Perhaps it won't be income inequality or the rising tide of fascism that leads to America's next civil war, but instead the opinions of director Martin Scorsese. After all, he continues to share his unsurprising opinions that Marvel movies aren't true cinema, and Marvel fans continue to lose their collective shit over it. Up next? Marty has written an op-ed.
And no, it's not just some meandering Medium post. Scorsese called up his pals at the New York Times to publish a piece entitled "I Said Marvel Movies Aren't Cinema. Let Me Explain."
Responding to the people who were offended by his repeated claims that Marvel isn't cinema, he wrote, "Some people seem to have seized on the last part of my answer as insulting, or as evidence of hatred for Marvel on my part. If anyone is intent on characterizing my words in that light, there's nothing I can do to stand in the way."
He continued: "Many franchise films are made by people of considerable talent and artistry. You can see it on the screen. The fact that the films themselves don't interest me is a matter of personal taste and temperament. I know that if I were younger, if I'd come of age at a later time, I might have been excited by these pictures and maybe even wanted to make one myself. But I grew up when I did and I developed a sense of movies — of what they were and what they could be — that was as far from the Marvel universe as we on Earth are from Alpha Centauri."
He goes on to offer a lengthy film history lesson, exploring what cinema means to him. "Many of the elements that define cinema as I know it are there in Marvel pictures," he admitted. "What's not there is revelation, mystery or genuine emotional danger. Nothing is at risk. The pictures are made to satisfy a specific set of demands, and they are designed as variations on a finite number of themes."
He went on to compare Marvel movies to contemporary filmmakers like Paul Thomas Anderson, Claire Denis, Spike Lee, Ari Aster, Kathryn Bigelow and Wes Anderson.
"When I watch a movie by any of those filmmakers, I know I'm going to see something absolutely new and be taken to unexpected and maybe even unnameable areas of experience," he said. "My sense of what is possible in telling stories with moving images and sounds is going to be expanded."
Of course, Scorsese's op-ed did not end the debate but only ignite it further, meaning we'll somehow keep talking about this in the months to come.
And no, it's not just some meandering Medium post. Scorsese called up his pals at the New York Times to publish a piece entitled "I Said Marvel Movies Aren't Cinema. Let Me Explain."
Responding to the people who were offended by his repeated claims that Marvel isn't cinema, he wrote, "Some people seem to have seized on the last part of my answer as insulting, or as evidence of hatred for Marvel on my part. If anyone is intent on characterizing my words in that light, there's nothing I can do to stand in the way."
He continued: "Many franchise films are made by people of considerable talent and artistry. You can see it on the screen. The fact that the films themselves don't interest me is a matter of personal taste and temperament. I know that if I were younger, if I'd come of age at a later time, I might have been excited by these pictures and maybe even wanted to make one myself. But I grew up when I did and I developed a sense of movies — of what they were and what they could be — that was as far from the Marvel universe as we on Earth are from Alpha Centauri."
He goes on to offer a lengthy film history lesson, exploring what cinema means to him. "Many of the elements that define cinema as I know it are there in Marvel pictures," he admitted. "What's not there is revelation, mystery or genuine emotional danger. Nothing is at risk. The pictures are made to satisfy a specific set of demands, and they are designed as variations on a finite number of themes."
He went on to compare Marvel movies to contemporary filmmakers like Paul Thomas Anderson, Claire Denis, Spike Lee, Ari Aster, Kathryn Bigelow and Wes Anderson.
"When I watch a movie by any of those filmmakers, I know I'm going to see something absolutely new and be taken to unexpected and maybe even unnameable areas of experience," he said. "My sense of what is possible in telling stories with moving images and sounds is going to be expanded."
Of course, Scorsese's op-ed did not end the debate but only ignite it further, meaning we'll somehow keep talking about this in the months to come.
