The audience sat with looks of anticipation on the edge of their seats, absorbing the previews and was delighted with what Hollywood had to offer them over the next few months. I, on the other hand, looked at this in a different way. What I saw was a line up of fantasy films spotted with a few comedies. It was a reflection of the times that we are in. When the economy is on the downside, Hollywood knows that America wants to escape from the reality of life. They know we are looking for fantastical heroes that will save the Earth and make everything alright. We long for those wonderful characters that always prove that good prevails over evil.
It was that way in the 1970's with George Lucas and Steven Spielberg giving us "Star Wars" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" when there were issues with oil and gas prices. In 2008 there was a summer of "The Hulk", "Iron Man" and a Batman movie - all there to deter attention from the recession. And now we face another summer of fantasy flicks to help ease our minds of the economy and the national deficit.
Seeing the way that Hollywood and Americans handle their entertainment choices in these hard times it is no wonder that it is easy for the country as a whole to turn a blind eye to the problems our nation is facing. Distracting ourselves with fantasies and not facing the realities is allowing politicians and big businesses to make decisions for us and to go unchecked. Believing that good always trumps evil has enabled these people in power to make terrible decisions on our behalf because we believed they would use these powers given to them responsibly.
It is so common to hear people complain about the state of things in the economy - but then turn back to their daily lives and do nothing. They wait for someone else to take action for them and save the world from a terrible injustice - just like in the movies - they are waiting for their Super Hero to come along and save the day.
But wait - what's that?!?
It's faster than a spending politician!
More powerful when you buy locally!
Able to leap tall piles of imported products in a single bound!
Look up into the sky!
It's Jobs! It's Opportunity!
It's Captain Buy American!
Sincerely - Amanda Schalau
Average American!
Amanda, what can we do to help you with this? I have a company Southern Bancard Services in Monroe. We have Mission:Give Back to give back to local communities through merchant services. We would like to join forces with you and bring awareness to Buying Locally to help build our communities. Feel free to call me at 318.855.6504 office or cell number is 355.9816
ReplyDeleteRusty Custer
I'm not sure how much the selection of new movies correlates with the current state of things. One could argue that if more movies showing people who were struggling to make ends meet were made, that people would love those movies because they would be able to relate, to feel encouraged.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the the types of movies that are out there are following their own movie trends and super heroes are in.
Anyway, my point is that I feel one can't be sure that these movies are being shown for the reason you say they are.
However, I agree that they help in the distraction. People need to take action, be part of the world around them instead of living within the small scope of their families, hoping to get through life as comfortably as they can as things fall around them, as people suffer around them.