Author: Audrey Lamsam
Hollywood has been decaying for the past few years. Movies are starting to get less and less original, the box office has definitely been in a slump compared to the peak points of the past, and the idea of film being a form of art has been thrown out the window. Hollywood has fed us crap, and the worst part is that we’ve been eating it up.
I usually check the box office every week just to see what kind of movies people enjoy going to the theaters to watch and spend money on. I have to say, for the past few weeks, I’ve been very disappointed at the turnout. The disgustingly tacky Disney movie, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, has been number one in the box office for two weeks straight, which makes the Film Major in me cringe with fear at the future of filmmaking.
It seems like no one appreciates the art of filmmaking anymore. Now it’s all about making any kind of garbage movie that would hopefully gross the most money. I can count on one hand the number of truly awe-inspiring and groundbreaking movies that Hollywood has produced in the past few years. However, I cannot even begin to fathom the amount of downright horrible movies that Hollywood has spawned. From plots about filthy rich, talking Chihuahuas to ones about more psychotic villains out to chop people into itty-bitty pieces, nothing feels novel or creative anymore.
Recently I watched a screening of a digitally restored The Godfather II (1974) at the Arclight Dome Theatre on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood, and I must say, you just don’t see that kind of expertise style of filmmaking anymore. I can’t remember the last time I went to the movie theater and came out fully satisfied at what I saw.
Watching The Godfather II made me remember why I chose to be a Film Major in the first place, and that is so I could have the power to make something that allows viewers to “dream with their eyes open.” Not only was The Godfather II pure eye-candy for the audience, but it also had me on the edge of my seat waiting in anticipation at what kind of plot twists it was ready to throw at me. And it is exactly that kind of masterful filmmaking that Hollywood seems to be missing now.
Not only do the direction, cinematography and acting lack substance in current Hollywood productions, but the entire way of telling a thrilling and captivating story is at a loss. The Golden Age of Hollywood has now slowly been transformed into a bland and grey era of boring superfluous blockbusters whose sole purpose is to make money, not to create art.
There is also a problem with originality in movies. Everything seems to be based on novels or on comic books. In fact, most summer blockbusters that have come out within the past five years have been focused on comic book heroes. I don’t want to see a remake of a movie or a book or a comic book, I want to see something new and fresh!
So please, Hollywood, stop making things I’ve already seen. Stop making repetitive exploitation films. Instead, give me something that will make me fall in love with movies all over again. Give me something real.
Audrey Lamsam is a sophomore AHVA/ economics major. She can be reached at ecutler@oxy.edu.
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