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Thursday, January 29, 1998

Big-budget flicks hurt industry

MOVIES: Plethora of popular films abandon quality for mindless amusement

Brace yourselves. I have not seen "Titanic."

Judging by its box office receipts, I must be one of the few people left in America who hasn't seen this bloated epic. I'm feeling a little torn. On the one hand, all of my friends keep telling me how wonderful it is. The characters are so rich, the story is great, it doesn't feel like three hours, blah blah blah. But there is a part of me that doesn't want to contribute to the behemoth studio system that spends millions and millions of dollars on special effects vehicles. I don't want to be herded into the movie theaters by spin doctors and CEOs who have concocted brilliant marketing schemes to get every last one of us. And frankly, I'm sick of Leonardo DiCaprio.

At least "Titanic" is a step above other special-effects films like "Starship Troopers," another one that I refused to see. I've heard that James Cameron actually has a story in Titanic, but the bottom line is that the story is there to justify an hour and a half of mayhem and destruction. And I still don't understand why "Waterworld" received so much negative press for being the most expensive film ever made, but no one seemed to mind that "Titanic" surpassed that figure. Maybe if Kevin Costner had put some young teen heartthrob in the starring role everyone would have left him alone.

It amazes me that Americans, who complain about the government taking their precious dollars to support programs that help the poor and disenfranchised, have no problem with studios spending ridiculous amounts of money on mindless entertainment. I know competition is tough in the film industry right now. Films are being released by the dozens when the average American movie-goer only sees six films per year. Films must fight it out at the box office, but I don't think that hitting below the belt is the way to go. Giant grasshoppers with a vendetta against the human race? Volcanoes erupting in downtown Los Angeles? Tornadoes that demolish everything in their path, yet leave our heroes unscathed? Excuse me while I tackle the projectionist and rip that crap out of the machine.

It's really frustrating to see studios, who have billions of dollars at their disposal, unable to direct their efforts into making films that actually have something to say. Maybe I'm jumping the gun, since I didn't see the cinematic masterpieces, "The Lost World," "Batman and Robin," or "Speed 2." I'm sure the producers behind these films claim that meaningful social commentary is embedded deep, deep, deep down inside. I don't feel like wading through all that sewage in order to find these gems of enlightenment. And I don't understand why the public eats these films up.

I'm guessing it's the hype machine, a.k.a. fast food tie-ins, marketing blitzes and merchandising bonanzas. Production companies want people to know about their movie - they have to advertise somehow. But the hype machine is more than advertising. It preys on our desire to be cool, hip and happening; a manipulative monstrosity that shoves us into the slaughterhouse. I have friends who won't see a film unless it's advertised on television. Sappy love themes and catchy intros get made into music videos and bombard radio airwaves.

I can sit in a theater during September and watch trailers for films being released the next summer. Smaller companies who don't have the money for such extravagant marketing campaigns must pray for positive word-of-mouth while giant lizards and killer asteroids hoard ticket sales.

This barrage of shameless advertising contributes more and more money to already sky-high budgets. Perhaps I speak with a little bit of jealousy; I am lucky enough to be attending one of the top film schools in the country. I know that if my classmates each had $1 million, they could produce films with much more heart and meaning than anything a studio could churn out with $100 million. But no, instead, we get "Barney's Great Adventure" and yet more installments in the "Lethal Weapon" and "Star Trek" franchises. United Artists is making a sequel to "Carrie." She already killed the whole town: what's next, the world? And why does Disney have to remake all of their films five times?

For most people, movies are an escape. I'm not a big fan of this idea, but it seems to fit in our society of Elvis impersonators and sports utility vehicles. Really, does anybody drive through the mountains these things? In the commercials they do, but in real life people just like the idea that if time permitted they could tackle Mount Everest. It has nothing to do with the top film schools in the country and their reality of driving down the freeway and making trips to the grocery store. Just like escape movies have nothing to do with the problems we face in everyday life or improving the social fabric of our world.

I'm sure most Americans think the whole point of movies is to escape, to forget, to ignore. Many people think the arts are a waste of time, that it's okay for films to be silly because they're not important anyway. But a nation's art is its soul, and our acceptance of empty movies is a symptom of our materialistic culture and attitude of mass accumulation. They're like junk food: we eat and eat, but it doesn't fill us up. We want big movies, big stars and big explosions, but when we walk out of the theater it's nothing but a meaningless jumble. A very expensive, meaningless jumble.

The beauty of the American film scene is that because of its mammoth size, there is something for everyone. Especially in big cities like Los Angeles and New York, any mildly aware citizen can find a film that suits his or her tastes, so I shouldn't whine too much about the studios' preoccupation with alien invaders and natural disasters. But I wish people would think about the films they see. I wish they would think about studios that dish out bland, warmed-over plot lines and uninspired characters. No matter what genres you prefer, I don't think it's too much to ask for quality filmmaking.

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