Response to Sontag: Superheroes, Sequels, and Netflix
Susan Sontag makes the argument that because of the growth of consumerism in the film industry, that cinema and cinephilia are now dead. I agree with the criticism that movies have suffered under the “hyperindustry,” but I do not agree that cinephilia has taken a fatal blow. There is no denying that consumerism has spread deep into Hollywood, with the 21st century seeing film makers pandering to wider and wider audiences through a lack of originality and exponentially growing availability. Sontag points out that many movies nowadays have neither the poetry nor depth of 20th century films. While there are exceptions to this judgement in the form of successful original films such as The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), the vast majority of movies in past years and years to come are mainly superhero films, reboots, and sequels. Marvel Entertainment and DC Entertainment are notorious for their respective “shared universe” movies based on their companies’ comic book storylines and characters. Each has a smorgasbord of titles and a timeline extending to the 2020's with adaptations and sequels.
Even Pixar, a company that in 2003 endlessly lorded its originality and creativity over Disney’s sequels, has itself started to become a sequel factory. The “superheroes, sequels, reboots” formula has worked well for Hollywood, with seemingly nearly every movie (except Marvel’s latest Fantastic Four reboot flop) setting some opening weekend box office record. The lack of creativity required for continuous superhero films where the source material is so extensive and detailed goes relatively unpunished when crowds flock to see the movie and millions of dollars are made.
Sontag also claims that cinema has died because the traditions of film have (supposedly) died at the hands of consumerism. With the masses’ demand for films to be released online, especially with the booming popularity of Netflix, Hulu, and Plex, there is the idea that people no longer value phyiscally going to the movie theater. This point I disagree with and I use to show how cinephilia has not died. Though yes, watching movies at home and online has become a staple of the decade, this has not devalued seeing films at the theater. Go to any premiere or opening weekend for a Harry Potter or Star Wars or Batman movie and you will see lines out the door of the building. While maybe the cinephilia of the 20th century is not as prominent in today’s movie-going crowd, I see it as not dead but diluted — rather than a pure love of all films, today’s group is picky and instead only cares for some genres or franchises or even only the work of some artists. However, what remains constant is the love of getting lost in the world created on-screen, which is such a key idea that its being retained means that cinephila is not down for the count.
