We
all go to the cinemas these days to wind down by watching a film. We splurge at
the candy bar, sit through a 2 hour film (with 20mins of ads) and walk away
feeling satisfied. But these days I cannot stand the films being shown at cinemas.
Films obviously all have a conflict and follow the journey of resolving this
conflict, but for some reason it's all sunshine and lollipops.
As Rabiger (2004) points out films follow a three act structure which feels right to the general public. There is a beginning, middle and end which go from the inciting moment to the climax and resolution. TV Tropes call this the 'Hollywood Formula'. Now the structure's boring but works, except it isn’t written that every film has to have a happy ending, there just needs to be a resolution.
Hollywood has decided every film must have a happy ending, and a film with no happiness will not get past the proposal. Films worth watching that are of significance and mind boggling themes are being pushed into the abyss, as commercial cinema complex's play films that are box office hits. A couple of years ago an Australian film named 'Animal Kingdom' was praised by the film world. I was working at a Broadmedows cinema; I was so excited for it to be released only to find out that a select few cinemas would screen it. Hang on, an Australian film not being shown at every cinema in Australia? Surely that's not right.
As Pieterse (2009) writes, globalisation is “shrinking the world” and involves the reconfiguration of states with regionalisation. Western cinema has become regionalised to a mainstream of Hollywood cinema.
Hollywood's films were making more money hence the big cinema chains didn’t want to support an Australian film with the gamble of losing money. Seeing this happen I realised Hollywood was colonising the western cinema world.
Hollywood has Deterritorialised western countries and their separate film cultures by implementing their money making formula onto private corporations.
References
Pieterse, J 2009, Globalisation and Culture: Global Melange, Rowman & Littlefield, USA
As Rabiger (2004) points out films follow a three act structure which feels right to the general public. There is a beginning, middle and end which go from the inciting moment to the climax and resolution. TV Tropes call this the 'Hollywood Formula'. Now the structure's boring but works, except it isn’t written that every film has to have a happy ending, there just needs to be a resolution.
Hollywood has decided every film must have a happy ending, and a film with no happiness will not get past the proposal. Films worth watching that are of significance and mind boggling themes are being pushed into the abyss, as commercial cinema complex's play films that are box office hits. A couple of years ago an Australian film named 'Animal Kingdom' was praised by the film world. I was working at a Broadmedows cinema; I was so excited for it to be released only to find out that a select few cinemas would screen it. Hang on, an Australian film not being shown at every cinema in Australia? Surely that's not right.
As Pieterse (2009) writes, globalisation is “shrinking the world” and involves the reconfiguration of states with regionalisation. Western cinema has become regionalised to a mainstream of Hollywood cinema.
Hollywood's films were making more money hence the big cinema chains didn’t want to support an Australian film with the gamble of losing money. Seeing this happen I realised Hollywood was colonising the western cinema world.
Hollywood has Deterritorialised western countries and their separate film cultures by implementing their money making formula onto private corporations.
References
Pieterse, J 2009, Globalisation and Culture: Global Melange, Rowman & Littlefield, USA
Rabiger, M 2004, Directing the Doumentary, 4th edn, Focal Press, Boston
TV Tropes, 'The Hollywood Formula', retrieved 1 August 2013, <http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheHollywoodFormula>
A really interesting conceptualisation of the 'Hollywood formula' and its increasing prominence in western cinema. I agree that it has become extremely difficult for locally produced films to break into the market with the money and influence of Hollywood.
ReplyDeleteAs you pointed out people are often choosing films with simple plots as a form of winding down, prompting Hollywood to continue to mass produce these 'easy to watch' narratives.
At the same time i think audiences are still keen to watch films which reflect values and aspects of their own region (perhaps this is now extending beyond geographical boundaries). I know when I travelled I was always happy to watch, read or listen to some form of Australian media!
Overall I think you have highlighted a key link between globalisation and the impact of Hollywood on western cinema.
This is a very good example of the link between globalisation and the art of cinema. I agree completely that most movies that are played in cinemas are repetitive depictions of the same "Hollywood formula", creating a homogenous cinema culture and your example highlights this perfectly. The big budgets of Hollywood movies mean that they can deliver a better made movie - even if the content isn't too great or innovative. Cinema and other forms of art have changed in relation to globalisation and capitalism in that they aren't just considered works of art anymore but part of a larger business. This point that you touch on is another consideration of how globalisation is impacting the form of film as art. Congratulations on your well analysed post.
ReplyDeleteI too agree that the repetitive narratives of introduction, conflict/issue and resolution is tiresome. I remember discussing this formula in ALC102 and realising how true it was for most of the movies I have seen. There is also the formality of closure- people feel the need for a 'happily ever after' ending to feel satisfied after viewing a film. However this is not conducive to reality at all. Our life stories and experiences to not finish cleanly with all resolved. However when a film leaves an ending open people seem uncomfortable with it. I agree that this is Hegemony at play where the traditional 'Hollywood formula' has become the norm and movies with alternate story lines are only screened in select cinemas.
ReplyDeleteI too agree that the repetitive narrative of introduction, conflict/issue and resolution is tiresome. I remember discussing this formula in ALC102 and realising how true it was for most of the movies I have seen. Your post flowed nicely demonstrating thematic coherence however the paragraphs were not completely separated which detract from overall presentation. The grammar and spelling was of a high standard however quotes are not referenced completely. Your opinions would have been strengthened if linked to a specific scholarly example. Your opinions are very provoking and show critical engagement with the material.
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