Emilia Hwang  When Hwang
isn’t busy watching movies, eating popcorn and saving
Hollywood, she takes time out to read her e-mail. Send your
thoughts to [email protected]..
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Iceberg! Everyone knows what’s going to happen. The
“unsinkable” boat is going to sink. There is no doubt
about the tragic fate of the passengers and crew aboard the R.M.S.
Titanic. Yet millions of people still sat in dark theaters for over
three hours to watch the ill-fated ocean liner meet its cold North
Atlantic destiny.
In fact, so many people went to see “Titanic”
despite its glaringly obvious ending that the movie made over $600
million at the box office, making it the highest grossing movie of
all time.
Are moviegoers amnesiac ignorami? Why else would they go see a
movie when they already know what’s going to happen?
I’m going to go out on a limb and propose that moviegoers
are not frivolous blockheads and that there is, in fact, more to
America’s favorite pastime than meets the eye.
Film tends to be pigeon-holed as a form of mass entertainment.
And because your typical movie is more accessible than your
standard philosophical dissertation, American cinema tends to be
categorized as amusement and not art.
True, movies are a great diversion from daily life. They are,
however, so much more than just a mindless distraction.
For one thing, there needs to be more to a movie’s crux
than 15,000 people lost in a sinking vessel. James Cameron artistic
vision took “Titanic” $150 million beyond its $100
million budget.
Naturally, then, it’s not just a remarkable tale that
draws people to the movies. What separates an amazing film from an
average one is how well that remarkable story is told.
People don’t really care who framed Roger Rabbit.
Flash back to 1988 and a film that combines live action and
animation to perfection. The main plot is a murder mystery, but
it’s the interaction between some of the biggest names in
toon history that really steals the show. “Who Framed Roger
Rabbit’s” innovative story telling makes it classic fun
for people of all ages.
Secondly, the narrative style of films are often based on
literary form. A successful movie engages its audience on many
levels, often captivating the soul, provoking the heart and
challenging the mind.
If told skillfully, Hollywood could release the ultimate
suspense thriller
“Professor-Plum-in-the-Billiard-Room-With-the-Candlestick”
and both Clue fans and non-Clue fans alike would flock to theaters.
I’m sure it would have considerable potential to be the
greatest who-dunnit of all time. The well-executed drama would hook
audiences interested in seeing the mystery unfold, despite previous
knowledge of the outcome.
Cinema has come a long way since its early days of unedited
shorts and one-reel narratives. Motion pictures started out by
capturing commonplace events ““ a baby eating its food or a
guy being sprayed with a water hose. Even without color or sound,
the first films could address the everyday in an artful alliance
with spectacle.
Back then, the spectacle was the medium of the motion picture
itself. The way movies told ordinary stories was extraordinary in
itself.
Long before Technicolor and THX sound, filmmakers have always
possessed a magical combination of determination and imagination,
enabling them to create that which eludes them.
They don’t call Hollywood “the dream factory”
for nothing. Movies are made in order to provide viewers access to
the fantastic and the impossible, but always from a safe
distance.
For example, you can watch the notorious boat sink for a good
two hours without getting even a drop of water on your popcorn.
Additionally, the cultural power of Hollywood surpasses social
boundaries, reaching new levels with each budding blockbuster.
With the multicultural fragmentation of American society,
blockbuster-marketing strategies can still yield a momentary
consensus at the box-office.
Abroad, films act as ambassadors to foreign countries, carrying
myths and stories about America throughout the world. The cultural
(while often transient) prominence of blockbusters is not something
critics should cluck their tongues at.
Finally, what would contemporary social life be without the
movies?
Since the late 1800’s, the cinema has been a fundamental
part of the American cultural experience. Like an indigenous folk
tradition, Americans have been repeating the same tales generation
after generation. The retelling (that’s right, it’s
been told before) of the British ocean liner’s disastrous
collision with an iceberg in the North Atlantic is characteristic
of a society that not only enjoys repeating stories for future
generations, but seeing them through different perspectives.
Not only have there been a handful of Titanic tales, but the
core romantic story line can be traced throughout cinematic history
from “Gone With the Wind” to “Ghost” to
“Notting Hill.”
Most blockbusters don’t stray far away from timeless
stories of boy meets girl, or good guy defeats bad guy. Moviegoers
like epic romances and amazing tales of heroism. If you don’t
recognize recurring themes immediately, they may just be disguised
as a variation on the themes: rooster meets hen, or Autobots beat
the evil Decepticons.
More than just box office figures, movies embody a uniquely
American spirit by blending entertainment and art.
So continue to support Hollywood, even though you know Rose is
going to let go of Jack into the freezing cold Atlantic
(“Rose”¦ don’t ever “¦ let “¦
go”). But never fear, I’m sure she’ll get over
him and, eventually, her heart will go on.
Oops, I’m sorry ““ I hope I didn’t ruin the
ending for those of you who haven’t seen it.