Awards
Page
Index *
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2005 Year
in Review
The Great Divide
by
Nathaniel R December 29th, 2005
Pg
1 Introduction / Pg 2 Honorable Mentions
/ Pg 3 Top Ten
"Everyone
who comes here has the same intention"
Ostensibly the moviegoing experience is a universal one. Common thinking goes like this: movies are a populist artform. They're supposed to reach across all social strata, race, and religion. But there's something about 2005 that seems to have been frozen in the amber of 2004: the balkanization of movie-loving. Last year's favorite media-inflated (or created?) story was the red state/blue state divide as embodied in the fanaticism surrounding The Passion of the Christ and Fahrenheit 9/11. Those poster boys may now feel ancient (hey, it's pop culture) but the deep rifts appear to have stuck around.Of course it's more complicated than Republican vs. Democrat, though you'll still find the ol' donkey and elephant mixed into the 2005 rifts. The most prominent example? There are people who object to the very existence of the gay romantic epic Brokeback Mountain but to their adversaries the film is a godsend. But, politics and personal freedoms aside, the divides are more noticeable than before. Some people want films to speak in some way to the here and now. Some want to be challenged. Most seem to ask only for a good time. But the movies themselves don't seem to be crossing the divides. It's hard to find a film in 2005 that speaks to everyone.
I've noticed for some time that the Oscars are trending further away from popular movies. But here's the catch: The taste of the Academy voters hasn't really changed all that much. They still like their prestige dramas, period pieces and biopics. It's the public that seems to have no use for once very popular genres. They prefer sequels, remakes, fantasies, tentpoles, and video-game ready fare. You'll hear griping in the media and from fellow moviegoers about the plethora of remakes and sequels. But Hollywood is following the publics lead. This year's moneymaking top ten has three sequels, one new tentpole, two remakes, and four comedies. Not one drama appears. Long gone are the days when something like Kramer Vs. Kramer would be a huge critical success, a box office smash, and an Oscar winner. Hard to picture a film being all three, right?
In thinking on this I decided to look at the ways we look at movies. Outside of the rarified realms of film festivals, academia, and cineaste circles, and our own personal response (impossible to duplicate) the movies tend to be viewed through only three prisms: money, acclaim, and media chatter/buzz. I was wondering if the lineups were at all similar. So I constructed this little table. Box Office. Acclaim. and Buzz. Only buzz cannot accurately be measured but I did my best to come up with a bakers dozen of titles that I feel are most relevant to what the media & moviegoers were talking about this year -- the common reference points if you will.
SW e3: Revenge of the Sith
Harry Potter (atGoF)
War of the Worlds
Wedding Crashers
Charlie & Chocolate...
Batman Begins
Madagascar
Mr & Mrs Smith
Chronicles of Narnia
Hitch
might displace Hitch
~still rising~
King Kong
A History of Violence
Brokeback Mountain
The Squid and the Whale
Capote
Good Night & Good Luck
Grizzly Man
2046
King Kong
Caché
Kings and Queen
likeliest to rise up
Constant Gardener, Munich, Crash, Match Point
(bakers dozen)
40 Year Old Virgin
Batman Begins
Brokeback Mountain
Cinderella Man
Crash
Good Night & Good Luck
Harry Potter (atGoF)
March of the Penguins
Mr & Mrs Smith
Munich (&) Syriana
Sin City
Walk the Line
Wedding Crashers
You'll notice right away that no films appear on all three lists. That's partially the result of the breadth of titles released and partially this divide in perceived artistic merit, media interest, and moviegoing habits.
If the "sky is falling" story of plummeting box office continues while more politically minded films seem to be on the ascent we could be entering a period not unlike the 1970s for American cinema. This is a best case scenario of course. Worst case? The moviegoing experience will continue to die. Hollywood will continue to churn out sequels and remakes with a lack of regard for innovation and quality. The public will continue to let marketing and their own unadventurous entertainment needs rule them, unable or unwilling to think outside of the multi-million dollars of advertising leading them to the same instantly familiar titles. It kind of makes you wonder though. If The Squid and the Whale had the marketing dollars of War of the Worlds would it hit big? Does marketing acerbate these divides or does it only reflect them.
And will we ever all agree on a crossover success? But enough of the past and imagined futures. Let's move on to the here and now. Here is my present as a filmgoer...
Read On
Underappreciated & Honorable Mentions
and
My Top Ten of 2005
