Audiences on the Oscars: Less Politics, More Mainstream Love?

[jsteinhauer]

Originally Posted by J_UNTITLED

I respectfully disagree to the highest order with that.

If you consider my concurrent interest in image detail, color, blacks, shadow detail, grain, soundstage, dialog clarity and surround effects it might be more than vapid. But every time I sit to watch a motion picture, I do it completely without consequence, other than the time, money and energer expended.

Look at the box office hits. They are about action, visual effects and sound effects. That's what most people are going to see. That's what is the most fun to watch.

That's not to say I don't spend time watching and completely enjoying motion pictures you would consider the art of "cinema", but those are not all "fun" to watch, and I certainly refuse to sit through something I find tedious, irrespective of any accolades it has received.

But as I said, someone who is more of an enthusiast than I, may be happy sitting through such tedium, just because they are interested in moviemaking, which is more than moviewatching.

[DigitalfreakNYC]

It's clear that we all differ on what is "fun."

Sometimes mindless entertainment is "fun" but there is much, much more out there to be enjoyed.

Movies are a form of entertainment but it doesn't mean that only mindless entertainment can entertain.

I'm sorry but I hope our country isn't that vapid.

[jadedeath]

Originally Posted by DigitalfreakNYC

It's clear that we all differ on what is "fun."

Sometimes mindless entertainment is "fun" but there is much, much more out there to be enjoyed.

Movies are a form of entertainment but it doesn't mean that only mindless entertainment can entertain.

I'm sorry but I hope our country isn't that vapid.

As was previously mentioned, there's a certain place to have the movies and the music that tell a political story.

But for the most part, those movies don't make a huge amount of money.

Was the Dark Knight political? Not really, no.

Was Iron Man political? No.

Incredible Hulk? No.

Those were 3 of the biggest movies of last year, were they political? Did more people go to see even one of them, than say the amount of people that will have ended up going to see "Milk"?

Many studies have shown that folks want to go to the movies in order to sit down, turn off their brain, eat some popcorn and just relax and not think about the world. To be entertained.

Logan

[fighthefutureofhd]

exactly!!! very well said there.

[DigitalfreakNYC]

Originally Posted by jadedeath

As was previously mentioned, there's a certain place to have the movies and the music that tell a political story.

But for the most part, those movies don't make a huge amount of money.

Was the Dark Knight political? Not really, no.

Was Iron Man political? No.

Incredible Hulk? No.

Those were 3 of the biggest movies of last year, were they political? Did more people go to see even one of them, than say the amount of people that will have ended up going to see "Milk"?

Many studies have shown that folks want to go to the movies in order to sit down, turn off their brain, eat some popcorn and just relax and not think about the world. To be entertained.

Logan

Just because something makes money, it's not a judge of quality. Perhaps to businessmen, it is.

Granted, 2 of the 3 movies you mentioned were excellent and I'm not saying that mainstream films can't also be intelligent and well-made but, unfortunately, those are few and far between. If Hollywood centered on making well-made mainstream films, perhaps there would be more of them involved come Oscar time.

More people may have seen the other films than will go see Milk but that doesn't mean they're more important than Milk is.

Quite, quite the contrary.

[fighthefutureofhd]

to you maybe, but not necessarily to others. others may not agree with you on milk. they may think the dark knight, for example, is more important to them. there's no set standard to what is important to people.

[Romulus]

Originally Posted by fighthefutureofhd

to you maybe, but not necessarily to others. others may not agree with you on milk. they may think the dark knight, for example, is more important to them. there's no set standard to what is important to people.

It's all opinion. If the critics (people who REVIEW films) say that Slumdog Millionaire is the best picture of the year, doesn't that hold any merit?

[jadedeath]

Originally Posted by DigitalfreakNYC

Just because something makes money, it's not a judge of quality. Perhaps to businessmen, it is.

Untrue.

Quality is shown in many ways. How much money something makes shows that it was quality to many people as opposed to a small niche of people.

Political movies don't make a huge amount of money, because they cater to a niche audience.

Big action movies make far more money on average because they have something that appeals to a broader majority of people. The people who want to go to a movie to be entertained.

Granted, 2 of the 3 movies you mentioned were excellent and I'm not saying that mainstream films can't also be intelligent and well-made but, unfortunately, those are few and far between. If Hollywood centered on making well-made mainstream films, perhaps there would be more of them involved come Oscar time.

Sorry, gotta disagree here, how many action movies hit in the summer? How much money do they make, and how much do people like them?

Yet they are few and far between when Oscar time comes along.

More people may have seen the other films than will go see Milk but that doesn't mean they're more important than Milk is.

Quite, quite the contrary.

Depends on what your definition of the word 'important' is in this particular capacity.

If someone doesn't particularly care for the story of Milk, or for political movies in general, then it's importance doesn't mean much to those people.

Just because YOU might think that something is more important than something else, doesn't mean that it's fact. Political movies have their place, but they are far less popular and less important than mainstream action movies to the vast VAST majority of people.

Logan

[jadedeath]

Originally Posted by Romulus

It's all opinion. If the critics (people who REVIEW films) say that Slumdog Millionaire is the best picture of the year, doesn't that hold any merit?

Depends on the critic.

I knew {when I was younger} that if Siskel and Ebert gave a film two thumbs down, that chances were good that I'd like the movie.

Logan

[Romulus]

Originally Posted by jadedeath

Depends on the critic.

I knew {when I was younger} that if Siskel and Ebert gave a film two thumbs down, that chances were good that I'd like the movie.

Logan

I'm talking about critics as a whole. Critics who usually vote on Best Picture of the year are the most respected critics in the industry. There are the people such as Siskel and Ebert. (I know Siskel is dead)

[DigitalfreakNYC]

Originally Posted by jadedeath

Just because YOU might think that something is more important than something else, doesn't mean that it's fact. Political movies have their place, but they are far less popular and less important than mainstream action movies to the vast VAST majority of people.

Logan

So you're saying that The Incredible Hulk is a more important film than Milk?!?

If the answer is 'yes' then I would say that's endemic of a much larger problem with our country.

Again, a lot of crap makes money in this country. Definitely doesn't mean it's any good.

[Romulus]

Originally Posted by jadedeath

Untrue.

Quality is shown in many ways. How much money something makes shows that it was quality to many people as opposed to a small niche of people.

Political movies don't make a huge amount of money, because they cater to a niche audience.

Big action movies make far more money on average because they have something that appeals to a broader majority of people. The people who want to go to a movie to be entertained.

I'm sorry, but that's got to be the biggest pile of bullshit I've ever read. If quality is shown through money, then shouldn't Star Wars Episode I and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest be among the best films of all time? Are you kidding me?

Sorry, gotta disagree here, how many action movies hit in the summer? How much money do they make, and how much do people like them?

Yet they are few and far between when Oscar time comes along.

Because the critics felt that other movies were better. What's so hard to understand about that?

Depends on what your definition of the word 'important' is in this particular capacity.

If someone doesn't particularly care for the story of Milk, or for political movies in general, then it's importance doesn't mean much to those people.

Just because YOU might think that something is more important than something else, doesn't mean that it's fact. Political movies have their place, but they are far less popular and less important than mainstream action movies to the vast VAST majority of people.

Logan

DigitalFreak hit on this, I do not find The Incredible Hulk more important than Milk. It's just that more people chose to watch Hulk instead of Milk.

[jadedeath]

Originally Posted by DigitalfreakNYC

So you're saying that The Incredible Hulk is a more important film than Milk?!?

No, I'm saying that which is more important is in the eye of the beholder.

Personally, I'd say that Incredible Hulk is going to make it to my bookshelf, but Milk? Not so much.

Therein, Incredible Hulk, to me, is more important.

I'm not saying that Milk is a bad movie, but it's a movie that won't be that important or on the viewing lists of the majority of people.

If the answer is 'yes' then I would say that's endemic of a much larger problem with our country.

That people want to be able to choose what they want to like rather than be told which movie is important and which isn't?

You're right, we might be straying into troubling territory here.

Again, a lot of crap makes money in this country. Definitely doesn't mean it's any good.

It's not just 'in this country' {of which I am not in if you're referring to the 'States} it's also worldwide. The 3 movies I listed didn't just make stupid amounts of money in the U.S. they also make a stupid amount of money worldwide.

Logan

[fighthefutureofhd]

Originally Posted by Romulus

DigitalFreak hit on this, I do not find The Incredible Hulk more important than Milk. It's just that more people chose to watch Hulk instead of Milk.

you don't find the incredible hulk more important than milk, but again (as jadeddeath said) that's what YOU think. there's nothing wrong with that, but that doesn't mean everyone has to agree. i certainly don't. although i don't really think the incredible hulk is great. still i can think of other movies though that i believe, to me, are far more important than milk. milk isn't a movie that really interests me largely due to sean penn. but also due to the political nature as well. everything jadeddeath has said has been so spot on. i agree with him. no, i don't think that movies such as the phantom menace are among the best films of all time, but that's just one example. there are plenty of hit makers that are among the best films of all time. just as there are bombs that are among the best films of all time as well.

[P@t_Mtl]

Why do most people assume that crap movies are made only in the USA? Believe me I see a lot of movies from France here in Montreal on TV. Some are right up there with the worst that America as too offer. In general you just see the more quality ones or at the very least hear of them because those are the one pick to go to the Oscars or to be release in other countries. But you will have quite a few of them that you will never hear about.

[thedarkangel1975]

Originally Posted by fighthefutureofhd

well i have to respectfully disagree with you. they don't call it entertainment for the heck of it. movies are meant to entertain us. and most people are more entertained by the big popcorn type of movies. people don't want to be preached to. think about it. we all have our trails and tribulations throughout the day/week/year and the last thing we want is more heartache and depression. sometimes we want to get away from that and have a good time. that's why a lot of people go to movies. to get away from it all. that doesn't mean that all other movies are bad. not at all. if a really done movie with thoughtful intelligent ideas that has really good acting comes out that entertains people. all the better. the dark knight is a great example of this. or even wall-e. but the general point is to entertain.

it's the same way with music. sure, thoughtful and intelligent music is great. but it can also be a real bummer too. and we don't need music to bring us down even further. we get enough of that in life as it is. sometimes we just want to have fun. that can be done with real talent and really good songs. not everything has to be thought diatribes on the woes of society. it gets a little too depressing.

Agood serious drama can be just as entertaining as a popcorn flick.

[Liquid-Prince]

Technical awards are bad? Are people stupid? That's one of the best things about the Oscars.

[jadedeath]

Originally Posted by Romulus

I'm sorry, but that's got to be the biggest pile of bullshit I've ever read. If quality is shown through money, then shouldn't Star Wars Episode I and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest be among the best films of all time? Are you kidding me?

If you take a cross section of the North American market, take a guess which movies are more likely to be in someone's collection.

That, in essence, is a measure of importance.

DigitalFreak hit on this, I do not find The Incredible Hulk more important than Milk. It's just that more people chose to watch Hulk instead of Milk.

You just hit on my point.

*YOU* may not think that Incredible Hulk is more important than Milk, but would you also say that you are an average film goer?

I doubt it, you probably like political movies, and so called 'elite' movies that your average movie goer wouldn't like. There's nothing wrong with that, but it doesn't make you an average movie goer, and it doesn't make your opinion any better or worse than anyone else.

Logan

[assydingo]

It does get pretty old. People talk about America like it's the only who does anything wrong, including bad movies/acting. Americans aren't constantly saying we're the best country, at least intelligent ones, so it's not like there's some point to prove to us.

I actually think most of the movies getting awards probably deserve them. I haven't seen a lot of them though.

[DigitalfreakNYC]

Ok wait...
let's all define "important."

What would be "important" about, say, The Incredible Hulk?