Why has the much-criticized digital revolution been good for cinema?
In 1993, digital technology was transforming cinema; But now there is a threat to destroy it. Signs of this were there 28 years ago. The best-selling film of the year was "Jurassic Park," in which its dinosaurs satirically portrayed an evolutionary leap. Audiences were amazed by those surreal digital effects, every six minutes.
No major franchises or feature films were among the top 10 British films of the year. There were films such as Aladdin, The Bodyguard, and Coppola's Dracula, most of which were released in the United States in 1992. These days, it's hard to find a non-franchise movie that tops the sales charts, or even find six minutes of any of these movies without any special computer effects. digital technology has revolutionized content and form. What has intensified with the pandemonium is that streaming services are at the top of the table, and blockbuster movies are being streamed online as they are being released in theaters, and cinemas are struggling to survive and keep the screens open.
digital has not made things any worse. If we go back to 1993, apart from video, the only way to see old or blurry movies on terrestrial television or cinema was repertoires like the Prince Charles Cinema in London, which still still usually show Jurassic Park. We now know for a fact that we can see anything at any time and place, and there are so many choices. digital has democratized cinema. Plus it's not a win-lose game. Revenues for British cinemas are still higher than ever since 1970.
But much more has changed to improve the situation since 1993; The film industry was decisively white and dominated by men. Today, its intensity has slightly decreased. The seeds of progress were sown there, and that year Jane Campion became the first female director to win the Palme d'Or for "Piano," although we would have to wait until this year for a second time for a woman, Julia Ducorno. "Titan" to win this award. Tom Hanks won the controversial Best Actor Award in 1994 for his role as a gay man with AIDS in Philadelphia. The year of films like "Orlando", Sally Potter, "Malcolm X", Spike Lee and "What has love got to do with it?" And there were many other films.
Today, the space is significantly open for women, people of color, and people of different sexual orientations. Cinema has been enriched en masse for this volume of stories and perspectives, which guarantees its survival, not the advancement of technology. Guides are following in the footsteps of dinosaurs, but cinema is still evolving. It's up to us where his next destination is.
Source: Guardian
