What do you feel is the biggest problem with modern entertainment

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I think a significant portion of this thread is saying--often indirectly, sometimes maybe even unconsciously--that the problem is all those other people who like different things. But seeing as how it'd be boorish to come out and say that, we must launder the sentiment through some other, more high-minded-sounding critique.



There is not enough originality and creativity. Too many things are based on something else, too many remakes, or adaptations of material that has already been adapted.
This is a BIG pet peeve with me. There are many great non-English speaking films and Hollywood has run out of ideas and start remaking them, which the result is terrible films.

Perhaps the studios needs to get new writers with fresh ideas but LEAVE GREAT FOREIGN FILMS ALONE!!!



Movie Forums Squirrel Jumper
I’m confused. Surely Jewish people are predominantly white? (Ethiopian Jews are black.)

I guess I don't know enough about it but why are Nazis often referred to as racist then in whit people were on their murder list as well?



Why do you think it would/could be better?
It could be better because it might be more diverse and capture the period better. It might go for diversity and get it completely wrong, who knows? The point is, for a film like that to be made now, there would be a whole heap of regulations that would change it's feel entirely.



Your post made it sound like you can't get American movies with predominantly or purely white casts now, even when it's a story based on true events involving a purely white demographic. My post was a counterpoint or at least a counter-example to that sentiment.

I've not watched Schindler's List in a long time (I'm honestly not a fan of Spielberg's films), so I don't know what you think would be different?
The cast mainly.



It could be better because it might be more diverse and capture the period better. It might go for diversity and get it completely wrong, who knows? The point is, for a film like that to be made now, there would be a whole heap of regulations that would change it's feel entirely.
Indeed.



I guess I don't know enough about it but why are Nazis often referred to as racist then in whit people were on their murder list as well?
This is a tad outside the scope of the thread. You guys can discuss the ins and outs of historical genocide via PM or something.



Movie Forums Squirrel Jumper
That's true, I apologize. Well if I can reiterate, if they were to make Schindler's List today they might make Schindler another race then to avoid, the 'white savior' trope Hollywood doesn't like.



This is a tad outside the scope of the thread. You guys can discuss the ins and outs of historical genocide via PM or something.
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That's true, I apologize. Well if I can reiterate, if they were to make Schindler's List today they might make Schindler another race then to avoid, the 'white savior' trope Hollywood doesn't like.
For crying out loud. It’s based on historical events. It had nothing to do with being a “white savior”. He was just a savior.

*stomps away grumpily*



I'm primarily interpreting this to mean, they'd want Jewish actors playing Jewish characters, which...
:shrugs:

I don't really care for the performances I remember Spielberg getting out of people after a certain point in his career, so it's hard for me to put much mental effort into trying to imagine this counter-factual and the consequences of it.

I think the more interesting and possibly pertinent question is what director now has as much clout to create a movie how they want as Spielberg probably did back in the mid-90s?

Because I'm under the impression he had a much more difficult time getting funding for making Lincoln, which compared to a black and white holocaust pic, seems like it should be an easier lift. Was that him just having lower clout or Hollywood being less interested in that tier of film?

(And how much of that difficulty to get funding is just incorrect in my mind?)

I suspect "regulations" isn't the word you were going for, though I'm drawing a blank on a better one, for something that's heavily processed by committee.

(Side note, the one angle I was wondering you were going to go for representation would have been, all the other ethnic minorities/etc that we're also killed in the Holocaust. E.g. the Romani people, gays, etc. I guess the short answer to this is, "maybe, maybe not." I mean, given the colorism issues that came up after In the Heights, I think it's pretty clear, the studios aren't involved that much, workshopping all of this).



That's true, I apologize. Well if I can reiterate, if they were to make Schindler's List today they might make Schindler another race then to avoid, the 'white savior' trope Hollywood doesn't like.
"The critics"* don't like it. Hollywood likes it just fine.

*: Critics are not a single collective.



This is a tad outside the scope of the thread. You guys can discuss the ins and outs of historical genocide via PM or something.
Good. Saved me the trouble of explaining the Holocaust.
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I think a significant portion of this thread is saying--often indirectly, sometimes maybe even unconsciously--that the problem is all those other people who like different things.
Well, I think the added implication is "And when they spend money/resources on that stuff I don't like, there's less for the stuff I like!"

I do think all the talk about remakes is interesting. I just watched a movie from the 40s that's a remake of a movie from the 30s. Heck, Hitchcock made The Man Who Knew Too Much twice!



Well, I think the added implication is "And when they spend money/resources on that stuff I don't like, there's less for the stuff I like!"
I suppose some people may think this, but if they do I don't think they're seeing the situation correctly. There's obviously not X amount of money for movies, and if they're not making Transformers we're going to give the Coens $400 million. It'll just go to some other medium which has the potential to scale worldview and therefore command that kind of investment.

There's more weird, arty stuff, and it's way, way more accessible than it's ever been, so I honestly don't see the argument for any real crowding-out effect. That, and the way people talk about it when they do, suggests to me that it's the idea that bothers people, rather than any practical effect on their own enjoyment.



Well, I think the added implication is "And when they spend money/resources on that stuff I don't like, there's less for the stuff I like!"

I do think all the talk about remakes is interesting. I just watched a movie from the 40s that's a remake of a movie from the 30s. Heck, Hitchcock made The Man Who Knew Too Much twice!
As long as they stick remaking American remakes of American films.

After The Wedding (Danish: Efter brylluppet) and The Secret in Their Eyes (Spanish: El Secreto De Sus Ojos) are just to name two they should have left alone. There are several more I could name.



There's more weird, arty stuff, and it's way, way more accessible than it's ever been, so I honestly don't see the argument for any real crowding-out effect. That, and the way people talk about it when they do, suggests to me that it's the idea that bothers people, rather than any practical effect on their own enjoyment.
I completely agree.

On both the trashier side of my movie taste (low budget home invasion films, garbage slashers, terrible action) and the more "refined" side of things, I've never had access to more media. And that covers both new stuff and older films. Never in a million years would I have seen Private Property or Space is the Place if I was still depending on TV and/or video store chains.

I also love that I can directly support artists whose work I like. I give monthly via Patreon to Christiane Cegavske.



I'm primarily interpreting this to mean, they'd want Jewish actors playing Jewish characters, which...
:shrugs:

I don't really care for the performances I remember Spielberg getting out of people after a certain point in his career, so it's hard for me to put much mental effort into trying to imagine this counter-factual and the consequences of it.

I think the more interesting and possibly pertinent question is what director now has as much clout to create a movie how they want as Spielberg probably did back in the mid-90s?

Because I'm under the impression he had a much more difficult time getting funding for making Lincoln, which compared to a black and white holocaust pic, seems like it should be an easier lift. Was that him just having lower clout or Hollywood being less interested in that tier of film?

(And how much of that difficulty to get funding is just incorrect in my mind?)

I suspect "regulations" isn't the word you were going for, though I'm drawing a blank on a better one, for something that's heavily processed by committee.

(Side note, the one angle I was wondering you were going to go for representation would have been, all the other ethnic minorities/etc that we're also killed in the Holocaust. E.g. the Romani people, gays, etc. I guess the short answer to this is, "maybe, maybe not." I mean, given the colorism issues that came up after In the Heights, I think it's pretty clear, the studios aren't involved that much, workshopping all of this).
By giving an example of a film about the holocaust it has completely detracted from my point. So maybe it wasn't the best example.

My point was not that Jewish people would be cast - it would be that other ethnicities would be cast where before the roles would have gone to white actors. This is great for diversity. It's great for those actors. But at the end of the day, that sort of quota led decision is made by someone other than the person directing the film. So we are not seeing the artists true vision on screen, which is disappointing.

I have no problem with a diverse cast that doesn't affect the story in any way. My fear is that projects aren't being green lit because the production companies can't find a way to fit certain diversity elements in. That's would be a shame.



Honestly, for me the only problem is how much there is and the energy needed to sort through and organize it all.

It's a double-edged sword.

On the one hand, it's never been easier for people to make movies/shows or to write/perform and get those things in front of viewers.

On the other hand, there is just so much to wade through. At this point I have friends saying "Hey, you must be watching this show, right? It seems right up your alley!" and I've never even heard of the thing. There are so many services/platforms, it can get a bit overwhelming.
I think wading through any movie should rely on an instinct of feeling a necessity to watch it or not depending on your goals as a cinephile.



You guys know Ben Kingsley isn't white, right? If we're gonna wring our hands about Schindler's List being recast with minorities (the horror!), it already happened lol