Films, Deconstructed is a blog based around some observations I’ve had about movies and the state of film for decades–emphasis, decades. I felt that this needed pointing out, because I’ve been accused of being a “millennial” by detractors. (I’ve actually called out both millennial and GenZ culture many times, especially in my critique of Cloverfield in Why I Think Cloverfield (2008) Sucks Now.) So, let’s get this out the way–not a kid, not “born yesterday”, and actually old enough to remember when many of the members of the Golden Age of Hollywood were still alive and kicking.
The blog uses the term, “deconstructed”, because one of my aims is to show that there has always been more to movies and filmmaking than meets the eye, in contrast to the Civil Libertarian viewpoint that it’s “just entertainment.” All movies–in my opinion– are shot, written and directed from a particular bent, with a particular aim in mind.
This bent or aim may not necessarily be evil, wrong or sinister. For example, the aim of rom-coms of the 1930s and 40s was to encourage restless young bachelors and bachelorettes to settle down and create a family. Wartime films shot at the heart of WW2 were made to strengthen America’s resolve against the enemy and encourage patriotic activities (such as buying war bonds). The biblical and religious films of the 1950s and 60s were shot to fortify America’s religious identity.
The list goes on and on. This usage of film for the sake of something ulterior is no less true today than it was 60 or 70 years ago. It’s just that Civil Libertarian creatives have been lying about it. Ever since the Hays Code was dissolved in the 1960s, Hollywood creatives have been playing fast and loose with the idea that they’re just “free agents” who write and create movies for the sake of themselves and their audience, as opposed to on behalf of religious, political or cultural institutions. Therefore, according to this logic, none of their movies have agendas. As I hope this blog will demonstrate, this has never been the case.
