In the pursuit of Cinema over the past four years, I've seen so many views, ideas, people, fights, delusions, and critical analysis, both from the good and the bad.
The primary and the most important aspect of the art / business of Film-making (meditation or whatever else you want to call it), is the Filmmaker or the Director. The whole world knows and adores the famous and illustrious Actors, but for a thriving film industry, the talents of strong filmmakers matters the most.
Although Cinema had its supremacy in the past, I don’t think it can change any society as a whole. Cinema can have minor influences in good and bad ways in our present conditions. However good Filmmakers have the power to influence and impress generations.
Yes, “GOOD Filmmakers” is subjective. It may vary according to the industry, business aspect or it can purely depend on the art value. But both do exist, even though most people involved, including some Filmmakers, are always DUMB enough to be at loggerheads with each other.
So the breed of Filmmakers is an interesting case study. These creators range from humble, reclusive, and eccentric, to the loudest and the most pompous freaks of nature, who claim to know the formula for success. The wide variety in personalities makes all of them unique. So it is indeed logical that in cinema, all these people will make all sorts of films, from Docu-Dramas to Hyper Realism, from Art House to Summer Blockbuster Commercial cinema.
The laymen, or the general audience, choose what they want according to their needs. And accordingly some films get critical acclaim, and some make millions of dollars at the box office, and many do strike a balance.
Art house veterans ridicule mainstream or commercial cinema, and the commercial guys return in kind or just ignore. But one of the DUMBEST things to witness is the extreme arguments and fights between the Filmmakers regarding which is better or good. The animosity is as old as the history of cinema itself. No matter how much you dislike any form of cinema; there will be an audience for it. It can be a niche or it can cover a wide majority of the world’s population.
I indulge in extensive research and analysis about filmmakers, genres, different aspects involved in film-making. Also have arguments and fights, but I do have a limit and it will never reach an extreme most of the times. I do make an effort to understand but certain times I do let go. I refrain from wasting my time by discussing things after a point. I love most genres except for extreme commercial cinema were Logic is nonexistent and the other extreme of self-indulgent cinema, absurd works which makes sense only to the ones who've made it; but still I wouldn't ask them to stop.
Cinema is primarily an art form for entertainment, and through that entertainment one can have beautiful and meaningful experiences. Identify your strengths and explore.
Happy Film-making…
Cheers
Pradeep Kumar
