Detheux Part 2

"If all that we see in Art is a form of entertainment that provides a respite from the harshness of life, we will increasingly demand more and more of the same (the "Prozac" in Part #1). If, on the other hand, we see that Art is not a respite from "the real," but a privileged way of deepening our experiencing and understanding of it, we will want to lower the level of "entertainment noise" we are constantly being bombarded with, something akin to saying, "Shut up please, I can't hear myself think!"

In Part 2, Detheux describes the differences between the U.S. and the French Trailers for the movie, Amelie.  I watched each one and was astounded by how right Detheux was about how dumbed down the American trailer was with the deep “In a world…” traditional trailer voice; this trailer contrasted terribly with the well thought out, well spoken trailer done for Europeans.  I never saw the trailer when the movie came out, I was in a “Foreign Film Phase” in high school, and saw it in Blockbuster and thought, “cool I’ll rent this.”  Had I seen the American trailer for Amelie, you bet your bottom dollar I would not have rented it; the American trailer makes it seem like a chick flick about a girl with dark hair who “saves herself.”  This is quite disappointing, and I can agree with what Detheux is saying 100%, and I’m sort of ashamed that firstly America put out that trailer, and secondly, Amelie didn’t win an Oscar!  Being a huge fan of the film is what got me fired up about this article, and really got me thinking about what films are made and what audiences are looking for in film; particularly American audiences.   

Perhaps I am lucky with my taste in film, and while I have a huge liking of Pixar and Disney films (for the most part), I also have a passion for foreign films (I believe inspired by my mother, who is also an artist.)  One of my favorite directors is Michel Gondry; he has directed movies in both English and in France; although I shudder to imagine the differences in the trailers.  Not only does Gondry raise the bar in writing, but he incorporates the most integrated and beautiful animation in his films.  The first film of his I saw that did this was Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a film in English, starring Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey.  While he told a love story, it was far from traditional, and it indeed showed me how film can prove that, as Detheux says: Art is not a respite from "the real," but a privileged way of deepening our experiencing and understanding of it.”  

To get away from all of this sameness of film, do we need to venture abroad?  The two films I listed as inspiring in my “Detheux Part 1” blog weren’t American made, so maybe that’s the problem.  Maybe Disney does have a profound influence on film in America.  While in my previous blog, I stated that it is good to be inspired, (a statement I still stand by), I think that we should take our inspiration and use it to make ourselves grow.  How can we take that which inspires us and change it to fit the present day?  How can we take that same story which inspired us and make it not so cookie cutter and predictable?  Artists need to be challenged, and Detheux called out artists, imploring them to open their minds to create new things, dynamic things, and in so doing, inspired me to look outside of the box.  Let’s say one day I want to tell a romantic story, while I could go for cookie cutter, “lady in distress, guy gets the girl,” why not test limits and push boundaries as Gondry did?  I was once told by a college professor, “Don’t make friends with artists who you’re better than; you’ll never grow as an artist.”  This is some of the best advice I’ve ever been given, and I feel like it can apply to the world of film and animation.  When studios work in a sort of sameness, and continue to hire story writers, directors, and animators who are willing to stay within the confines of societal pressure to make a film that “sells” but doesn’t test limits, then they will never grow as artists; their work will remain the same, and while it may sell, it won’t be remembered.  A perfect example of this is the work of Wes Anderson; his films are very rarely distributed in all theaters, like The Notebook, for example, would be.  His films push boundaries, and cause the audience to step outside of their comfortable realm of reality, into a surreal experience, and while the limited release doesn’t make billions at the box office, I find his films to be extremely memorable, and inspiring.  I wonder if Wes Anderson’s friends are better at directing than he is?