Why Are Films Important?

Chloe
Dec 29, 2019
7 min read

It's a question I've been asking myself a lot over the last few months. Why are films important? What purpose do they have in the grand scheme of life? Should anyone strive for that kind of career or should we all get our heads out the sand and become something useful like a policewoman or a small cafe owner (both options I considered previously)?

Asking these questions fills me with a strange kind of existential dread. Why on earth do I want to do this? What good will come of it? Am I just desperate for attention? For ages I was frightened that I may have made the wrong choice. One more JJ Abrams wannabe who will probably end up serving chips in the local McDonalds after being delivered a tray of cold hard truth that my ideas just aren't that good. Either that or maybe I will make it, just to discover that what I've made doesn't really matter. It's just a film, how could it?

Well, I decided this kind of anxiety wasn't really helping anyone so today I am going to try and find an answer, for myself and for any other budding filmies that might be feeling the same kind of existential dread over what the point of it all is.

1. Why is Art Important?

Yeah we're going to start getting real pretentious real fast.

Art has been around the same length of time that human life has. Ever since cavemen drew pictures in their caves, art has been one of our most primary means of communication. Some of those cave drawings even showed animals drawn with eight legs, suggesting that they were trying to create a sense of movement...

Throughout history art has been used not only to create a snapshot of life but also fictional landscapes. While books and the written word asked us to engage our imaginations to put together a picture, paintings and art asked us to de-construct the image itself, creating its own kind of visual language.

If it wasn't for art, a lot of what we know about ancient civilisations and our history would be lost. Not just that but art gives us a vivid picture of not just what things were like at the time it was made, but what the artist themselves were feeling. Art is something very personal and gives us a window into their innermost thoughts and feelings, even subconsciously. To use a famous and overused example, look at the Mona Lisa. It's a simple painting but there is a reason why it still connects with us today. That slight smile gives us a glimpse into the time it was made and the thought process of the artist.

In the words of our lord and saviour Lin Manuel Miranda:

What artists can do is bring stories to the table that are unshakably true—the sort of stories that, once you’ve heard them, won’t let you return to what you thought before.

he also said

All art is political. In tense, fractious times—like our current moment—all art is political. But even during those times when politics and the future of our country itself are not the source of constant worry and anxiety, art is still political. Art lives in the world, and we exist in the world, and we cannot create honest work about the world in which we live without reflecting it. If the work tells the truth, it will live on.

Give that man a medal. He's hit the nail on the head. Love ya Lin!

Read the full article here. It's a great read: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/12/lin-manuel-miranda-what-art-can-do/600787/

In layman's terms what Broadway Jesus is trying to say is that art is an imitation of life at the point it is created. However insignificant it may seem when it is created, this art has the capacity to change people's worldview. In-fact all good art leaves us slightly changed in one way or another. Therefore art is a cycle. Art inspires the people who then go and make the art.

We'll also get back to that political side too.

2. What classifies as Art?

Is the stickman drawing I did when I was 5 art? If I was to stick a lump of clay on a pedestal is that art?

According to the dictionary:

Art: noun. the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance. the class of objects subject to aesthetic criteria; works of art collectively, as paintings, sculptures, or drawings: a museum of art; an art collection.

The most important line there I think is "of more than ordinary significance". Significance however, depends on the person. What I find significant will be different to what other people deem significant. Therefore art is subjective.

So if people can find significance in my stickman drawing then it can be classed as art. Perhaps it's saying something deeply profound about armless families in houses that are the same size as them... deep.

That then begs the question... Is film art?

There are debates about this but strictly speaking if any visual medium you can attain significance to is art, then yes there is no reason why that shouldn't include moving images as-well. Just like any visual medium, film has its own language which our brains are attuned to. According to editor Walter Murch we may even be more attuned to film language than any other art because the way films are constructed, in a mismatched pattern, is very similar to how we dream. Personally I think that one is a bit of a stretch but there might be some truth behind it.

3. Film as Art

Film is a medium made up of several different other mediums. It merges written, visual and audio together in one big coherent piece of work. Those three are also broken down into different elements such as lighting, set design, foley etc. When you think of it like that film is kind of an art in an art in an art in an art. It's also probably the only form of art that requires as many people as it does. Film, unlike my stick drawings, requires a team of people to do well. Films have been made with very minimal crews but as a rule of thumb there's usually at least ten people involved to various degrees in the making of a film.

But then we have films like The Room and Shark Exorcist. Would we class these as art? If you can find significance in them then... well... yes. If not I would argue there is still artistry to be found in the films even if you wouldn't class the overall product as art.

4. Politics and Sociology

A while ago now I did a blog post on a film called Lady Chatterley's Lover, a film based off a 1920's smut book which has spent its whole life in controversy for its use of language and adulterous themes. In 1959 the book was brought to an obscenity trial in the UK where penguin books had to prove that the book was of literary merit in order for an uncensored version to be released to the public.

Basically they had to prove that the book was "of significance".

Long story short (if you would like the long story please read my blog post: https://owlglass.wixsite.com/coffeeandfilm/post/lady-chatterley-s-lover-class-sex-and-censorship) but Lady Chatterley's lover is responsible for why we have looser censorship laws in the UK. You can thank that trial for your fifty shades and mills and boon. You can also thank it for allowing writers the freedom to discuss themes of sexuality in their work. So sure, the work itself might not be anything to write home about (Even though there's definitely more to it than you might think) but Lady Chatterley began to change our political and sociological landscape just by existing! It has certainly inspired a lot of books, films and songs since.

This is a long winded way of saying that art can be bigger than just itself. Art can be rebellious and sometimes achieve real change by waking an audience up to an unexplored issue. Documentaries are a more up-front version of this but I would argue there isn't much difference between the overall impact of documentaries and that of narrative films or experimental. I think they all have their own merits and retain the possibility for inspiring change.

5. So... do all films have to be "worthy" to be worthwhile?

Through all of this you might be thinking "Gee thanks Chloe, that blank page has literally never looked more terrifying!"

Well, just for a second think about the films and TV shows you love and why you love them. For me Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Kingsman films and Pride come to mind. None of which changed the world. If they had never existed the world probably wouldn't look much different but I would be a different person.

If I didn't have Buffy I would never have realised that being strong doesn't mean not talking about your own feelings.

Kingsman taught me that it doesn't matter what background your from it just matters who you want to be.

Pride told me that who I was was ok and to be thankful for the life I lead.

So these films/TV didn't change the world but consciously or subconsciously they changed my outlook on life. Plus they are all very fun to watch.