It seems we are living in the age of empty spectacle. It's truly staggering to think of just how far CGI technology has come in the last two decades. And yet to me it's even more staggering to think of how much we've squandered it. Our technology has evolved, but out storytelling has stagnated, has been hurled to the wayside to make way for profit and spectacle.
Look at older movies made with primarily physical effects for a moment, movies like Brazil or Alien or — here's a sad thought — The Fifth Element. Physical effects and sets are far more costly than CGI, so there is an incentive to make sure that the costs are worth it. And those movies deliver! They rollick, they terrify, they despair and delight, they make you feel! Ask yourself, when was the last time a movie made you feel something?
Nowadays, for every Pan's Labyrinth or Moon, there are innumerable 300s or Avatars or Watchmen or Episode III: Attack of the Clones. I couldn't have come up with a more fitting title for Attack of the Clones if I tried. It was artificial, soulless, so wrapped up in its own self-importance that it forgot to have a point. Far too many films lately have been nothing but blind spectacle, ultimately short-sighted in their fanatical visual focus.
Make no mistake, the affordability and ease of CGI is nothing but a bonus to any filmmaker. The problem is when all efforts are focused on making sure the arterial sprays are rendered in perfect detail and no attention is left to make sure something of substance gives purpose and worth to the film. These films may be visually dazzling but ultimately they are hollow experiences.
The problem is not with CGI. The problem is never about the technology, it's about the human reaction to the technology. We have a tremendous gift, but we lack the responsibility to use it well. My prediction is when we get past the novelty of CGI we'll start seeing a lot more mature, responsible films made with CGI instead of puerile and soulless husks. Because ultimately this is about soul.
But don't take my word for it when there's someone far more eloquent:
Ahem, the title of Episode III was, in fact, Revenge of the Sith; Attack of the Clones was, in fact, the second, and indeed the lamest, installment of the Star Wars prequilogy, thank you very much.
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