of self-preservation in an incredibly competitive field. What I find so disturbing is the type of "product" that has become so prevalent in the multiplexes of the world. These films speak more about the state of modern society than they do of the business practices of Hollywood Producers. Supply and demand, it is as simple as that. I worry that the growth in lowest common denominator film making is a sign of the dumbing down of society. Give us 500 years and the world may well be like the one shown to us in Mike Judges' hilarious, if blunt film "Idiocracy".
The redeeming factor for HSM3 is that it comes from Disney. This should at least guarantee that it provides wholesome fun and some sickly sweet life lessons that will be ignored by the vast majority of the pig-ignorant youth that will head through our doors. The resurgence of the musical has a lot to answer for. I, myself will be running a check of one of the four copies of the film tomorrow night, so you can expect an in-depth review by Monday morning.
Until then, I leave you with this thought:
We cannot begin to expect more of our entertainment until we start to expect more of ourselves.
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