Kepler
Si certus es dubita
Re: Batman Vs Superman, And Oh Yeah, Suicide Squad: Movies Thread
There are always some, sure. I'm talking trends. There are short periods when the quality and marketing biorhythms line up and longer periods when they don't.
I assume ability is evenly distributed over all time (because, as I may have mentioned once or twice, I believe nothing ever changes). What varies is that talent is both given opportunity (or not) according to the business environment and challenged to do better work (or not) by the intellectual environment. Those environments are constantly changing, like the rise and fall of continents. There are short times when the base land is already above sea level and talent is given an opportunity, and you get a whole herd of really good films. But statistically the smart marketing move is ordinarily to appeal to the lowest common denominator, both by investing in dumber but more accessible writers and directors, or by smart directors and writers pitching their material low brow to pick up the bigger check.
Now -- during those periods, a few fluke undersea volcanoes still erupt and manage to produce mountains. In fact I think the corollary is that the greatest movies of all time should be evenly distributed, and I think history bears this out. Genius will out.
But for the "first rate second rate" talents, they are subject to the vicissitudes of their period. Preston Sturges made movies that are very entertaining, well crafted, and clever. Steve Spielberg made movies that are very entertaining, well crafted, and inane. The difference may merely be that Sturges happened to be lucky enough to be standing on dry land, competing with others who were pushing him to aim as high as they could. Or he may have simply been working before the Great Disenchantment, when it became popular to say all claims to relative superiority are parochial or elitist.
Point is, if you're a genius you can make a masterpiece whether you live in Italy under the Borgias or cuckoo clock Switzerland. But if you're anybody else, you take what comes.
There are always some, sure. I'm talking trends. There are short periods when the quality and marketing biorhythms line up and longer periods when they don't.
I assume ability is evenly distributed over all time (because, as I may have mentioned once or twice, I believe nothing ever changes). What varies is that talent is both given opportunity (or not) according to the business environment and challenged to do better work (or not) by the intellectual environment. Those environments are constantly changing, like the rise and fall of continents. There are short times when the base land is already above sea level and talent is given an opportunity, and you get a whole herd of really good films. But statistically the smart marketing move is ordinarily to appeal to the lowest common denominator, both by investing in dumber but more accessible writers and directors, or by smart directors and writers pitching their material low brow to pick up the bigger check.
Now -- during those periods, a few fluke undersea volcanoes still erupt and manage to produce mountains. In fact I think the corollary is that the greatest movies of all time should be evenly distributed, and I think history bears this out. Genius will out.
But for the "first rate second rate" talents, they are subject to the vicissitudes of their period. Preston Sturges made movies that are very entertaining, well crafted, and clever. Steve Spielberg made movies that are very entertaining, well crafted, and inane. The difference may merely be that Sturges happened to be lucky enough to be standing on dry land, competing with others who were pushing him to aim as high as they could. Or he may have simply been working before the Great Disenchantment, when it became popular to say all claims to relative superiority are parochial or elitist.
Point is, if you're a genius you can make a masterpiece whether you live in Italy under the Borgias or cuckoo clock Switzerland. But if you're anybody else, you take what comes.
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