Reject False Icons
"To praise a bad movie is unfortunate, but to condemn a good one is a serious failing" (Andre Bazin)
People like and sometimes worship directors that are at best mediocre.
The fact that a film can make a lot of money and make the creators multi-millionaires, is not enough.
Director's talent and creativity are so rare today that we confuse talent with showmanship.
Some movies are interesting to look at but that doesn't mean they are films.
Here is my explanation of film terms:
MOVIE - An escapist product and light entertainment often bland out the social environment in favor of a vaguely benevolent setting that allows the story to take place smoothly. The emphasis is on action, pleasure, and entertainment values for their own sake.
Issues of right and wrong are treated superficially with little or no analysis. They usually have a basic plot - good vs. evil -
and right from the beginning we know who the villain is and who the hero is. Movies sometimes have a non-linear structure
and audience members can mistake it for something unique. The characters are basic and usually one dimensional.
They may have more than one interest in their lives, but that doesn't make them compelling.
FILM - A product that causes us to reflect on reality, our state of mind, state of existence and state of behavior. The plots are interesting and the characters are 3-dimensional. These two attributes are unique to films and it's how they get the viewers in the theaters. Films usually don't have a ton of special effects. If they do the CGI are used to enhance the story,
not to be the main focus of it.
CINEMA - The art form of filmmaking. These products are usually created by a single artist or a collaboration of artists. In this category we have the experimental cinema of Maya Deren, Stan Brakhage, Bruce Connor, Salvador Dali,
Kenneth Anger, Michael Snow.
Cinema also represents entire motion picture industry.
People like and sometimes worship directors that are at best mediocre.
The fact that a film can make a lot of money and make the creators multi-millionaires, is not enough.
Director's talent and creativity are so rare today that we confuse talent with showmanship.
Some movies are interesting to look at but that doesn't mean they are films.
Here is my explanation of film terms:
MOVIE - An escapist product and light entertainment often bland out the social environment in favor of a vaguely benevolent setting that allows the story to take place smoothly. The emphasis is on action, pleasure, and entertainment values for their own sake.
Issues of right and wrong are treated superficially with little or no analysis. They usually have a basic plot - good vs. evil -
and right from the beginning we know who the villain is and who the hero is. Movies sometimes have a non-linear structure
and audience members can mistake it for something unique. The characters are basic and usually one dimensional.
They may have more than one interest in their lives, but that doesn't make them compelling.
FILM - A product that causes us to reflect on reality, our state of mind, state of existence and state of behavior. The plots are interesting and the characters are 3-dimensional. These two attributes are unique to films and it's how they get the viewers in the theaters. Films usually don't have a ton of special effects. If they do the CGI are used to enhance the story,
not to be the main focus of it.
CINEMA - The art form of filmmaking. These products are usually created by a single artist or a collaboration of artists. In this category we have the experimental cinema of Maya Deren, Stan Brakhage, Bruce Connor, Salvador Dali,
Kenneth Anger, Michael Snow.
Cinema also represents entire motion picture industry.