Bryson on Eberts

In his Tuesday discussion, Jake Eberts spoke at length about the major movie studios' dichotomous handling of fiction and nonfiction film. Eberts noted that in many cases, the stratospheric budgets of so-called fictional productions (as opposed to the more modest budgets of nonfiction films) are designed to arouse the senses and immerse the viewer in a synesthetic and ethereal dreamscape. This is achieved with the help of computer-generated or aided images and elaborate special effects of all kinds. Hence, it comes as no surprise that these large-budget movies tend to lend themselves to highly stylized and fantastical narratives and settings1. The skyrocketing profitability and popularity of the use of 3-D technology promises to continue the trajectory. So distracted are viewers by the novel implements of this enhanced viewing experience that they haven't the leftover brainpower (let alone willpower) to appreciate any attempt at subtle narrative. To be sure, the canon of popular modern film has shown that it doesn't take 3-D technology or hundred million dollar special effects to inspire chronicles of inexorable vapidity,2 but they certainly aren't working against the trend. As James Cameron's sprawling opus Avatar evinces plainly, if they already know the story3, they can concentrate harder on grinning through the dizziness at the dazzling, fire-and-brimstone missile assault on Hometree. In Avatar, Cameron deliberately avoids creating unique characters and original plot elements, referring instead to the most familiar and obvious stereotypes and archetypes embedded in the Anglo literary canon. By creating the ultimate cultural allegory, Cameron has created a non-product, devoid of any actual content or commentary. After all, the average consumer of entertainment product has little patience for problem-solving.
Steeped in the foetid waters of the same culture pool, celebrities like Britney Spears and Fergie (to name only two) display a similar penchant for allegory. A structurally unoriginal (though highly stylized) sonic framework supports uttered references to various archetypal norms ie. going to the club, being noticed and perceived as 'cool' by others, obsession with materialism and sex, etc. This slideshow of snapshots of what has become normative pop culture weaves no new narrative nor interpretation. Thus Avatar and "Party in the USA4" are rendered postmodern simulacra. That is, they are wholly constituted by representations of and references to popular images, providing no intrinsic contribution, no seed of newness, themselves. It is narratives like these that will spell out the future of our collective cultural vocabulary. What will happen to our cultural narrative? Our stories? Will our stories be beautiful? Will they be subtle? Will our stories be banal and prosaic, informed by the ever-shrinking emotional lexicon of generation McDonalds? One thing is for sure: the market asphyxiation by the major movie studios and the Texas Board of Education alike are trying like hell to eliminate the tools that our society requires in order to make that choice for ourselves. This underscores the urgent need for localized creative cultural expression and production beyond the reach of conglomerated capital power. Vibrant localized markets can and must sustain themselves in the face of the virtual infinitude of conglomerated media's marketing might.