Without the variety of films to see at the tips of our eye lids we would live in such a flat-lined zombie driven movie life that we wouldnt be able to feel connected with our visually stimulated lives.

What the H- Bomb films lack they are replaced by the less acknowledge ones that give these indie films their depth and meaning

love your article Nat
Come back to scotland xx

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There’s a great passage in Eric G. Wilson’s “Against Happiness”, which talks about the postmodern trend to “be above” things, and thus claim superiority to the people who enjoy them. I think that’s the trend you’re trying to point out, and I totally agree. Being dismissive is a kind of laziness, and it’s a pretty weak statement in the important, overall dialogue.

I never disputed that some Hollywood films are worthwhile, I just tried to see where the sticker crew was coming from. All I meant to say was I can understand how people get tired of the same formulaic bilge over time. Of course they’re being reductionist – there are plenty of good films out there. But I really feel their pain, a problem which fouls up a lot of decent efforts and which you admit exists. I wish Terry Gilliam could go elsewhere to get his films made. I wonder what he thinks about Hollywood.

If we’re talking bumper stickers, I remember the “Disco Sucks” from the 70s, and “Shoot Your TV” in the 80s. Oversimplified and trite, sure, but not without some point behind it. Saying “I hate my job” doesn’t demand qualification – I hope there’s something more articulate to back it up, but sometimes the declaration is all you care to say at the time.

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You’re absolutely right, ‘cultural snobbism’ is probably not the most healthy term. I really view it more like ‘lazy-people-who-generalize-rather-than-having-open-minded-debates.’ The guys with the stickers chose to patronize something enormously important to our culture – important for better and for worse – instead of targeting their disapproval at the root of the problem (which is many elements, in this case). It is nowadays a common fallback of youth unrest to auto-hate any large entity or corporation, regardless of any positive rewards.

But I beg to differ with your point about ‘churning out populist formulas’ being a fair complaint. What I was trying to suggest in this article is that it’s not fair at all. A large portion of mainstream American cinema does cater towards the average moviegoer (hence, populist). But saying the ENTIRETY of Hollywood behaves this way is, unfortunately, a generalization, similar to when people assume Americans are not well-traveled. It might be true in some, or even most, cases. But it’s an unfair statement for the people who don’t fall under that umbrella. And the films that come out of Hollywood that are NOT ‘churned’ as you say, are getting… well, low-balled. I stuck up for them here because these are usually my favorite films!

An example of a film that DID get screwed over by populist churnings-out is Terry Gilliam’s BRAZIL. As a result, although J.K. Rowling favored him as a potential director for Harry Potter films, he now refuses to work on any big-budgeted studio pieces because of his history of malicious interference from them (such as what happened with BRAZIL, which is a fascinating story).

And lastly, the H-bomb phrase was a joke: something I invented because around many film festival circuits, people whip out that word and it’s actually as if a bomb has just dropped on the group – chaos everywhere!

Thanks so much for the feedback. I hope I helped clear that up a bit

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Natalie, I can see your point of view here: it’s simplistic to suggest the entirety of Hollywood product is garbage, just as it is to categorize someone’s preferences based on their nationality. But it’s also simplistic to deem any complaint about Hollywood as cultural snobbism.

A lot of this was covered in Ian’s “Red Pill” article – cinematic taste varies. One man’s Brett Ratner is another man’s Wim Wender (or vice versa), and it’s wrong to judge people by their preferences. (You can, however, talk about what you do and don’t like about films and why, and that’s fine as long as you don’t trash someone for their often guilty favorites. But really, there’s no accounting for taste!)

Just to say “Hollywood sucks” is pretty childish (to me), though I don’t think the “Emos” as you called them were going for depth. If you ask them, they might say why: “Because Hollywood keeps churning out the same populist formulas, and consistently getting stuff like ‘Rush Hour (x)’ is insulting to me”. That’s a fair complaint.

Like you, I think the solution is to work with the system instead of abandoning it. But everyone has a right to their opinion, too, and if they don’t think it’s worth trying to fix – well, there you go.

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Cuidate

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Maybe, yes, but you don’t expand on what you mean by “our Hollywood, today’s Hollywood” and just leave it hanging. To divert from your specific reply, the usual auto-dismissal of anything coming out of Hollywood comes with an assumption the listeners will agree “Oh, pshaw…nothing original, all crap!” – from my own circle of friends who proudly list Fight Club, Donnie Darko and the like as their big film influences. That thought deserves more examination, what should be dutifully criticized, or it’s just up there with “People suck” and “No one likes my poetry.”

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“Admit that at least a few of your favorite films had someone’s big fat wallet behind them, and that your life may be a tiny bit better for it.”

Indeed. And if that statement really doesn’t apply to you, consider the possibility that you may in fact be missing out on something.

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Nevertheless, I think you need to write a sequel to this piece. You state “My nationality invalidates my taste, brands me with the Scarlett (Johansson) Letter” and don’t expand on this idea. This idea should be fleshed out and explored.

With your perspective as being: American, a traveler (I’m assuming this based on the website) and a volunteer at an indie film fest (you must have seen indie films abroad too, as you prescribe the reader to do so as well) you are in a prime position to offer us insider views on why this transpires and the repercussions that can occur.

Keep up the good work.

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