Irving Thalberg once
predicted, “The movie medium will eventually take its place as art because
there is no other medium of interest to so many people.” Although I believe
that the movie medium has found its place as art, it is not for the reason that
Thalberg used to make his argument. The gross amount of moviegoers has
indirectly reduced the world of films into an industry instead that tends to
compromise filmmakers’ artistic vision. Art is driven by passion and a strong
urgency to share the vision and/or message to audience members, how large or
small it may be.
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| The Definition of Art Demands Its Own Conversation |
However, the increasing
number of moviegoers, though beneficial in cultivating the film world, has made
movies a product, a money making machine that tends to deprive writers,
producers, directors, and even actors from their artistic vision and integrity.
The number of individuals who take an interest in film is massive in comparison
to accepted art forms such as the theatre and paintings, however the growing
number of enthusiasts shifted the focus of the film industry from artistic
vision to market research. Studios, which often monopolize and dominate the
film industry, are well known for treating films as a business endeavor.
Individuals who work on
these movies are frequently pushed to follow strict marketing forecasts and
business strategies in hopes of making a lucrative, box-office product, instead
of making films that they are passionate about. Due to that exact reason,
similar films often debut at the same period of time, for instance the 2012
releases of Rupert Sanders’ Snow White and the Huntsman and Tarsem
Singh’s Mirror Mirror that were both based on Snow White. The artistic
liberty in film was lost due to the ever-growing number of audiences. Nowadays,
it is becoming progressively challenging to come across an inspirational film
as most are designed to appeal to the masses, and fail to show any artistic
passion or urgency.
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Only after the emergence of
independent films, which regularly struggles financially, did filmmakers have
the opportunity to create labors of passion and love, as well as showcase it to
the world. With the addition of new funding mediums, such as crowd sourcing,
are independent films able to find its footing financially, although recently
this particular funding method has been opened up to include studios. Nevertheless,
independent films, I believe, are gradually driving film back into the land of
art as it allows for artistic liberty in the filmmaking process.
I disagree with Thalberg as
he claimed that movies would become an art as it attracts a large audience.
Without any constructive changes in how the movie industry is managed and the
moviemaking process is run, movies would fail to become art, which is driven by
passion and artistic urgency. Fortunately, such change has arrived in the form
of independent films. To receive artistic status and maintain that position,
the film industry should return to focusing on artistic endeavors of story
telling instead of obsessing on profitability of a project.
*Author owns rights to all photos above
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