Authentic Characters Not Special Effects Makes Movies Special

Dear Hollywood,

As an outsider, movie watcher, critic, fan, couch potato, scholar here is some advice. It is really simple. You should know this stuff. Character development is important. That is why reality shows are popular, they are about real people with stories that are on some level genuine. I love well-done science fiction and fantasy programming, because people and relationships become an essential piece of bringing the narratives “down to earth.”

Identifiable characters is the thing that emotionally invests me to movies. Without interesting characters, you are making soulless, self-indulgent crap (popular music has also lost its soul, but that is a topic for another day). I no longer wish to support lame, superficial and poorly marketed movies through my patronage. Maybe I’ll catch your new thing when it comes onto cable or Netflix. Or maybe I’ll watch 10 minutes of it, decide that it is not worth my time, and change the channel.

The only movies I want to see this summer are sequels. It is because I am already emotionally attached to the characters. In addition, your marketing tactics are not persuading me to invest in new stories and characters. Quality television programs are more interesting to me, since I care about the people and because of that, I care about the plot and situations presented to me. So let’s start focusing on that, not on blowing stuff up, and selling sex in a vulgar way. I’m no math whiz, but good acting and writing cost a lot less than CGI. Special effects and visuals have a place in movies, but it is the focus as the story is now secondary. Is it made to appeal to foreign markets or the shallow Americans looking for spectacle? I get that you have a bunch of new tools to use, but it doesn’t mean a thing without the right context, characters, or cohesive events.

Then we have movies nominated for academy awards, some are good others are dripping with pretention. Another trait of current movies I dislike is being preachy (trying to sell me a political or philosophical point of view). I also hate the recent crop of romantic comedies and the portrayal of desperate and co-dependant women, with a regressive view of relationships, although plastic attempts of feminism are made. In these movies characters are important, but if they are repulsive and annoying (without intention) or plastic stereotypes (without irony)it doesn't matter.

Sincerely,

Natalie