5 ms·

Interesting essay. As a fan of cinema, I've noticed that there is a clinical deadness lately when it comes to representing real people. I don't agree with the

Interesting essay. As a fan of cinema, I've noticed that there is a clinical deadness lately when it comes to representing real people. I don't agree with the conclusions of the essayist, but there's something there. Verisimilitude is gone. Real people are gone. In their place, there's a clinical, sterile plastic automaton put together by marketing departments. Even when there's nudity and sexuality, it feels like a paint-by-the-numbers thing and not storytelling. Over the last decade or two, I stopped watching broadcast commercial TV in the U.S. I began to realize that the choice of dramas and advertisers told me a lot more about what the creators thought of their audience and not so much about life and human relations. Cinema has gone to that same place. Now, a common refrain about a classic movie from the past is "They could never make something like that today", and people who say that aren't referring to easy problems with material like racism. It's not the content. The quality has drastically changed. I used to leave a good movie wondering about my own life and the choices I might make. For a really good flick, I could dwell on the issues involved for weeks. Now I leave saying "Wow! Wasn't that really cool?!?" and I've forgotten anything important or meaningful by the time I've gotten to the (metaphorical) parking lot. There are little flashes. Occasionally big name stars and producers will create a one-of drama that really says something about the human condition. Those movies are getting fewer and the time between them grows. Streaming TV promised a new Golden Age for long-format serial drama. But the glorious days of a thousand Sopranos are not materializing. Instead it's looking a lot like reversion to the mean. There is a dead, empty, data-driven blandness to modern entertainment. Not pleasant to end up here when we started off with such promise.

Robotbeat 6y ago
Can you give examples of really good films of the past/recent past?
- hunter-gatherer 6y ago
  Not OP, but I just recently watched Dances with Wolves a week or so ago and had almost an identical thought to what OP posted. I have some modern favorites of course, but it seems like I enjoy my modern favorites because it is a "mental tease". They don't really illicit emotional connections though. However, it is totally possible I'm just watching the wrong movies. Some modern favorites are the new Blade Runner, Ex Machina.... there is a big list. There are of course exceptions. I also recently watched 1917 and I thought that was one of the best films I'd ever seen. In addition to being an action film it definitely felt emotional.
- camjohnson26 6y ago
  Some of my favorites from pre 2000 are Amadeus, Paths of Glory, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Gattaca, Lawrence of Arabia, Citizen Kane, Trainspotting, The Elephant Man, and The Night of the Hunter
- magicalhippo 6y ago
  Not op but I'll throw in some that I've really enjoyed and that made me go "hmmmm", roughly ordered by year The Double Life of Véronique (1991) https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1600-la-double-vie-de-v-ronique https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1600-la-double-vie-de-v-ron... Strange Days (1995) https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/281-strange-days https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/281-strange-days Upstream Color (2013) https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/145197-upstream-color https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/145197-upstream-color Under the Skin (2013) https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/97370-under-the-skin https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/97370-under-the-skin The One I Love (2014) https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/242090-the-one-i-love https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/242090-the-one-i-love Welcome the Stranger (2018) https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/413852-welcome-the-stranger https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/413852-welcome-the-stranger Segfault (2018) (the less you know the better) https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/463594-segfault https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/463594-segfault Possessor (2020) https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/435615-possessor https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/435615-possessor
sudosteph 6y ago
I agree with your core sentiment on movies - but I couldn't disagree more on the topic of TV having reverted to the mean. It may not all be "Sopranos", but I've seen so many TV shows in the past decade that have pushed boundaries and delivered experiences that frankly, have hit me much harder than almost any movie - and certainly much harder than pre-netflix era TV. I know everyone has different taste, but I think we've seen a lot of maturation in the past decade specifically in the form of more interesting TV anthology series / single-season narratives (True Detective, Fargo, Watchmen) and dark-ish comedies (Rick and Morty, Barry, American Vandal, Succession). I think networks in general are giving show-runners more space and budget for trying weird stuff, because even if they end up with a show that's too niche for a general timeslot - there's at least the possibility of selling it to a streaming service later (like Arrested Development, The Expanse, and Community did).
ajmurmann 6y ago
I'm curious how you like The Great Beauty / La Grande Bellezza.
SamoyedFurFluff 6y ago
How do you feel about Minari?
Izkata 6y ago
> As a fan of cinema, I've noticed that there is a clinical deadness lately when it comes to representing real people. > I don't agree with the conclusions of the essayist, but there's something there. Verisimilitude is gone. Real people are gone. In their place, there's a clinical, sterile plastic automaton put together by marketing departments. Even when there's nudity and sexuality, it feels like a paint-by-the-numbers thing and not storytelling. Last year I got ahold of The Munsters, the black-and-white TV show from the 1960s, and noticed something odd one day when I watched an episode back-to-back with a modern unrelated show: What you describe with people also applies to props. In the Munsters' dinner scenes, the whole set - including the food - was significantly more interactive than anything modern I've seen possibly ever. It made the modern shows rather suddenly feel much more fake than I was used to.

Robotbeat 6y ago

Can you give examples of really good films of the past/recent past?

hunter-gatherer 6y ago
Not OP, but I just recently watched Dances with Wolves a week or so ago and had almost an identical thought to what OP posted. I have some modern favorites of course, but it seems like I enjoy my modern favorites because it is a "mental tease". They don't really illicit emotional connections though. However, it is totally possible I'm just watching the wrong movies. Some modern favorites are the new Blade Runner, Ex Machina.... there is a big list. There are of course exceptions. I also recently watched 1917 and I thought that was one of the best films I'd ever seen. In addition to being an action film it definitely felt emotional.
camjohnson26 6y ago
Some of my favorites from pre 2000 are Amadeus, Paths of Glory, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Gattaca, Lawrence of Arabia, Citizen Kane, Trainspotting, The Elephant Man, and The Night of the Hunter
magicalhippo 6y ago
Not op but I'll throw in some that I've really enjoyed and that made me go "hmmmm", roughly ordered by year The Double Life of Véronique (1991) https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1600-la-double-vie-de-v-ronique https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1600-la-double-vie-de-v-ron... Strange Days (1995) https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/281-strange-days https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/281-strange-days Upstream Color (2013) https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/145197-upstream-color https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/145197-upstream-color Under the Skin (2013) https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/97370-under-the-skin https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/97370-under-the-skin The One I Love (2014) https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/242090-the-one-i-love https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/242090-the-one-i-love Welcome the Stranger (2018) https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/413852-welcome-the-stranger https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/413852-welcome-the-stranger Segfault (2018) (the less you know the better) https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/463594-segfault https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/463594-segfault Possessor (2020) https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/435615-possessor https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/435615-possessor

sudosteph 6y ago

I agree with your core sentiment on movies - but I couldn't disagree more on the topic of TV having reverted to the mean. It may not all be "Sopranos", but I've seen so many TV shows in the past decade that have pushed boundaries and delivered experiences that frankly, have hit me much harder than almost any movie - and certainly much harder than pre-netflix era TV. I know everyone has different taste, but I think we've seen a lot of maturation in the past decade specifically in the form of more interesting TV anthology series / single-season narratives (True Detective, Fargo, Watchmen) and dark-ish comedies (Rick and Morty, Barry, American Vandal, Succession). I think networks in general are giving show-runners more space and budget for trying weird stuff, because even if they end up with a show that's too niche for a general timeslot - there's at least the possibility of selling it to a streaming service later (like Arrested Development, The Expanse, and Community did).

ajmurmann 6y ago

I'm curious how you like The Great Beauty / La Grande Bellezza.

SamoyedFurFluff 6y ago

How do you feel about Minari?

Izkata 6y ago

> As a fan of cinema, I've noticed that there is a clinical deadness lately when it comes to representing real people. > I don't agree with the conclusions of the essayist, but there's something there. Verisimilitude is gone. Real people are gone. In their place, there's a clinical, sterile plastic automaton put together by marketing departments. Even when there's nudity and sexuality, it feels like a paint-by-the-numbers thing and not storytelling. Last year I got ahold of The Munsters, the black-and-white TV show from the 1960s, and noticed something odd one day when I watched an episode back-to-back with a modern unrelated show: What you describe with people also applies to props. In the Munsters' dinner scenes, the whole set - including the food - was significantly more interactive than anything modern I've seen possibly ever. It made the modern shows rather suddenly feel much more fake than I was used to.