It wasn’t long ago that I — and many others — decried the death of cinema as an art form. Famously, in 2019, Martin Scorsese (“Killers of the Flower Moon”) caused a ruckus when he claimed that films were getting wiped out by the “theme-park” amusements of Marvel (and the like). While Scorsese and Ridley Scott (“Alien”) may have played the part of the “old man yelling at clouds” wearing rose-tinted glasses, it was hard not to empathize with these legendary filmmakers, especially given the state of film in the decade prior.
In that time, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a mountain unmovable by even the strongest forces. Every company with the rights to some bygone property rebooted and remade their films with the hopes of creating their own cinematic universe. Be it Warner Bros. with the DC Extended Universe, Disney’s revival of Star Wars or whatever Universal Pictures’ “The Mummy” tried to do, the market was oversaturated with schlock. Worst of all, the films were mostly voiceless, bearing the kind of formulaic scripts spewed out by an assembly line of studio-pressured robots, not screenwriters.
Unfortunately, audiences seemed to want these movies — at least, they said so with their wallets — and studios followed the money. While Scorsese never blamed audiences for the supposed death of film — he called it a “chicken-and-egg” issue and blamed studios — I believe the audience is a crucial piece in contextualizing the slew of faceless films from the 2010s. The rise of streaming services, smartphones and an overall cultural shift to entertainment at home meant that audiences sought “event movies” more than ever before — an increasingly prevalent phenomenon since the dawn of the small screen. In a barren market where movie ticket sales were diminishing, desperate studios and movie theaters only wanted to show big films that could succeed, not indie (non-event) ones.
But the “death of film” isn’t really an issue of big movies, franchises or dying theaters, although they all play a significant part. What scared Scorsese, other directors and film fans was that artists were getting squeezed from the neck down by an industry and audience that had seemingly stopped caring about their input and creativity. Even award-winning names like Ryan Coogler, Chloé Zhao and Taika Waititi have had to abide by the old Hollywood mantra of “one for them and one for me” in recent years to make ends meet and hopefully fund the projects that they wanted to make — imagine what aspiring creatives with no name go through. Despite playing by the rules, there was no guarantee that any studio would produce their future passion projects; it was even less certain whether those films would break even. The chief concern of cinema lovers was that film had become so much of a product that it could no longer masquerade as an art form.
Yet, despite the fear and anguish in 2019, there has been a small shift. Undoubtedly, the issues above still exist, and there are a lot of other problems, too. But unlike in the cinematic universe era, the artists behind the medium are fighting their best fight and making their previously drowned-out voices heard. Most importantly, audiences and studios are somewhat responsive to it. Look no further than “Dune: Part Two,” which has proven to be a smash hit with critics and audiences, reaching all the pillars of success that Denis Villeneuve’s (“Dune”) equally moody and humanist “Blade Runner 2049” never did in its theatrical run. Whether you attribute that to its bigger marketing campaign or brand name, it’s hard to think that its unconventional success is merely logistical, not when Matt Reeves’ (“Cloverfield”) emo-rendition of “The Batman” enthralled audiences in 2022 or when “Barbenheimer” captivated just about everyone in 2023. Of course, a majority of the films at the top of the box office are still no-risk, money-oriented amusement parks, but their relative lack of air time in our collective consciousness is startling compared to their previous dominance.
Then there’s the buzz around mid-budget to smaller films, aided significantly by the proliferation of Letterboxd and A24’s rising influence (and how it has shaped the indie circuit). The recent release of “Challengers” has taken the internet by storm, both on professional forums and social media. Unconventional films like “Tár” and “The Banshees of Inisherin” are still talked about today, riding the internet hype train and garnering strong acclaim. Also, the fact that “Civil War” performed better at the box office than Marvel’s “Madame Web” speaks volumes about the potential for an indie film comeback.
The industry is still recovering from COVID-19, and we will likely never return to the days when a political drama like “All The President’s Men” became the 6th highest-grossing film of the year. At the very least, though, the artists behind our timeless medium haven’t vanished; they’re finding ways to work within the mainstream, interjecting themselves into the biggest releases of the year. With their recent successes, Villeneuve and Yorgos Lanthimos (“The Favourite”) are likely free to let their creativity run wild. Greta Gerwig (“Lady Bird”) has enough pull that she very well could change the tone of mainstream movies moving forward. While it’s true that indie filmmakers like Emma Seligman (“Bottoms”) and Rose Glass (“Love Lies Bleeding”) are struggling to break through, their unique styles are better equipped for today’s landscape than they would have been last decade. The advent of streaming may propel their respective careers and give films with poor theatrical runs another chance — just as home video had once done before.
I’d be lying if I said I fully understood what’s going on. For all I know, this is merely lipstick on a pig, and it could smear off by next year. But there’s paint on a wall, and I can’t ignore it: Films are getting braver, sexier and more stylish. Audiences seem to like that, and studios are OK with making more. Maybe my optimism is misplaced, but while we’re living in the here and now, film fans should be happy. Since COVID-19, we have distinctive films to look back on and even more to look forward to — both in the mainstream and underground. Film isn’t dead yet. There’s a tiny wave of life, and if we want it to become a tsunami — for creativity and risk to take over our silver screens again — we should begin voting with our wallets.
Daily Arts Writer Ben Luu can be reached at benllv@umich.edu.
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