The Movie and Video Production industry is marketed at a mammoth $25.8 billion as of 2022 in the U.S alone. With around two point two million people currently employed in the film field it is plainly a crucial factor in this nation's economy. Further, film holds its reputation for continuously having an effective and substantial cultural impact. Film has put an important spotlight, critique, and commentary on many social issues and continues to inform and inspire a large audience. The artistic medium has been around for more than a hundred years and has yet to even approach its zenith. But this growing potency of such a powerful medium that is only increasing in accessibility and interest from people all over the world is becoming strangely alarming. Can film still be de fined as an art that holds the importance, shrewdness, and courage it traditionally has retained?
People consume immense quantities of media almost everyday and often a person is not too quick to thoroughly digest all of the details. The abundance of films that are released every year make it easy for many to be for gotten and never given the attention they need. Movies made for certain audiences can be outshined by bigger releases and many films can just be lost in the fast stream of what people expect to entertain them. Further, less and less people are even watching films in general. The rise of bite size media is overpowering the yearn for worthy movies. Many young people prefer a TV show or a YouTube video in exchange for two hours of a single story. It is becoming increasingly clearer that the power and impact film formerly possessed is being eluded and markedly neglected by heavy heads and a shorter attention span. The question arises: why should someone even consider watching a multiple hour long movie when they can find a detailed synopsis of it on the internet under 10 minutes? A close friend of mine, who'd prefer to stay anonymous, brands them self a survivor of "Movie Recaps," a subsection of YouTube that focuses entirely on reducing beloved films to their crude plot points. "I tell myself it's just one more recap, but it never is" they told me. "I was mindless and I couldn't escape for the longest time."
There are so many people that suffer daily from the raw addiction of "Movie Recaps" that willingly consume their spoon-fed media with little question. It may seem as if people do not have multiple successive hours to spare, yet they do not hesitate to exhaust valuable time on YouTube videos and TikTok which can seem quite contradictory. So in reality it seems to be less of an argument of availability, but appeal. What appeals to the everyday busy person? Short and easy media has become the popular answer and is not going to change anytime soon. The same way film is becoming easier to individually produce, so are YouTube and TikTok videos and because there is a bigger appeal for the latter, film is suffering social power. The short videos that are made by individuals are produced quite quick and plenty while the longer films made by individuals take time and are almost never satisfactory (because student films suck lol).
We are seemingly nearing another cultural and technological renaissance and when this comes film will fall even further. Many a person may say that the younger generation is actually much more interested in film because of its current place in society. Though this is contradictory due to the fact that the average young adult in the U.S, from 18-25 years old, has only watched 2-3 films in their entire lifetime. I myself have watched 4, being American Psycho, Taxi Driver, Blade Runner 2049, and Pulp Fiction. I say my world view has been perfectly refined by these movies alone and is a reason why I solely stand high above my peers. I have also never once watched a TikTok or YouTube video, so I am still able to laugh with all of my friends (I have so many) when they tell me a joke, instead of saying "I heard that one on TikTok you freak!" At the end of the day there is no way to stop the oncoming and imminent reckoning of film so we must enjoy it while it lasts. Perhaps I will indulge myself in a 5th movie!