Same Old Same Old

Extremely conventional editorial by Brian C. Anderson (author of South Park Conservatives) in the LA Times. It's the old "Hollywood-is-failing-because-it's-out-touch" claim. Nothing to get excited about--conservatives write this one on autopilot while they're thinking of something original to say.

You know the story. Movie attendance is down this year. (Mind you, even when attendance isn't down they make the same argument.) Why? Because the messages behind the films go against what the mainstream wants. While this might be part of the explanation, it's hard to ignore other factors, such as newer media (including DVDs) that have people entertaining themselves.

Anderson points to the conventional (cliched?) messages behind blockbusters like The Incredibles, Lord Of The Rings and Spider-Man. Hmm, looks to me like the secret formula is special effects and a whole lotta violence. (The biggest hit out right now, if you look at cost-to-profit ratio, is a film of relentless sadism, Saw II.)

What's most maddening about this dusty dust-up is the surprising strength of the meme that says attendance dropped in half in the 1960s, when Hollywood starting getting "countercultural." This stat is based on a flawed study that has been tirelessly promoted by Hollywood enemy #1 Michael Medved. In fact, the greatest drop in attendance was from the late 40s to early 60s, as television took over. Since the early 60s, attendance has been fairly stable.

PS For some reason, Anderson chooses Bonnie And Clyde (1967) and Shampoo (1975) as examples of Hollywood being "anti-establishment." These films, both starring Warren Beatty, were huge hits--Hollywood wishes it could turn out more stuff like this. Anderson then tries to dismiss them anyway, saying Bonnie And Clyde is only 850th on the all-time money list, but even he must know you can't compare grosses from different eras. Taking inflation into account, Bonnie and Clyde is one the top 200 all-time grossers.