We live in the time of sequels, nothing original is coming out of Hollywood anymore. Gone are the days when movies like American Beauty graced the silver screen. Now it seems that we can only look forward to the next Spider-man, National Treasure, Indiana Jones, etc. I am an extreme movie buff and when I look at the show times online every week my heart tends to sink when I see all the 2's and 3's at the end of the titles. I then ask myself what do I do now?
I have found the saving grace of cinema and it lies in Independent Films. And I'm not talking movies like Napoleon Dynamite; I'm speaking of movies like King of California, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Bully, Pumpkin, Kids, Shortbus, Towelhead, and others. It is in these movies that I believe the future of cinema to lie. Movies that address issues that we don't normally address, and show us things that we have never seen before. I'm not trying to say that all independent films are great, because that is completely untrue. There are some pretty horrible indie movies, what I am trying to say is that Hollywood could take a close look at what these indie artists are doing and maybe it could help them improve on what they are doing. Maybe open their eyes to a new way of seeing things, because I'm sick and tired of going to see the latest 'blockbuster' summer/fall movie and feeling like I'm watching a movie that I've already seen before. I don't believe originality to be dead because I have seen it but I do believe that we are currently in a time of great writer's block in Hollywood.
So my main point in this blog is to try and raise awareness of indie films and how they can help Hollywood and maybe catapult us out of this slump in the film industry. So next time you are going to the movies and you don't really know what you want to see because you have 'seen it all already' give that indie film a chance.
Originality Dead?
By Town - Posted on October 12th, 2008
I am an indie fan too. You should also try to view old movies such as black and white pictures and silent films. You can see how the movie industry transformed ,and you can also see what was viewed before the Hollywood Ten was shot out of Hollywood.
You've seen Towelhead, what did you think? I saw it at the Sundance Film Festival, it was amazing, one of my favorites that I saw. It was also cool because a lot of the cast was there, and they did a Q&A after the movie. I also love love independent and foreighn films, I even wrote a blog about it.
Like what you see? Visit my blog http://progressiveu.org/blog/amatgumby