Why cinema has become stupid (and whose fault it is)

frafiomatale (78)in #cinema • 11 days ago (edited)

❗This is the English version of the post Perché il cinema è diventato stupido (e di chi è la colpa), originally published in Italian in the ITALY community.

An intense rain envelops the two protagonists, making the atmosphere particularly dramatic. A play of glances, a few tears blending with the rain from the sky, an unmistakable gesture and then the run—toward each other—destined to end only in an embrace and in a tear-jerking soundtrack.

A fine ending, one that sooner or later—whether at the cinema, on broadcast TV, or on one of the countless streaming services available today—every viewer has come across at least once.

A poetic conclusion, with dialogue reduced to a minimum in order to leave the images with the primary task of telling the story. A small artistic touch, worthy only of the best directors and screenwriters, which we are seriously at risk of losing forever, because that silence has become a problem.

_{Image created with Leonardo.ai}

Yes, because scenes that were once considered the strength of an entire film have today become a hindrance, a negative factor to be avoided as much as possible in order to meet audience demands.
And do you want to know whose fault it is? The smartphone.

Many had noticed that something was changing in cinematic expectations, but it was an investigation conducted by the magazine n+1, later confirmed by several producers and screenwriters, that made it public knowledge: Netflix, the largest digital entertainment platform, is explicitly demanding a more explicit kind of cinema.

No more silent scenes, ambiguous dialogue, or actions and intentions of the protagonists entrusted solely to gestures or glances. Everything must be explained, to leave no room for doubt, and above all every action must be made explicit, to allow easy consumption even by a distracted audience.

_{Image created with Leonardo.ai}

And it is precisely here that the true key to this revolution lies. Netflix has realized that the average viewer increasingly tends not to grant exclusive attention to the show they are watching on TV, distracted by notifications, sounds, and images from their phone.

All major platforms have understood that the smartphone has now become an inseparable companion for most people, at every moment of daily life, even those dedicated to other forms of entertainment.

A true anti-short-attention strategy, in the spirit of “if you can’t beat them, join them”, which, while shaping itself around the needs of an audience that must be kept chained even when distracted, is showing on the other side a much less pleasant face of the coin.

_{Image created with Leonardo.ai}

Cinematic language has changed, at times giving the impression of having almost “dumbed itself down.”
The trend of new TV series such as You or Emily in Paris is to display a didactic clarity bordering on exasperating, especially for those accustomed to “old-school” cinema.

In short, even cinematic productions today increasingly tend to resemble podcasts.
But the long-term consequences could be even worse, especially for younger generations, who are increasingly accustomed to fragmented attention and at risk of losing the ability to interpret what is left unsaid.

Cinema was born to make us think and empathize, but it risks turning into an instruction manual, where neither of those things seems to be needed anymore.