The rise of social media and the severe decline of classic movies: is the film industry becoming a dying art? Filmmaking and producing iconic classic movies as part of humanities cultural heritage is becoming a lost craft- as directors, make-up artists are becoming less inclined to dedicate themselves to their craft and vocation of translating art visually to world audiences.
20 March 2024
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It is with great sadness that our editorial discovers that the film industry has become a dying art at a time when it should be advocated as the back bone of general culture worldwide.
It is a shame that there is a lack of iconic masterpieces movies and depth to creative structure and cinematic skills being implemented into society.
Above all, the leisure and entertainment side, the film industry plays a crucial complementary role on shaping the youth and adulthood, education, behaviour and savoir vivre.
Where has the likes of Indecent Proposal, Pretty Woman, The Omen,
American Gangster gone?
Joseph Bédier once said: “Cinema is an eye opener to the world.”
Bédier was a French medieval historian (born in 1864, Paris—died in 1938, Le Grand- Serre, France ) he was also a scholar , whose work made invaluable contributions to the study of medieval literature.
This season, on its Art and Culture category, The Bridge Magazine pays tribute to cinema and raises awareness of its high importance as a contribution to human heritage.
Our editorial shows to readers how by depicting real-life issues on screen, classic movies- have shaped humans’ consciousness and continue to do so on all subject matters.
They portray the struggles, triumphs or challenges that individuals or communities may encounter in their real life.
This is how, viewers may envision, mirror/relate to their own experience, predict, or prevent forthcoming /unforeseen events, or real life situation.
Real-life issues on screen, enable the audiences to engage with various perspectives, inspiring them professionally, socially, enabling them to become either more ambitious, optimistic, pessimistic, cautious, openminded, wise, judgmental, resigned, loving … or to reevaluate their own beliefs and biases.
It is believed that the earliest stories ever told by humans can be traced back on cave walls 2.5 million years ago during the palaeolithic era.
To these early Homosapiens, the caves were their canvas, and they had no clue about what the future of canvas’ could become.
With the invention of visual storytelling, appears a desire to reinterpret life through abstraction that brings to life a transcendental element to make our existence meaningful.
Storytelling genre has evolved throughout centuries and continues to do: from manipulating silhouette shadow images to the projections showed via a magic lantern.
Many devices and technics introduced during the 18th & 19th were used by pioneers of Cinema.
The film industry has drastically changed after World War II, altering by so doing the style and content of movies made in Hollywood.
After experiencing its boom eras from 1939 to 1946, the film industry began to crumble and within 7 years, attendance and box receipts fell to half their 1946 levels.
It is believed the Golden Age of Hollywood became gloomy by 1948 and fully came to an end by the 1960s.
History back in time: a cinematic breakthrough …
In France, two Parisian brothers, Louis and Auguste Lumiere, sought to radically change the medium of cinema on a global scale. Both brothers worked for their father’s photographic equipment business.
The Lumiere brothers relied on another pioneer Edison’s labs kinetograph invention, to improve the original design by improving several flaws.
By doing so, allowing more accurate images and better lighting. Unlike the kinetoscope, the Lumiere’s Cinematograph could then project an image onto a big screen, large enough in order to gather people in large rooms or boxes worldwide and many people could view images simultaneously as opposed to a single person.
Their invention would successfully travel the world seducing audiences regardless of race, culture, age gap or geographical distance.
Following their initial screening in 1895 with one of their short films entitled Salon Indien du Grand Café in Paris.
The ratio of lightening and shadow, the clarity of the movie was no longer a mirage but a reality.
The Lumiere’s presented their films in a way that appears performative. Thus, framing Europe as the more experimental view of cinema.
Everything in cinema derives from these inventions, and film has continued to evolve ever since. New technologies such as special-effects became common- leading to advancements in animated movies.
Coined In 1911 as the 7th Art by the Italian film theoretician Ricciotto Canudo (1877–1923): announcing film making to be a new art that deserved to be high ranked and classified among the more established and reputable traditions such as architecture, sculpture, painting, music, poetry, and dance.
Classic movies encapsulate a sense of wonder and thrill that create shivers down your spine and an attachment to complex characters. Cinema became a passion for many.
Around the 1950s in Europe, revolutionary ideas and art movements such as Italian Neorealism and the French New Wave gave rise to cinephilia.
Before this era, the Hollywood way of filming dominated the market from the late 1920s – 1960s.
Why can the film industry be seen as a dying art?
With the advent of television along with streaming, Netflix stepped in as ticket sales gradually diminished, allowing some of its films to be released in theatres to qualify for academy awards.
Many other large studios and media companies followed by releasing their own streaming services in an age of content defined by its urge for economic gain rather than promoting and encouraging Great Art.
The cultural impact of moving images as a medium of entertainment-whether it be movies, TV, YouTube videos, or Tik-Toks are all in high demand.
The same things that are killing Cinema, are also allowing newer generations to discover film. And for those interested in art form and film history, they now live in an era of unprecedented access.
Cinema had reached its peak during those film eras. Whereas now the film industry is competing with TV series, short films, social media, YouTube and podcasts.
Hence why the film industry can be seen as a dying art with a lack of real appreciation, crucial brain development, fruitful outlooks and different perspectives on contexts and topics, such as mob, horror, love, adventure , business…
The dying of Great Art due to funding?
Filmmaking and producing iconic classical movies is becoming a lost craft as directors & make up artists are becoming less inclined to dedicate themselves to their craft and vocation of translating art, visually to audiences.
This poses the question of whether there is a lack of equal funding of the arts in universities and training acting schools compared to funding in stem or in the sciences, literature, law, journalism, sports, thereby, meaning that the potential lack of large investments for the arts is causing a trajectory of a lack or a low success rate.
Also, a lack of students being inclined to apply for arts courses, due to the lack of large investments, which also causes a detriment to dedicated and gifted students within the arts and craft realm, like the film industry: knowing what techniques to use for a camera shot, angles, acting, make-up artists, interpreters…
Also, the fact that the dedicated students within the arts and craft realm, have a fear of the tiny success rate for employment, and a fear of not being recognised as true fully accomplished artists, and actors in light of previous well-known pioneers of cinema is steering many away from their natural gift that will remain hidden unless they attend renown acting schools to unleash their gift in acting.
Our ERA needs more and more actors, real actors who have achieved award winning skills, who have been to proper acting schools and high ranked training acting schools where people are equipped to being very skilled in order to learn a role/character in a so-called movie or large or big screen movie.
The Importance of Classic movies
On a cultural lens, in a couple of hours of a great movie or classic kind of movie, the viewer always ends up with an experience of someone who has gained so much life experiences, so much travel experiences across the six continents. An invaluable experience gained of someone who has travelled so many countries or travelled through so many eras, but it is everything squeezed into a specific time frame: in a couple of hours.
The film industry, notably cinema, and iconic, classic moviemaking hold its weight in nobility. For example, audiences can learn things in a short time span that their fellow audience and readers would not grasp as quickly as if they went to watch a film. For example films take you back to a specific era, which us humans cannot learn from necessarily, where we cannot travel back in time to, or not every individual has the patience to read over 100 pages to understand an era, a life lesson , a moral, a riddle.
Another advantage of audiences benefiting from classical iconic movies is that they learn things that their acquaintances who have read only books will not have understood as quickly, or as efficiently as a visual representation of a book adaptation.
Find below few classic movies our editorial analyses in brief to bring out their overall cultural, educational yet important life lesson aspect …
On top of the highly educational, artistic and life changing experiences and outlooks, what makes our editorial shortlisting the following classic movies among a myriad for this time are:
The remarkable camera shots, colour imagery, sensory imagery, and movie soundtracks, accompanied by the gifted actors who managed to transfer the message through the screen along with their emotions, notably: fear, resentment, anger overcoming their abuser … thus making the following films remarkable.
Indecent Proposal (when a woman’s naivety, the arrogance of a rich and cunning man, the laziness, carelessness of a husband, and ethics collide).
The movie illustrated the hardships, and dilemmas, marriages face, the hypocrisy of some men, how they only value their true love once they are in the hands of another man.
How money has corrupted true love, the lack of dignity of those who spontaneously sell their Love and their loved one for money by putting a price on their marriage.
Indecent Proposal brought to light existential yet ethical questions:
How much would someone have to pay you to do something that was against your moral code?
The 1993 American erotic drama film “Indecent Proposal” explores the concept of the price (literally and figuratively) a human is willing to pay, the compromise they will make, to gain something they want. Regardless of their initial moral code.
An American erotic drama film starring High Performances of the Hollywood A list Movies celebrities.
Woody Harrelson starring as David Murphy AKA Diana ‘s husband
Demi Moore starring as Diana Murphy
Robert Redford starring as John Gage the billionaire
Woody Harrelson, Robert Redford and Demi Moore are the main characters who brought the scriptwriter Amy Holden Jones gift to life.
Indecent Proposal explores the lengths to which some humans can become abusive once they are financially rich, they trick others ( Gage’s coin was never a two sided in the first place ).
They never respect their words neither do they respect the terms and conditions of a contract ( Gage did not respect his promise- after sleeping with Diana , he kept envying the million dollars- went and bought their dream property – by illegal and fraudulent means , breaching confidential clauses… – the million dollars was meant to help the couple financially not to make the couple’s life a misery.
In the movie, Gage gets the object of his affection, but the damage was done like in most sexual transactional kind of pimp businesses. Trust, marriage and moral codes are broken.
The moral behind Indecent Proposal
What makes Indecent Proposal a classic film?
The downfall bit in Indecent Proposal
Those who have watched The God father remember that despite the wealth displayed throughout the Trilogy it ended with chaos, failure, betrayal…
Pretty Woman (when a beautiful young lady, whose parents were unable to support her studies , finds herself braving the nightlife of Hollywood boulevard, wandering about the streets of Hollywood to make ends meet until…her miserable life turns into a fairy tale).
Directed by Garry Marshall, the romantic comedy movie starred Julia Roberts as Vivian Ward, a Georgia girl 11th-grade dropout who lives in a flophouse with Kit (Laura San Giacomo), her best friend portrayed in the film as Vivian Ward prostitution guru and Richard Gere as Edward Lewis a wealthy corporate trader.
The relationship between a Los Angeles armature prostitute who has never been involved in drugs business neither does she ever dealt with a pimp before.
She ended up finding true Love after spending a week at the Beverly Wilshire with a rich client: Edward Lewis -the only son and heir of his late billionaire father.
The moral behind Pretty Woman
Pretty woman, the romcom has indeed become and remains a classic from the glamorous wardrobe to the high end music, tastes and locations.
The movie explores several themes of love, romance, flirting and lovemaking without vulgarity, the hardships of prostitutes, and the juxtaposition of the rich and the poor in a romantic and work setting/environment.
The Omen (moral behind The trilogies)
It explores the mystical connections between evil and the animal world, ( when for instance evil inhabits Damien’s dog to incite the high profile politician to commit suicide so he could be appointed at the same position and begin his reign ) and puts a question mark on the vulnerability of political leaders to Satanic purposes.
Useful facts about The Omen
Based on a screenplay by American screenwriter David Seltzer who put the movie in a book released in 1976, weeks before the movie was released.
What makes The Omen a classic film ?
The Omen features iconic and crucial scenes, such as: a haunting sequence , highly regarded as the best cemetery scene in horror movies of all time. The film prevails as a classic of enduring power, with its highly professionally crafted build-ups and strong performances.
The scary part in The Omen
All the scenes in the Violence/Gore category are highly intense and extremely disturbing. The soundtrack is very scary. Overall, the entire film has an unsettling and creepy atmosphere, reminiscent of a doom and of bad events and manipulated destiny.
The Omen :Damien Thorn is a fictional character and the primary antagonist of The Omen franchise. He is the Antichrist and the son of the Devil. The character has been portrayed by Harvey Spencer Stephens, Jonathan Scott-Taylor, Sam Neill, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick and Bradley James.
This horror movie can also be deemed as birthing and inspiring future directors in creating their horror movies, because the element of non-conventional fear installs more fear than conventional horror films.
With special effects, and colours, the lack of horror stereotypes, whilst maintaining normality, sends shivers down the spine of the audience. From the ominous music, the lack of special effects, the sincerity of certain characters, and their naivety in the face of evil translates through the screen, and brings forth an eye-opening door for the audience, to believe that humans are not the only one inhabiting earth.
Another thought provoking Outlook from the trilogy, is that not all success comes to fruition naturally, there is often hidden guidance, clothed in evil and portrayed as genius.
American Gangster
Based on the criminal career of Frank Lucas, a gangster from La Grange, North Carolina an heroin dealer who smuggled drugs into the United States via American service planes coming back from the Vietnam War, before being arrested by a task force led by Newark Detective Richie Roberts.
Oscar-winner Denzel Washington, who have played many real-life figures in his career is portrayed in the movie as Frank Lucas.
In real life, Frank Lucas was once a genius and crafted gangster who successfully took over the northeast drug trade in the 60s and 70s. His reign began with Harlem and he continued to spread his power all over the northeast region of the country. The living legend Denzel brought Frank Lucas to life.
American Gangster illustrates the hardships of war, the war on drugs, its consumption side-effects and booming pecuniary profit, racial discrimination- leading to resentment and revolt.
The film illustrates the clash of ideals of a character on one side, being seen as a criminal drug lord, yet on the other being perceived as a husband, a son, a brother and a man who assisted the community which was facing racial hardships. Despite what could be argued as his tragic downfall, American Gangster explored his rise to fame and in his community , in the world of celebrities they labelled him as a king.
What makes American Gangster a classic film?
American gangster illustrates the hardships of war, the war on drugs its consumption side-effects and booming pecuniary profit , racial discrimination, leading to resentment and revolt.
The clash of ideals of a character on one side, being seen as a criminal drug lord, yet on the other being perceived and celebrate as a husband, a successful and loving son, to his mother. He have managed to offer her ,her dream complete refurbish bedroom. She is starstruck :only the love of a son for their mother can make them remember their choice preferences when he was a child.
Seen as a dichotomy of two worlds one man breaching two worlds of race, class and success.
A successful and loving brother and a man who assisted the community which was facing racial hardship was a vivid and strong message that a man of his race could be successful in the eyes of the law, or in the eyes of Caucasian individuals, despite what could be argued as his tragic downfall.
The Bridge Magazine congratulates classic movie stars, script writers, make-up artists and the pioneers of the 7th art, the work they have done and continue to do ,which inevitably benefit humanity cultural journey and awareness.
Long live classic movies!
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Dear All,
A massive thank you for all your comments and words of encouragement that I receive on a daily basis regarding my articles.
Just to note: if I do not reply to your comments individually it is because there is an overload of comments in my dashboard but I do see all your feedback and comments and we, the team at The Bridge Magazine ?? are eternally grateful.
Kind Regards,
The Editor??
Rachel Tcheungna
Chers tous, chères toutes,
Un immense merci pour tous vos commentaires et mots d’encouragement que je reçois tous les jours concernant mes articles. C’est fort apprécié.
Juste pour vous dire : si je ne réponds pas à vos commentaires individuellement, c’est parce qu’il y a une avalanche de milliers de commentaires au quotidien dans mon tableau de bord.
Je vous rassure que je vois toutes vos mises à jour et tous vos commentaires et nous, l’équipe de The Bridge Magazine ?? vous en sommes éternellement reconnaissants.
Bien cordialement,
L’Éditrice??
Rachel Tcheungna
Dear ALL,
This season, on its Art and Culture category, The Bridge Magazine pays tribute to cinema and raises awareness of its high importance as a contribution to human heritage.
It is with great sadness that our editorial discovers that the film industry has become a dying art at a time when it should be advocated as the back bone of general culture worldwide.
It is a shame that there is a lack of iconic masterpieces movies and depth to creative structure and cinematic skills being implemented into society.
Above all, the leisure and entertainment side, the film industry plays a crucial complementary role on shaping the youth and adulthood, education, behaviour and savoir vivre.
Where has the likes of Indecent Proposal, Pretty Woman, The Omen,
American Gangster gone?
The Bridge Magazine congratulates classic movie stars, script writers, make-up artists and the pioneers of the 7th art, the work they have done and continue to do ,which inevitably benefit humanity cultural journey and awareness.
Long live classic movies!
Kind Regards,
The Editor??
Rachel Tcheungna