In one
of my classes at college, my professor discussed seven mistakes movies make.
Today, I've discovered seven other mistakes movies make.
1) Copycats, Remakes, and Video
Games make great movies
For
some reason, Hollywood thinks they can make a successful picture by going over
the same material over and over and over again. "Star Wars Episode VII:
The Force Awakens (2015)" for me is a great film. The only drawback is
that it literally used the same script as "Episode IX: A New Hope."
If
you've seen either "Olympus Has Fallen" or "White House
Down," there's no reason to see the other movie because they are actually
the same. The only difference is that one is a right-wing serious action film,
while the other is a left-wing comedy action drama directed by a man who
decided to steal the plot of “Olympus.”
Also,
Disney within the last few years has decided that they need to make live-action
films on their old animated classics. This ruins the joy and experience of
watching the cartoon classics by destroying the theme and associations fans
have about these classics. For instance, the new "Jungle Book" film
has the snake Khan voiced by Scarlet Johansson, a woman. I guess they wanted
Khan to be more sinister than the male counterpart voiced by the guy who played
Winnie The Pooh.
A
solution to this mistake is for more young adult and aspiring filmmakers to use
their creative skill and talent to make original films in their experience.
There's plenty of material for them to work with by not resorting to limiting
themselves and their capabilities through following Mainstream Hollywood's
practice.
2) The Russians are always the
bad guys
Honestly,
this mistake may not be false. After all, for seventy-one years since the end
of WWII, the Russians (or Soviets) were the enemies of America. With the Cold
War raging, it’s no surprise that films reflected this viewpoint. The original
"Red Dawn" has the Soviet Communist and their Cuban allies invading America
and starting WWIII.
It
doesn't help that dictators like Stalin and Putin ruled the Russians. The
Russian people themselves aren’t condemned here.
It also
gives the impression that only Russians are bad guys, which isn’t true because
of the world we live in. For instance, the 2011 remake of "Red Dawn"
originally had the Chinese invading America, but the filmmakers changed it to North
Koreans supported by Russians.
3) Kids and young adults are
stupid
Without
going into the horror/slasher film genre because it is full of older teens to
early-mid twenty-year-olds who do stupid things that get them and everyone
around them killed, I'll focus on films from other genres in the film industry.
The
Boy in "The Road" acts like a spoiled child when his dad (Viggo
Mortensen) doesn't trust an old man (Robert Duvall) or leaves a man to die
after robbing them because he knows nothing about the world. Even though he's
supposed to be a light in a dark apocalyptic world, he acts like he'll never
know how cruel the world is.
A
solution is films where "young adults are strong, well-developed, and
three-dimensional characters. Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth) in "The Expendables
2" is real because he's not stupid and actually is working to make a
living for himself and his girlfriend, instead of remaining in the group. Too
bad he gets killed before he has a chance. (That one's on Sylvester Stallone.)
Another
solution is coming of age films. The young adult protagonist matures over the
course of the movie, becoming stronger as he or she becomes the man or woman
they're meant to be and is real. Keni in "Brother Bear" becomes a man
by becoming a bear and learning how to truly love someone. Jim Hawkins has to
go on a treasure hunt to be a responsible and real man in "Treasure
Island," realizing that he's become a better man than the boy he was
before by "sticking to it" and having "the makings of greatness"
within him.
4) Soldiers are bullies or idiots
Since
many of the people in Hollywood today grew up during the 1960s, an era where
many young people rejected all authority and American soldiers, it makes sense
that they would portray the military in a negative light.
The
soldiers in James Cameron's "Avatar" offers the best example of
soldiers
as bullies because it has a strongly anti-human, anti-military message. The
soldiers, except Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), are revealed to be merciless
aggressors against "peaceful" people, which is how liberals see
American soldiers who fought in Vietnam, as well as those fighting in the
Middle East and serving their country today. The soldiers are not treated as
individuals just fighting to protect themselves and provide for their families
in the struggle of warfare.
This
is one extreme on the spectrum. The other has soldiers, with a few exceptions,
being made up of idiots who make people wonder how they got into the military
in the first place. Every soldier in "Aliens," also directed by
Cameron, is a cocky numskull, and at the end of the film you don't care that
these "Space Marines" died.
The
solution: films where "soldiers are flawed, ordinary human beings."
This category has soldiers who exemplify the traits, qualities, and
characteristics of a real man: honor, courage, strength, confidence, boldness,
etc. "Saints And Soldiers" is a good example because the U.S.
soldiers in this film have their faults and strengths as men. None of them are
perfect because none of us are. We can only be the best version of ourselves we
can be.
It
doesn't help that the U.S. Military today has fallen from his high standard of
being made up of honorable and courageous men and women. Or that our culture
emasculates men, portraying them as barbarians, beasts, or wimps.
One
solution to change Hollywood's perspective of soldiers to somewhere in the
middle. This plan rests on the military to reform itself from within so that we
can honestly say that our servicemen and women are strong and of high moral
integrity.
Another
is for more young Catholic filmmakers to portray our military in a positive
light, while being realistic because not every soldier is the best of humanity.
They're ordinary men and women just like us.
Finally,
there must be a calling among young Catholic men to be real men, because then
they can have the strength and fortitude to resist the culture and be real.
5) Shutting them down is better
than changing them
Whenever
an organization experiences corruption, that organization needs to change
itself from within. That comes from placing good men and women in its ranks,
not shutting it down forever.
Yet
several Hollywood films and TV series result in these organizations, especially
law enforcement, being shut down because a few members are not honorable and
revealed as corrupt.
In
"The Mentalist" series, the CBI (California Bureau of Investigation)
as a result of Patrick Jane's (Simon Baker) hunt for the serial killer, Red
John. This comes after his team's boss, Gale Bertram, is a member of a secret
organization of bad cops and politicians. In effect, Teresa Lisbon (Robin
Tunney), her team, and Jane are stripped of their role as law enforcement
agents. And right when they're trying to catch a notorious killer.
There's
no reason why the FBI has the power or is strong enough to make the CBI
non-existent, especially when several FBI agents are part of this secret
organization. Especially after several FBI agents in the show are arrogant,
corrupt people who ruin people's lives. The work that Jane and Lisbon do to
solve crimes and protect Californians means the FBI has exercises force outside
its department. Just like every department of the government.
Also,
in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," S.H.I.E.L.D. is shutdown by
the government after Cap learns that Hydra has infiltrated the organization.
This just goes to show that the government in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
cares nothing about protecting ordinary citizens because, outside the Avengers
and the U.S. Military, no other force is capable of counterattacking Hydra.
A solution is to reform the organization instead of shutting
it down completely and put hundreds, if not thousands, of people out of a job
and tarnishing their good name.
6) Stop fighting a good fight
We see
this in baseball all the time. Pitches are thrown, words are exchanged, and two
players go at it. Usually one of the players is dirty and deserves what's
coming to him, or it is just friction.
But
then someone gets in the way and stops them. Usually a whole team.
The
same applies to movies. One of the protagonists wants to punish someone who
deserves it, but people stop him. That person doesn't have to be the main
antagonist.
In the
pilot episode of the show "Chicago P.D.," the protagonist tries to go
after a crooked cop commander because this guy's actions resulted in the death
of one of his men. But he's unable to punch his face in because there's a wall
of cops holding him back.
A
solution is to just leave the protagonist to himself and let the other guy have
it.
7) Everything is humanity's fault
This
mistake pretty much says that humanity is responsible for everything that goes
wrong. It implies that we, as humans, can't change ourselves and our ways. This
is seen in films about global warming. "The Day After Tomorrow" holds
humans responsible for bringing about a new ice age because we're not willing
(in theory) to protect our environment until it's too late. In real life,
another ice age won’t result from global warming.
One
solution is to avoid “Go Green” films. Global warming has become too political
for audiences to take in with an open mind when they go to see a movie. It’s
the reason why “Tomorrowland” did poorly at the box office. It came off as
cheesy. It would have been better if the movie focused on being an adventure
tale where the “advanced” robots in the “perfect” world of Tomorrowland want
humanity to die because of the imperfections that make us human, such as love
and self-sacrifice.
All of these
mistakes ruin a movie and its believability. They each find ways to make
realistic films even harder. That makes it harder for moviegoers to enjoy
the entertainment films have to offer. Hopefully now that I’ve addressed these
mistakes, you can avoid making them in your own stories.
