Trashing a Culture of Trash

I had to laugh a little bit at this week's readings, namely the Adorno/Horkheimer; because reading it reminded me of some of the really pretentious film students I had classes with back in undergrad. I still remember one guy who airily said that after one has been studying film for awhile, one figures out which movies one does not waste time watching. *raises nose in the air*

While I do not share this mindset fully, I can kind of see where this mindset comes from, especially in our mass-mediated movie culture. There is such a high demand for at least one or two movies every week, that it's pretty much impossible that they are all going to be quality and unique. And when we take classes, go to theaters, or meet others that show us smaller movies that are under the radar - movies that, potentially, have had more care taken to ensure quality rather than quantity - it is easy to become discouraged or disgruntled at mass movie products. It only worsens when, as Adorno/Horkheimer point out, one realizes all of the promoted values and ideologies hidden beneath the surface of mere entertainment. One becomes homogenized not just in mass movie culture, but with a mass overall culture dictated by the minds of the few.

However, I also agree with Jameson in that assessments on pop culture such as Adorno's are misguided in their assertion that something mass-produced is immediately bad and all who observe it are doomed; especially with the implied elitism that comes from the alternative. I believe the main trouble with more "artistic" movies is that they are not made accessible to the public, sometimes in both senses of the term. Some films are just so obscure and against the grain that only die-hard movie buffs will even consider liking them. However, there are also several smaller, less commercial films that are quite good and liked by those who see them; trouble is, they're released in such small venues that even those who want to see them can't.

This is the most troubling aspect of elite movie culture that I see. However, this is not entirely the fault of the filmmakers or their audiences that may determine a film "cheap" the minute it becomes popular. What always kills me is when a smaller film, such as, in recent memory, "Sideways," Brokeback Mountain," Fahrenheit 9/11," and "Gran Torino," hit the top of the box office, and analysts act so surprised because usually audiences don't see these movies in mass numbers. Maybe they would if the films would get released in venues where more people could actually see them! This also allows a film to be in a spot where mass culture could easily find an alternative, if they so choose, to the big box office films that are often criticized. Often these films will be the only movies people go see because they are the only films they know about, and the only ones getting three theaters at the AMC Loews.

It is troubling that smaller films do not get the financing and release that they also deserve. However, an elitist culture surrounding these smaller films is also not wise, as it creates a sort of "club" that risks making everyone else feel like they're not capable of enjoying such films. It is the responsibility of both the mass culture and those who feel like they have gone against it to ensure that everyone has a venue for their own entertainment.