Scorsese, Marvel Movies, And You

Scorsese, Marvel Movies, And You

Photo source: Comicbook.com

Evelyn Beatrice Hall once wrote, in her 1906 work The Friends of Voltaire, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." Fandom is a fickle, mercurial, and passionate mistress. We in "geek culture" hold the media we view in such high esteem and regard that any form of disagreement, alternate viewpoint or dismissal of it as something "less than" is, to some, considered a personal insult or an attack likened unto heresy or blasphemy. Internet flame wars rage between fans, arguing which version or "cut" of a particular film is superior to others. Fans verbally battling over who should be the one true pairing or OTP of a fictional character (without going into the lengthy but necessary discussion on LGBTQ representation or lack thereof in media). It's become so volatile that even broaching subjects to put forth an opinion at all, let alone an unpopular one, is now considered a "hot take."

     Enter prolific and Oscar-winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese. Hailed as a visionary auteur for his classic movies Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy, Cape Fear, Casino, Goodfellas, The Departed, The Wolf of Wall Street, among many, many others. Countless aspiring screenwriters, directors, and filmmakers alike all look up to him as a  wellspring of cinematic knowledge. His stories are, if nothing else, undeniably human. From Travis Bickle's flawed and misguided view of the world in Taxi Driver to Leonardo DiCaprio's head-strong desire for money and notoriety in The Wolf of Wall Street, Scorsese knows how to make films about human drama in all its brutal, violent honesty. Despite the details of this paragraph, he really needs no introduction.

     In an October 2019 interview with Empire Magazine, Martin Scorsese spoke about the ever popular and ever profitable superhero film genre that has both made fans cheer and engorged movie studios wallets. "I don't see them," he said, "I tried, you know? But that's not cinema." The famous director then likened superhero movies, to which many attributed to meaning Marvel superhero movies, to be "theme parks." As per usual, the fandoms unloaded with both barrels. One side chastising the venerated filmmaker as a pretentious, out of touch film snob. Others defended Scorsese's comments, calling Marvel movies and superhero movies in general garbage or cinematic fast food, painting them as not worthy to be considered "true cinema" or "real movies."  

      This brings up the question, what is "true cinema?" Not to dive too deep into the etymology of the word, but it means basically "pictures that move." In a purely technical sense, all movies can qualify as "cinema." From Gone With The Wind to The Room, from Casablanca to The Emoji Movie. We often tend to, as flawed people, color our perspectives to the tune of our own personal tastes and preferences. Some folks will think movies like Scarface are "true cinema" in that they transcend their particular genre and speak about the human condition, in all its ugly verisimilitude. Others may look at it as a boring, overlong, needlessly violent screed on the evils of rampant ambition. Both viewpoints are individually valid.

      The conflict comes from taking our preferred tastes in medium (in this case, the kinds of movies we watch) as microcosms of our personalities and values as people. When someone calls a Marvel movie "utter garbage" or Citizen Kane "pretentious nonsense" or pick any horror movie as "vile, disgusting trash," we take it as a personal affront to our very being, or at the very least, an attempted shaming of what we enjoy as something "less than."

     I don't think Martin Scorsese is a "snob" for not liking genre movies or at least not liking the same kind of movies I like. He said he tried and it didn't work for him and that's all anyone can really ask of anyone else. But while I did find his comparison of superhero movies to theme parks a little bit dismissive, it was an apt metaphor in at least one regard, they engage the audience in an exciting and personal way and many people enjoy going to theme parks and riding the rides and experiencing some semblance of thrills, joy and excitement. It breaks up the monotony of their everyday lives and yes, provides an escape from the drudgery of the real world, even if for a couple of hours.

     Having said all of the above, his statement that "cinemas need to step up" is right in that folks do need to watch more than just the usual tights and fights fare. There are some pretty damn good dramatic or even independent films out there that deserve a lot more acclaim than they get. The Peanut Butter Falcon, which I reviewed earlier this year, was a delightful, warm dramatic film that I thoroughly enjoyed. There really is something for everyone out there if they're willing to look.

 
     According to IMDB, there's at least 10,000 movies currently released in 2019. Many of them aren't in theaters, going direct to video or TV or streaming. And even of that lesser amount, superhero movies take up multiple screenings. However, they're outnumbered by the majority of their contemporaries. I myself have watched more than my fair share of movies some would consider "true cinema" and found things to enjoy about them as well as things to criticize. Because that's what we do as viewers and especially as critics.

     Movies are meant to engage their audiences. They're meant to give back something to us for the time and money we've invested in viewing them. Whether it's a roller coaster ride of CGI action figures slamming into each other or a thoughtful character piece of a person slowly losing their mind to dementia or even a cheesy gore-filled slasher romp, if a movie engages with you, it's done it's job. Arguments can be made individually on whether or not it was a positive or negative experience, because art is subjective. It always has been. Not everyone will watch 2001: A Space Odyssey and see a masterpiece of film making. And guess what? That's okay.

      Captain America: Civil War doesn't have to be Taxi Driver. Shazam doesn't have to be The Godfather. The movies you like don't have to be like any other movie for you to enjoy them or consider them a quality cinematic experience. At the end of the day, no one can tell you what you like and what you think is a real movie or true cinema. That's something you have to decide for yourself. But can we at least not be condescending jerks to each other about it?