Hollywood Through the Looking Glass

The theorists associated with the Frankfurt School seem to firmly believe that when it comes to popular culture there is no such thing as an original idea. They argue that popular music, for example, is an ever repetitive form of entertainment and that even when a song or piece of pop music presents itself as new and fresh it is merely demonstrating 'pseudo-individualization', in other words, it pretends to be different but is really just the same as all the others.

I personally find it hard to agree with this pessimistic view that the type of culture which has surrounded me my entire life is stuck in some mass-produced rut. However, there is one industry for which their theories may in fact be true.

Hollywood churns out hundreds of films every year, each one competing to win the most Oscars, spend the most money, make the most epic use of special effects and use the biggest stars. It seems that the Hollywood studios are less concerned with producing quality entertainment than they are with backing the biggest blockbusters in order to make the most money. Even when a film-maker attempts to create something different they still tend to adhere to the same old rules. Take Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland for example, a dark and surreal film ought to differ from the mainstream, however his keen application of CGI and special effects and his use of 3D images just goes to show that even oddball Burton conforms to the Hollywood formula.

This unintelligent method of film-making is disheartening for a film fan. Cashing in on the latest technological advances and making movies with the same worn-out plots and the same tired actors causes the industry to lack excitement or originality. Independent cinema, despite having less money to do so, seems much more likely to take risks and produce some thought-provoking films which the audience haven't seen before. Unfortunately, as the cinema-going audience have been dumbed-down by Hollywood, independent films are hardly ever really given the chance to be seen. Instead they are hidden away in art house cinemas and specialist DVD shops.

This cycle means that the uneducated masses rarely have the chance to watch more intelligent, original cinema and are instead force fed the same old money-making blockbusters time and time again.