Marty and Marvel: What Is Cinema? (A student’s perspective)
Avengers: Endgame and The Wolf of Wall Street are both successful films. Both are critically acclaimed, and they were both financially successful in their ways. Both films played in movie theaters. The films have an emotional range of emotions, such as comedy and tragedy. However, one question has been in the minds of film fans for over a month: Are both of these films considered cinema?
Last month, acclaimed film director Martin Scorsese made comments about superhero films, in particular, those belonging to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In short, Scorsese said the films are “not cinema” in his eyes. This single comment has caused a lot of uproar on both sides of the film community.
Where did he say it?
The original comment came from an interview that Scorsese did with Empire Magazine, in which he compared the films to theme parks. This comment drew uproar from not only the fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe but the filmmakers of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. James Gunn, director of Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel, expressed his displeasure with Scorsese’s statements, and those comments were backed up by the director of The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron, Joss Whedon.
Scorsese further continued to attempt to explain his initial comment in subsequent interviews, but he just continued to upset more and more people. One of those comments, in particular, has caused some issues among student filmmakers. At the Rome Film Festival, where he was promoting his latest film The Irishman, Scorsese elaborated on his stance on Marvel films, “the theaters support the films. But right now, the theaters seem to be mainly supporting the theme park, amusement park, comic book films. They’re taking over the theaters. I think they can have those films; it’s fine. It’s just that that shouldn’t become what our young people believe is cinema. It just shouldn’t.”
Small comments cause more issues
The main issue young filmmakers have taken with that statement is that Scorsese believes that young people should not look at Marvel films as cinema. There is an inherent issue with this. The definition of cinema from Miriam Webster is “a motion picture.” By definition, Marvel films are motion pictures. If there is an argument of quality, there is a way to shut that down as well. Every single film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has a “fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes. While most of the films all have different ratings, they are all acclaimed by the majority. There are many moments in films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe that have emotionally resonated with filmgoers. One such moment is the funeral scene for the character Yondu from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. This scene is seen as one of the most emotional and moving moments within the 23 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by many people. Student filmmakers can look at this scene as an example of how to visually convey emotion within a scene.
In Comparison…
Now, Martin Scorsese can have his own opinions about films, and that is fine. Art is subjective. You cannot, however, have an opinion without even exposing yourself to what you claim to have an opinion. In his initial comments, Martin Scorsese said, “I don’t see them.” Unlike Scorsese, the majority of the general public has seen films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Last year, Black Panther grossed $1.344 billion at the worldwide box office and was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. This year Avengers: Endgame became the highest-grossing film of all time, making $2.797 billion at the worldwide box office. The film is also sitting at 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film is an achievement that is the culmination of 11 years of filmmaking and 23 different movies that tell a cohesive story.
These accolades are not to take away from all that Scorsese has achieved during his illustrious career. Scorsese has made multiple films that have been nominated for and won Academy Awards. His last film, Silence, was nominated for Best Cinematography and his movie before that, The Wolf of Wall Street, was nominated for Best Picture. The bottom line is, all films are cinema, no matter how good or bad they are. All films serve at least one purpose to entertain. Some may also try to get a message across, some may not, but all films strive to delight an audience in some way. In essence, Avengers: Endgame and The Wolf of Wall Street are one in the same.
