Flattening the Bell Curve
From Today's NY Times ...Given that so much human endeavor is condemned to mediocrity - like it or not, we spend most of our lives in the fat, undistinguished middle of the bell curve - it is hardly surprising that many of these pictures turn out not to be very good. But the very worst films achieve a special distinction, soliciting membership in a kind of negative canon, an empyrean of anti-masterpieces. It is this kind of bad movie - the train wreck, the catastrophe, the utter and absolute artistic disaster - that seems to be in short supply.
And this is very bad news. Disasters and masterpieces, after all, often arise from the same impulses: extravagant ambition, irrational risk, pure chutzpah, a synergistic blend of vanity, vision and self-delusion. The tiniest miscalculation on the part of the artist - or of the audience - can mean the difference between adulation and derision. So in the realm of creative achievement, the worst is not just the opposite of the best, but also its neighbor. This year has produced plenty of candidates for a Bottom 10 (or 30 or 100) list, but I fear that none of the bad movies are truly worthy of being called the worst. And this may be why so few are worthy of being considered for the best.
Full Story
posted by Friends of McDougal @ 4:14 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I love A.O. Scott. I wish he lived in my attic and would come down and punch me in the kidneys every time I got lazy or stupid in my writing.
I've actually discussed this article quite a bit with fellow film enthusiasts. There is a lot of confusion over what Scott is saying here. To me, it comes down to: great risk can create great results or horrendous results. Convention produces predictable but boring results.
He's saying that the current environment doesn't lend itself to creating any movie that lies outside of the formulaic Hollywood structure ... which prevents any real bombs from hitting the screens, but also prevents any truly extraordinary movies from showing up either.
I think he's looking for Big Hollywood to give artists more creative freedom and accept edgier movie ideas -- accepting a few bombs for the sake of finding really unique gems in the rough.
Post a Comment
<< Home