Sometimes I am blown away by the political correctness of the
socialist elite in Hollywood. They tell us that we shouldn't stereotype,
that we should live and let live, and that everyone is equal, and not
to pick on any group or segment of our population. For that, I do
concur, however I am upset because I see so much hypocrisy going on in
Hollywood. Specifically, in the filmmaking industry, so let me explain,
because this is not only a critique of the folks in Hollywood, but more
so our entire population, as so many are unable to see through the fog
of society's entertainment.
It seems that all too often to make a film believable, these movies have token stereotypes which fit the general overall perception of our public. One might ask if we are not perpetuating the stereotypes in doing so, and then condemning people for adopting those stereotypes into their belief systems. I was discussing this not long ago with a gentleman who was getting his degree in filmmaking, and we got into a lively debate, although we were pretty much on the same wavelength. He told me it was funny, because while you need artistic creativity, you also have to appeal to the audience's beliefs.
If you don't, they won't like the movie, and they won't tell their friends to go see it, and therefore it will be a bomb or a bust. I explained to him that accuracy is quite important as well, and while he agreed, he also explained that if the movie doesn't make money, those screenplay writers, directors, and movie producers won't be able to produce anything else in the future. He explained that the movie industry is quite harsh in many regards.
He explained to me that the trick was to put in the various stereotypes, but have a storyline which went behind the scenes, and told of the differences behind the stereotype, in other words on the surface the stereotype was there true enough, but behind the scenes was a real person, albeit a character in the film, which wasn't like the stereotype that all. He said that was hard to do, but he had those sorts of scenarios in each and every film that he had ever produced while working with his friends on projects at the film school. In fact, they have one which should be ready for the next Palm Springs Film Festival coming up.
You see, it's hard to change people's minds and belief systems, and you have to make your film believable, which is actually more important to its success than accuracy. Therein lies the rub, and the challenge for all good filmmakers. It was so great to talk to him and get his perspective, because now I understand what they are dealing with, and how much impact the art of filmmaking has on our population. Please consider all this and think on it.
It seems that all too often to make a film believable, these movies have token stereotypes which fit the general overall perception of our public. One might ask if we are not perpetuating the stereotypes in doing so, and then condemning people for adopting those stereotypes into their belief systems. I was discussing this not long ago with a gentleman who was getting his degree in filmmaking, and we got into a lively debate, although we were pretty much on the same wavelength. He told me it was funny, because while you need artistic creativity, you also have to appeal to the audience's beliefs.
If you don't, they won't like the movie, and they won't tell their friends to go see it, and therefore it will be a bomb or a bust. I explained to him that accuracy is quite important as well, and while he agreed, he also explained that if the movie doesn't make money, those screenplay writers, directors, and movie producers won't be able to produce anything else in the future. He explained that the movie industry is quite harsh in many regards.
He explained to me that the trick was to put in the various stereotypes, but have a storyline which went behind the scenes, and told of the differences behind the stereotype, in other words on the surface the stereotype was there true enough, but behind the scenes was a real person, albeit a character in the film, which wasn't like the stereotype that all. He said that was hard to do, but he had those sorts of scenarios in each and every film that he had ever produced while working with his friends on projects at the film school. In fact, they have one which should be ready for the next Palm Springs Film Festival coming up.
You see, it's hard to change people's minds and belief systems, and you have to make your film believable, which is actually more important to its success than accuracy. Therein lies the rub, and the challenge for all good filmmakers. It was so great to talk to him and get his perspective, because now I understand what they are dealing with, and how much impact the art of filmmaking has on our population. Please consider all this and think on it.
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