Reports of Film Culture’s Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated
October 8, 2012 Leave a comment
A recent slew of articles on the decline of film culture has led many to question what the future of film looks like. Despite the hype, some hold that it’s just an exaggeration that’s been going on for decades.
By: Matt Singer, First Posted on IndieWire, October 3, 2012
“A movie is almost by definition a record of that which once was — and how we long for that which no longer exists!” — J. Hoberman
I didn’t even know film culture was sick; I come home from Fantastic Fest and all of a sudden it’s dead? What the hell happened? What killed it? Was it contagious? Is there a funeral? Do I need to send flowers?
I’m not sure how so many film-is-dead-or-dying pieces materialized simultaneously, but no less than three major ones have been published in recent weeks. In The New Republic, David Denby wondered “Has Hollywood Murdered the Movies?” (SPOILER ALERT: Yes!) while David Thomson declared that “American Movies are Not Dead: They are Dying.” At Salon, Andrew O’Hehir’s prognosis was equally negative, in an essay titled “Is Movie Culture Dead?“
There are certainly some valid reasons for pessimism. We just escaped a particularly dreary summer movie season. Actual film — light captured on and then projected through celluloid — is vanishing at an disturbing rate. 3-D is still darkening theater screens and emptying patrons’ pockets. Our children’s notion of “the movies” will look completely different than ours.
Interested in learning more about the film festival industry? Join industry leaders and entertainment professionals like SXSW Film Conference, Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program, Austin Film Festival & Conference, Seattle International Film Festival, Eventbrite and more at the upcoming International Film Festival Summit in Austin, Texas at the Hyatt Regency Austin, December 2-4, 2012.
