More than once I read articles through the writer's strike about the entertainment industry is on its knees.
Always written in the tone that it would be catastrophic if this century-old tradition disappeared.
Would it be catastrophic if it did?
We confuse comfort with needs.
If a thing that's been around a long time and has been a crucial part of your life, and the lives of many people, is taken from the aggregate of comforts we've become used to, it might feel traumatic.
Movies have shaped the culture and collective imagination of the world in the 20th century.
But would it be catastrophic if filmmaking as we know went away?
The fact that Hollywood has been around for so long and has not changed significantly is in itself a self-administered death sentence.
It means the industry has been resistant to changes.
They've resisted the changes imposed in them from the tech industry, and they've kept their business model against the success of smaller venues like Blumhouse and A24.
When I was a kid movies were an escape from the reality of where I lived.
The big screen truly felt magical and movie stars felt like demigods that existed in another realm.
But movies haven't done that far me that much anymore.
And I'm sure there's lots of other people who feel the same way.
There's a variety of choices for entertainment that offer far more than content, and are more cost effective to produce.
So I'm okay if the entire system completely collapses.
I'm sure something will replace it.
Perhaps something more equitable.
Something without so many gatekeepers.
So many arbiters of good taste, telling us what is worthy of our attention, what is not. Why do and so should win the Oscar, and why do and so shouldn't.
Something that doesn't bank its entire year of revenue on 1 or 2 tentpole movie events.
Something that is open to different budgets and truly has something to offer to ALL audiences.
Something that doesn't repurpose classic characters in demeaning ways, while claiming that they're improving them.
Something that truly dares to push boundaries, even if it means upsetting a few people.
Hollywood seems to want this too, even if they're not openly stating it.
Their recent creative choices are speeding up their own demise.
Even if Hollywood disappears, people will still make movies. The most passionate filmmakers in the world are the ones who can do without Hollywood.
To me, it seems they got comfortable. They took their success and the ubiquity of their politics for granted, and forgot they actually depend on an audience.