In recent years, the film industry has changed drastically. When I was younger, I thought independent films and documentaries were weird things that only hippies watched. Now, more and more people adore independent films. Although indie movies do not have the budget of blockbuster films, they have a unique chance to explore what lies beyond Hollywood norms. Instead of the same directors and managers deciding what should entertain the masses, regular people can become creators and reach their own targeted audience. For example, one could make a video about the harsh conditions of meat factories and share it on Facebook among vegetarian groups. A movie that narrow in audience would never reach it to the theaters. Also, independent movies explore what makes a movie “good” and defy cutter-cookie plots. One particularly great acclaimed independent movie is The Babadook. This film had a very slow build and an unsettling ending, both of which are not common in most movies.
The norms of television shows are being tested as well. Similarly to HBO, Netflix produces content of its own instead of relying solely on television networks. This freedom lets it create controversial material, such as a show called Dear White People. The company describes the show as a journey of “students of color [who] navigate the daily slights and slippery politics of life at an Ivy League college that's not nearly as ‘post-racial’ as it thinks.” Popular networks, such as Fox and AMC, would be leery of
Strategically choosing content that people can identify with or that tells a particularly interesting or horrific true story can do just as well as the big Hollywood productions. Independent films are becoming increasingly more popular and often rival mainstream movies at the box office when they are coupled with decent funding and distribution.1 The Indie Film Movement of the 1990’s is still strong and many artists seek to escape from the control of studio production. This means more content is available than ever before and this means more choices for the exhibitor.
Diversity in films is important because representation matters. Viewers are drawn to shows with ethnically diverse lead cast members. Mostly all viewers love to watch shows that reflect and relate to their own experiences. Reddigari, a freelance writer, also expresses the question of why we lack diversity in films. “Hollywood has been producing inspiring films intended to capture the beauty, joy and sorrow in everyday life. As much as we love our favorite movies, we can’t help but notice that many of them fail to capture the life experiences of all moviegoers, leaving the voices of millions of Americans from diverse backgrounds underrepresented” (This Tumblr Shows the Startling Lack of Diversity in Film). Diversity in films is an important topic in society because it represents equality and people of color to look up to.
Due to the lack of budget, many directors made films that were more personal and self-reflective. One example would
Movies have the ability to transport people to different times and places and distract them from ordinary everyday reality. They allow for a range of emotions to be experienced. At their core, movies examine the human condition. There are plenty of deeper truths woven into screenplays and plenty of lessons to be learned, even when an individual is solely seeking entertainment.
Cinema grants the possibility for an average citizen to escape their mundane life, and delve into a realm of fantasy. However, the film industry fails to act as an instrument in societal progression by instilling superficial ideologies. In this article “Dear Canadian filmmakers…”, Cameron Bailey suggests that Canadian filmmakers ought to shift their perspective by looking more outwards than inwards. As Bailey's emphasizes the significance of producing content that appropriately depicts contemporary Canada. Baileys draws attention to the fact that both, the audience, and the critics have a preference for “drama of real life” based films as opposed to fiction based films. Furthermore, he discusses how filmmakers tend to turn the blind eye to
The art of storytelling is a primary foundation for human communication and understanding. Whether it is through myths — Greek, Roman, Egyptian, you pick — or wives tales or even Grandpa telling his old war stories, stories have power. Through technological advancements in the last 150+ years, there are multiple mediums to tell stories; film being the most potent medium used. Film has the power to not only entertain but enlighten too. Filmmakers have the ability to challenge and manipulate the power of the story through creative resistance; by exploring other elements of storytelling: location, voice, color, angles, rhythm, language, filmmakers can create dramatically different films out of the same story.
In ‘How Netflix is Deepening our Cultural Echo Chambers’, Farhad Manjoo uses the remake of “One Day at a Time” to emphasize the imperative shift of an era focused on streaming that entails a narrow set of refined references. By first exhibiting a remade show on a platform such as Netflix, the re-examination of reality is displayed to be evolving the mainstream identity of millions. From broadcasting, cable then to streaming the secular depiction of being a “vast wasteland” emerges into the view of a “bubbling sea of creativity” that allows for collective groups of individuals to be recognized. Manjoo insinuates that through the shared references viewers attained through television, nothing thereafter will have the direct mass impact of a singular movement of culture that the medium television had at its peak. Although seemingly
“I’m going to make a name for myself. If I fail, you will never hear of me again” Edward James Muggeridge. True to his words he succeeded in making a name for himself and he created the first movie or “motion picture”. Movies are a rollercoaster ride that transcends people into a whole different world fresh out of somebody’s imagination as seen through the genres of horror, drama, and science fiction. The movie business allows people to break through the burden of everyday life. Considering today’s way of life, people would be lying if they did not admit that movies are an influential entity in our culture. Movies have been successful in ingraining values and elements into society. Movies exaggerate, sensationalize and at
Hundreds of movies are released every year. Filmmakers try to create the next jaw-dropping movie that audiences will stand in line for hours and pay top dollar to see. The key to success is finding ideas that appeal to a mass audience. Viewers are the lifeline of any production company so making something for everyone is a savvy business move for the film industry. To cover all bases, there are over fourteen different genres of movies. Film making is not a solo effort. It is a collaboration between the actors, directors, producers and other key contributors. This combined effort or mise-en-scene includes all the elements of the film to include actors, backdrops, costumes, props and lighting used to meet the director’s vision
American television appears to be more racially inclusive than ever, with shows like: ABC’s Blackish, which feature an African American family, and ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat, which represents an Asian American family. However, the white status quo still remains very much relevant in today’s television. Minority actors still receive less screen, and when they do, they act in unbelievable ways. Television has had a profound effect on society’s beliefs and attitudes based on what it portrays and how it does so, including how watchers view not only themselves but others as well. Representation of various racial communities- African Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Latino Americans- more frequently and in a better light can provide
Over the past decade, ABC has successfully reinvented itself as an inclusive home of unrepresented voices with its signature shows from Shonda Rhimes and its diverse family comedies. Two dramas from Shonda Rhimes, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder, have black female leads and numerous minorities in supporting roles. Additionally, ABC’s two signature comedies, Modern Family and Black-ish, highlight diversity and emphasize inclusivity. The former features a gay couple and an interracial couple, and the latter centers on an African-American family. Beyond these flagship series, ABC also defines its brand through two family comedies we watched in class, Fresh Off the Boat and The Middle. In this essay, I will use ABC’s primetime schedule
A Netflix TV show, Dear White People produced by Justin Simien, is about the students of Winchester University. This show tends to target not only the Netflix customers, but the black and white audience as well; the entire first season generally focuses on the media, racial, and gender roles within the community as well as the mainstream problem of the unrecognized white privilege by white skinned people. Looking up who the producer is, it turns out that Simien is a black-skinned man. Therefore, he fully understands the politics and the human behavior towards the black race from the white race (considering racism towards people with his skin color has been around for so long). Being black-skinned is already clear for many people to assume that he probably has dealt with the racism majority of his life, considering the repeating themes throughout the show. Even with the title, the producer is purposefully calling out to the specific audiences in a straightforward way. According to some reviews, many have concluded that Dear White People is extremely offensive to them. While watching the show, there were a few significant and periodic themes that showed throughout the first season and the major themes I chose were important how the roles of media played throughout the show. As a result, the roles of the media within the show reveals that people tend to communicate to the public of who they they really are as a person by showing what they want the public to see them as: in a
The producers will develop a test and the audience will tell the producers whether it is something they want to see or they are not going to see. This can affect the next text to be produced in an attempt to conform to the audience demands. Looking at the development of different types of genres and the development of films within the same genre, it’s possible to look at similarities and differences and identify changes in society and audience ideologies and tastes.
The film industry has always been somewhat of a dichotomy. Grounded firmly in both the worlds of art and business the balance of artistic expression and commercialization has been an issue throughout the history of filmmaking. The distinction of these two differing goals and the fact that neither has truly won out over the other in the span of the industry's existence, demonstrates a lot of information about the nature of capitalism.
The costs, methods of distribution, and themes of Hollywood and Nollywood films reflect strongly their target audiences; how the target audience affects the production of a film and how the production of a movie is designed to capture a specific