MARVEL IS ‘NOT CINEMA’?

‘I said that I’ve tried to watch a few of them and that they’re not for me, that they seem to me to be closer to theme parks than they are to movies as I’ve known and loved them throughout my life, and that in the end, I don’t think they’re cinema.’

WHAT IS HIS ISSUE?

Now I have to be honest, I absolutely adore Marvel movies and wanted to jump on the bandwagon to defend them immediately. Then I had a rethink, what’s his actual issue? This certainly isn’t a random person who is jealous. This is Martin Scorsese and if you know anything about cinema I don’t have to tell you what he’s done in the film industry. In this day also every single comment is taken out of context and I wanted to know more about where he’s coming from. Then later I found he wrote an article which cleared up everything and made his point very succinctly. I’ll link his article in the New York Times to anyone who wants it but I’m going to go through his main issues with Marvel and how they change the ‘art form’ of cinema.

One of the issues is of supply and demand, not just that though, it’s the ‘chicken-and-egg issue.’ Essentially, if you keep giving people one kind of thing and keep forcing it on them, that’s all that they’re going to want. Very valid in the case and point, consumers can be very gullible in the sense that they will watch what is put in front of them and search for little else in some cases.

Another issue which I think his whole argument centres around is filmmakers. Not only that but the fact that there isn’t a chance for them to be able to bring something to the table but also the case that the ‘financial dominance’ that these films may overpower others and take over cinema.

‘In many places around this country and around the world, franchise films are now your primary choice if you want to see something on the big screen.’ Scorsese makes an argument that does ring very true. The last Marvel film that came out was Spider-Man: Far From Home which made $1.1 billion worldwide. So there is no denying how much of a powerhouse it is in terms of the money it makes.

There is also the point of the shock value. ‘I know I’m going to see something absolutely new and be taken to unexpected and maybe even unnameable areas of experience.’ He doesn’t believe that Marvel movies can give to new areas of experience and shock the viewer.

Scarlett Johansson having been in the MCU and having her own Black Widow movie come out later this year was asked about the comments and made a point on what she thought he meant. What was also interesting was the point she made on the accessibility of cinema as a leisure activity itself. Rightly arguing how cinema itself has become slowly inaccessible and why people find domains like Netflix and Hulu so appealing. Which Scorsese himself has used as an avenue to release The Irishman.

WHY I DISAGREE

To bring it full circle I want to explain what I believe Marvel movies bring to the table. Not to be a Marvel defender to the death but just to show what I believe they can bring to the table.

My first point is the diversity it brings, in the past two years we have gotten a film with the lead star being an African-American and a woman. Even the director role brings in new and exciting diverse people to be able to build their repertoire. For so long the film industry has been so centred around the stories of white men and how many times you can flip that. It still is to a certain extent, but the barriers that they have been able to push through is only helping the industry become more inclusive. I think that’s the conversation that needs to be had more urgently and certainly one for me to mull over in another blog post.

This is a personal one for me but how it helps for escape can’t be ignored. There’s something about franchise films that create a universe for you to be able to delve into more than a standalone can. They have arcs and go through motions that despite being in a fantastical world are very real and grounded. Despite their popularity there is still a case to be made for the thoughts and effort from taking these characters from comic books and putting them onto the big screen.

Then to counter a Scorsese point. His issue on supply and demand. These movies come with mountains of source material in the comic books, so for many consumers there is really something at stake, they need to believe in these characters and believe themselves that its not just some sort of money grab by the filmmakers. Even if there wasn’t such a spectacle with these movies people would still see them because there is meaning behind them just because it isn’t as traditional as your other movies doesn’t mean it isn’t good.

The first Marvel film, Iron Man, made $585 million worldwide and then to bring back what the last Marvel movie made Spider-Man: Far From Home which made $1.1 billion worldwide. The former is no mean feat however, this just proves that consumer needs to have it proved to them that these movies are worth watching and are not just surface level because there is no way people would see it if they were being given the same exact thing over and over.

MY DEFINITION OF CINEMA

I understand part of his point as a filmmaker but I guess that falls much more on the people trying to make movies also, throughout Hollywood and beyond. I don’t agree however with his argument because it makes the consumer sound stupid, like we can’t pick and be intentional with what were watching, that we cant see deeper into these films and the arc they create and that’s why we like them, they aren’t surface films they do have more meaning to them than fighting and explosions.

That being said I truly believe that more people should become intentional with stepping out of their comfort zone to watch different types of movies.

I asked a friend to define cinema for me because I couldn’t find a definition good enough to explain what it does for me and he graciously agreed to help and let me use it here so thank you Harry!

‘A form of escape from the monotony of everyday life. It’s a chance to live the life of someone more interesting and more exciting for a short amount of time. I’m not good at expressing my own emotions wither and I feel sometimes a film can give me a way of doing that.’

I agreed ten fold and how important because it can change our lives and give us so much thought not only into the movie but into ourselves. It changes our life. So I guess what I’m trying to make the point of is the fact that these films have worked very hard to cement themselves into the place they are and that’s why they are such a staple in cinema. That’s why they are important to me and so many people. They allow that escape and if you go into them not trying to guess the next move they give you something interesting and do have the shock value also. They can give you pride to believe in yourself. That there is good in this world and that I can see myself on a screen that isn’t playing a slave, gang member or some other negative connotation that stops minorities from being the positive roles that they are clearly qualified for. Again I can’t stress enough they are so much more than the credit they are given.

For me cinema changes, moves and forms into different things. Different ways to be brought to the table. Some issues he brings up are true and others seem to come from very conservative thoughts in the sense that it feels very elitist. In the way that there should be only certain forms of cinema and the ones that aren’t are ruining the whole form together. I don’t believe that is the way forward. I truly believe we do need to find a better way to include everyone without belittling one.

CONCLUSION

‘Cinema is the most beautiful fraud in the world’-Jean Luc Godard

I do believe were meant to be tricked by cinema, we try and guess cinema and we ruin the illusion it tries to play on us. There is something great about coming into a film without any expectation of the outcome to be shocked is a beautiful part of the art.

Ultimately I’d still love these movies if they weren’t big blockbusters because they are more than just surface movies and they still are a part of cinema. Across the United States and Canada 786 movies were released in 2019, Marvel released three of them. They dominate cinema in terms of financial scope but certainly not time and I don’t think that’s their fault. I think there has to be more said on how inaccessible cinema has become for some people also.

Marvel isn’t just explosions to me, it is character arcs at the base and that’s why I believe people connect so deeply with these characters just as in films that are his definition of cinema.Watchers of these kinds of film don’t take kind to sloppy writing it has to be embedded and mean something. It is still a part of cinema.

Cinema every year becomes more and more inclusive and branches further and further out, it becomes new and moulds into something different with every new movie. Just this year the amount of films that have come out that have been incredible in their own right without huge buzz before hand has been astounding.

All in all these movies are never going away so they has to be a better way to be more all-round inclusive. Scorsese makes some very valid points because there is an issue with people not going to the cinema anymore and in a sense franchise films do have quite a bit to answer for. However, there are so many factors and year after year better films are coming out in all genres.

Cinema is in a great place for me however I do believe as with everything there is room for improvement. Scorsese makes great points and he knows far more than me about the film industry but to understand the mind of the consumer is to understand his point of why people love these movies so much and help us all be more together and inclusive ultimately.

See you next week,

Gabrielle De Cordova-Harris

(Stats from STATISTA.COM and Scorsese quotes from NYTIMES.COM)