“We cannot depend on the film industry, as it is, to take care of cinema”, writes Scorsese in a new essay on Federico Fellini.
Martin Scorsese criticizes the film industry in a powerful new essay on Federico Fellini, published in the March 2021 issue of Harper’s Magazine (read the full essay here). Entitled “Il Maestro”, the essay finds Scorsese increasingly poetic in Fellini’s filmography and using the icon of Italian cinema to argue why the magic of cinema is now being lost amid the onslaught of content launched by film studios and film companies. streaming. Scorsese recognizes that streamers benefit his career (without Netflix there would be no “Irishman” and without Apple there would be no “Killers of the Flower Moon” on the way), but he writes “the art of cinema is being systematically devalued, left out, demoted and reduced to its lowest common denominator ”by the concept of films as“ content ”.
“Only 15 years ago, the term ‘content’ was heard only when people discussed cinema on a serious level, and it was contrasted and measured against ‘form’,” writes Scorsese. “Then, little by little, it was used more and more by people who took control of media companies, most of whom knew nothing about the history of the art form, or even cared enough to think they should. ‘Content’ has become a commercial term for all moving images: a David Lean film, a cat video, a Super Bowl commercial, a superhero sequel, a series episode. It was linked, of course, not to the theatrical experience, but to the exhibition at home, on the streaming platforms that came to overcome the experience of going to the cinema, just as Amazon surpassed physical stores. “
The packaging of all moving images as fair content “created a situation in which everything is presented to the viewer on equal terms, which seems democratic, but it is not,” continues Scorsese. “If the later view is ‘suggested’ by algorithms based on what you’ve seen, and the suggestions are based only on the subject or genre, then what does that do with the art of cinema?”
Scorsese adds: “Curation is not anti-democratic or ‘elitist’, a term that is now used so often that it has become meaningless. It is an act of generosity – you are sharing what you love and what inspired you. (The best streaming platforms, like the Criterion Channel and MUBI and traditional channels like TCM, are based on curation – they are really cured.) Algorithms, by definition, are based on calculations that treat the viewer as a consumer and nothing else. “
Later in the essay, Scorsese writes that “cinema and the importance that it has in our culture” have changed and that film fans “cannot depend on the film industry, as it is, to take care of cinema”.
“In the cinema business, which is now the mass visual entertainment business, the emphasis is always on the word ‘business’, and the value is always determined by the amount of money to be earned from any property – in that sense, everything from’ Sunrise ‘to’ La Strada ‘to’ 2001 ‘is now practically dry and ready for the’ Art Film ‘swimming streak on a streaming platform, ”says the essay. “Anyone who knows cinema and its history should share our love and knowledge with as many people as possible. And we have to make it very clear to the current legal owners of these films that they represent much, much more than a mere property to be exploited and then locked up. They are among the greatest treasures of our culture and must be treated accordingly. “
Scorsese concludes: “I suppose we also have to refine our notions of what cinema is and what it is not. Federico Fellini is a good place to start. A lot can be said about Fellini’s films, but here is one thing that is indisputable: they are cinema. Fellini’s work goes a long way in defining the art form. “
Scorsese’s next film is “Killers of the Flower Moon”, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone. The Apple-Paramount-supported film goes into production in the first half of 2021. Visit the Harper Magazine website to read Scorsese’s new essay in its entirety.
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