Art and Entertainment

When discussing film with other cinephiles, I find there are various types of people with differing taste in film, to the point where one may pour scorn on a film that others hold in high regard, and vice versa. Sometimes, these tastes come to blows, and it is particuarly between those who prefer their film to simply entertain, against those that believe film cannot serve as entertainment, but purely for artistic purposes.

These art-film lovers may hate for example, Spielberg, because his movies aim for an audience reaction through emotional manipulation. His oversentimentality guides the audience into an intended feeling, rather than inviting stimulating thought. On the other hand, you have French New Wave filmmaker such as Jean-Luc Godard, whose films are statements, at their core intellectual and without any emotional bond to the audience. Which is the right philosophy?

I'm going to provide you with the definitive answer here: neither. Those in the school of thought that only art films have reason to exist are deluding themselves. Entertainment in film has as much right to exist as art. It is part of the art, with different aims, none of them inherently "wrong" in the bigger picture of the cinema. Take for instance, the Lumiere Brothers. When they displayed their actualities at the end of the 19th century, they were shown in the Cinema of Attractions. Yes, they were slices of real life capture on film, but their intention was to manipulate the audience into a state of shock and awe. Entertainment has been a focus of film since its inception, and it will continue to be.

Just as an art film should be judged on how well it succeeds in conveying its message through the techniques of the medium, so too should a Hollywood movie be judged on how well it entertains its audience through the same techniques. Every film should be looked at in terms of how well it reaches its target, or how badly it falls short of it.

Alien is designed to entertain, frighten and shock its audience through its careful use of suspense and mystery of the unknown in a claustrophobic setting. It delivers on these prerequisites. In the same manner, Blow Up is designed to provide an intellectual thought on the nature of reality, and the perception of reality. Again, it works. You should in no way accuse Alien of being worthless because it isn't what you want it to be, because it is essentially entertainment, as if that's a bad thing. You should in no way accuse Blow Up of being worthless because it doesn't entertain you. These are two different movies, both with two very different goals. They use the medium of film to reach that goal, with great aplomb. Although that is not to say entertainment cannot be intelligent, or art cannot be entertaining - far from it.

People say I am harsh on mainstream film. I'm not, but there is a lot of absolutely terrible mainstream film (that the majority of audiences are so willing to accept) and so little of my time to waste. Just as there is poor art film, there are rubbish entertainment movies, and we must discern between the good and bad on the basis of their cinematic qualities. I judge my entertainment on its own merits. If it's a horror, it should scare me. If it's a comedy, I expect to laugh.

There is nevertheless a great hypocrisy in those that question my distaste for various Hollywood movies, in that those same people have never given an art film the time of day. Those that ignore the "art film" are just as ignorant as the snobs that snub the entertainment aspect of the medium. Perhaps those people are to blame for the advent of the snobs, who could well exist as a form of backlash against the ignorance of the general public.

In answer to the big question, I will remain adamant that neither philosophy is correct, so if you are really a true fan, get on board and watch all the films you can. I believe that if you simply watch art movies, you are betraying your true self. If you simply watch entertainment movies, you are not experiencing cinema to its fullest extent. That is as snobbish as I will get. All I can say to those that are already pidgeonholed, is to simply branch out and watch more movies.

If a man has a Top Movies list comprised of American films made in the last ten years, I sense he has only scratched the surface. If a man has a Top Movies list comprised of only films no one has heard of outside the mainstream, I sense he is not telling the truth. If a man has the best of both worlds in his Top Movies list, I see a true lover of cinema.