Cinematic Superhero

Saw a couple films at the Vancouver International Film Festival yesterday.

First was the pointlessly disturbing new Lars Von Trier film, Antichrist. Second was an Indonesian thriller called The Forbidden Door.

Both were needlessly violent and attempted to use gore and disturbing ‘taboo’ imagery to illicit a response. Of course, they were horror films, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. But, what mainly I took away from the day was how wasteful these films really are.

I haven’t checked out the budgets, but I know in both cases the investment of energy, resource, time and money are significant (as they are with all feature films). Yet to what end?

Even if you forget about all the hundreds of people who invested themselves into the production, were forced to LIVE the story for months on end, design the graphic images, dissect every detail of the script and then put it all back together again. Beyond the pay check of course, what impact does a project like this have one them?

And even if you forget those people, you’ve still got the audience. The images are disturbing and must embed themselves somewhere within the conscious/subconscious mind of everyone who endures the two hours of blood, and gore, and suffering. I can’t imagine anyone leaving those theaters in a more healthful psychic state than when they went in.

So really, what’s the dealio here? I’m not asking why these films are allowed to be made (I absolutely do believe in freedom of expression), but I don’t understand why the public discourse about the serious dangers of such works are not more widely and fervently expressed. Are these films not hugely destructive and violent acts perpetrated against the general public?

It seems to me they are, and I can not see any therapeutic or cathartic purpose for them to exists. They do not purge the soul, but rather corrupt it.

The idea for the title became before the idea for the blog.

First and foremost, I liked it for its irony. Cinematic Superhero. It’s a sad irony, because it reflects my initial (read ‘extremely naive’) desires when first entering the film industry. I wanted to save all of humanity with my stories. And of course the crazy part was I believed I would do it. I wanted to make movies that were so profound, that would so transform people’s perception about their lives, about the world, etc. that wars would end, that people would guns down, that they would stop destroying the earth for personal greed and instead would begin to find joy in the essential aspects of life; family, friends, nature, helping others and the environment…etc.

At the time it seemed so simple — so clear.

That was seven years ago. Almost exactly seven years.

Now, I have  slightly more more modest goals. No longer focused on solving all the world’s problems and saving the entirety of humanity, mainly I’d just like to make a living with with I create. I’d like to be able to write something and know I’ll be compensated for my efforts. I’d like to be approached to direct a project (and again be compensated for it), rather than having to sell myself at every turn. I’d like to have my own place to live, to know that I’ll be able to pay the rent regularly, and feed myself, so that I might set up a life and grow roots somewhere rather than chasing jobs across the content every year or few months…

This is what I would like. This is what I work for.

But, despite these rather mundane goals, I have not let go of my initial (read ’still perhaps naive’) desire to make a difference. I still want to affect change. I still want to make the wars stop, end poverty, heal the planet, and inspire people to lead healthier/happier lives with my work. I want to do my part. That remains constant. What has changed over the last seven years is the degree to which I believe any of this is actually possible.

There are a myriad of reasons why it’s so hard to tell the stories or create the work that one really wants to create. Many of the reasons revolve around funding and access to mainstream distribution networks (less and less so now with the web), but really I think it’s just the lack of desire for that type of socially relevant content.

Usually, I have found, as soon as one gets issue based with their ‘art’, they tend to lose any audience that is not already on board with the issue… ultimately it’s a preaching to the choir scenario, which, although not pointless, is hardly where any artist focused on change wants to find him/herself.

So those are the challenges: How to create something that is both appealing to a wide audience, but also meaningful, that is attractive to the bureaucratic funders and/or conservative execs, yet is progressive, creative and new? And then all the while, how to feed oneself, pay rent, and lead a balanced, happy and healthful life?

I’ve got on way too long and could easily go on for much longer…

… Yet, how does all this relate to CinematicSuperhero? I guess because, both the name, and the act of blogging reflect desire to continue working in this vein, despite the considerable challenges. Even thought I know it is naive, I want to keep striving to make meaningful film/TV/web content that moves people, gets them to examine their lives, and even maybe inspires some small evolutions along the way.