Hollywood movie - what that actually means? In search of the obvious category.
Sometimes we talk about production, that it's a typical Hollywood movie. Hollywood is an interesting category. Does using this term mean that production is American? Not necessarily. Does it mean that it is popular? Usually. Let us consider today what is under this term and why Hollywood can be everywhere.
Let's start with geography. It would seem that the "Hollywood" movie is clearly associated with one place - the center of the American film industry which is California. This is where the filmmakers came (previously American cinematography developed in New York) seduced by cloudless skies, warm weather and the most important - light. Few people think about it, but the warm, unique light of California has become for many of us the determinant of what this unreal corrected world of cinematography looks like. However, the geographical determinant can be misleading. First of all - as we all know, not every movie produced in the States meets the requirements of a Hollywood movie - the productions of American independent, proprietary cinema, almost directly oppose this Hollywood cinema. At the same time - Hollywood is a center so strong that its followers appear all over the world. Today, movies that could be described as Hollywood movies are almost everywhere. The best example of this infection are recently French romantic comedies. Curly by the best or who prefers the worst American designs. Besides, we also see a great inspiration from behind the great water in this genre. It is hardly surprising - the Hollywood movie most often manifests itself in strongly conventionalized genres, and it is difficult today for more subjected conventions to genres than romantic comedies.
We must therefore recognize that Hollywood is more than just a geographical indicator. Let's take a look at what is also synonymous with Hollywood - that is, the film industry itself, and more specifically - the business approach to film production. In this aspect, Hollywood would mean primarily a "production film". How should it be understood? It would be those films in which the ambitions and requirements of the producer and not necessarily the artistic vision of the director are of paramount importance. Even more - the director's place here is completely secondary - he is rather a skilled craftsman to do the job. The film itself, treated primarily as a product, would be very precisely tailored to the viewer and, above all, released to the market with the thought that it is only part of a wider plan to sell products. In this aspet it would be difficult to find a more Hollywood movie than ”Transformers”. Sure Michael Bay is recognized as the creator whose ideas reflected on the series, but above all it is a movie that is supposed to bring big profits, to be liked in China and to sell gadgets and toys. The quality of such a Hollywood movie can be assessed only after the box office receipts - because this is the main purpose for which the production was made. If the film sold and brought profits to those who invested in it, we have success. No matter what critics say. In this, Hollywood would not be an identification with the actual place or even space created by the films but with a certain production model. One in which, for example, there is no place to support financing a film by any state institutions that can make the profitability of production lose its importance.
At the same time, a system of large film studios and movie stars is needed for such Hollywood to survive. Maybe not as formalized as when it experienced its boom during the System's formation but still significant. Without large film studios that implement long-range plans and create a series of productions that are able to sell not only film but also accompanying gadgets, it would not be possible to launch high-budget productions in which millions of people are put in to take out more. In order to ensure a good functioning of such a system, not only powerful producers and the right flow of funds are needed, but also the right names, thanks to which you can quickly assess whether it will ensure profitability of production. This is why the stars are necessary, although today the contacts of big studios are not as strict as decades ago, still young actors showing contracts for a series of films fall into a kind of trap relating to a series of films for many years. The more successful they are, the more they will be worth, but the less they have freedom. Generally, the most important thing here is not so much talent but market value. Hollywood, therefore, would mean - in a sense - bringing the actor to his name, and going further - to the market value of his name. At the same time, the value of the actor does not have to be demonstrated by his film field activities - it can be popular for other reasons, which, however, work in favor of production. From time to time, a new person joins the pantheon of such recognized stars, whose characteristic will be one important thing - it will be cheap. The new actors in Hollywood - whether from abroad or from the country, go to the big industry mainly because they can be paid less than the recognized one. The difference in rates is enormous.
Well, but Hollywood is not just about production. What seems most important to us is the two elements that we can observe ourselves. First of all - subject matter, secondly aesthetics. Let's start with the subject - there is no doubt that at first glance, what distinguishes the Hollywood movie - regardless of where it will be implemented its conventionality. Regardless of whether we get a romantic comedy, a spy movie or even a fantastic story - everything will be played according to recognized patterns. In the adventure film genre, we will get a confrontation between good and evil, a clearly outlined hero, a side romantic thread, a message - by nature in the case of an optimistic adventure. If we reach for the romantic comedy, it will fill the classic pattern of history about the original lack of understanding, which turns into an interest that will turn into a feeling - and this will triumph over the vicissitudes and misunderstandings. If we get a spy or detective movie, the production will match the character of the hero (if referring to the cinema noir - the hero of the broken) who is confronted with the corrupt world (in the literal and moral sense) - the investigation will only seem to lead to the discovery of the plot, in fact the detective mystery will let us get to know the character better and bring him to some truth about himself or the world. Although it is not obligatory, the happy end of the films is an important element of cinema. An open or sad ending does not completely contradict the Hollywood narrative but rather appears on its periphery. In the center there is a good ending - the triumph of good over evil, the restoration of order, the sense of accomplishing the mission. The viewer should emerge from the cinema, he was convinced that there is some order, order, a set of principles that survived. Even if we are dealing with melodramatic production - which in nature ends badly, in fact this sadness also falls within certain established frames and conventions and, above all, confirms the importance of sacrifice or romantic love.
The unresolvable moral dilemmas present in the independent cinema, troublesome situations boring social, political or human problems - are not the favorite themes of the Hollywood movie. It is characterized by the element from which such productions escape - naturalism but not understood as an aesthetic means as an approach to the reality that the viewer knows and can feel it on his own skin. Meanwhile, escapism is an extremely important element of the Hollywood phenomenon. This type of cinema is not so much about being a record or a reflection on reality, but rather a way to escape to a nicer and simpler world. This does not mean that the Hollywood movie will never take a difficult or political topic. But if it does, it will take it according to his own convention. The story of political scuffles will be told through the prism of the triumph of honest journalism, the history of slavery - through the prism of individual strength, the story of the Holocaust - even in the most difficult times some people will behave decently. What's more - even in such cases, films that address difficult issues are not affected by a certain aesthetic and ethical world order.
Another thing is aesthetics. It seems that in the layer of aesthetics, the popular American film is the most readable. Everything is a matter of proper filtering of reality. So first of all we have to do with a nice world, nice people. Even if the film is dark, it is aesthetic darkness. However, in the majority of cases, an important element of the narrative is the world that is colorful in nature, interesting, almost cleared of what the viewer might not like or too much to remind him about his own life. It is a world that even showing real places and people is able to capture them so that they look more attractive, interesting and simply nicer. In addition, in the case of production with a large budget, special effects play a significant role - whether used to create new worlds, to fine-tune that already existing or simply to make some explosion in the background. In the Hollywood shot, everything from the big city to the province is in the same parallel reality, which is a better-illuminated version of what we know. It can also be said that in recent years product placement has become an important element of Hollywood. What is important, well implemented, so that the viewer would rather not notice that something is being advertised to him but he was convinced that the characters live in a nice world with a nice thing.
Going further, one could avoid the controversy as one of the determinants of Hollywood. At the same time, it would be mainly about propagating ethical and moral attitudes with which the largest group of people would agree, respect for the basic symbols of culture and referring to such a vision of social systems that is as widely accepted as possible. Hence, any changes occur in the Hollywood production slowly - because although the deviated usually a bit more to the left is at the same time quite conservative - more often triggers discussions by accident rather than specifically. A good example will be a kind of prudishness of manners - where sex exists but it is always shown and presented so that it does not reject too wide audience. Even if the film apparently tries to break the taboo, it ultimately does nothing to make these taboos really violate - a beautiful example of Gray shows us how much Hollywood is arguing with controversy. At the same time - here comes the problem with age categories - higher - affect the reduction of distribution. Meanwhile, the wide distribution is absolutely crucial for the Hollywood movie. Therefore, there will always be a struggle for the film to have the best PG-13 category.
What I think should be noted - considering the category of Hollywood is the issue of money put into production. I mentioned how production is planned but let's not hide - the Hollywood movie has a budget. And that means that it sets our standards of how it should - from a technical point of view, look like a movie. And not only a great adventure movie, but also a drama or comedy. In a Hollywood movie, somehow the image, sound, the ability of the crew (eg traveling around the world), special effects - all this presents the highest possible level to which other productions may try to catch up but they do not necessarily succeed. This is well seen in the case of animation - where productions coming out of Hollywood are ahead of a few lengths from the rest of the world - of course in the case of computer animation. This element is important because technically chasing Hollywood films around the world are becoming technically better - also using the new inventions and opportunities provided by the dream factory. At the same time - these types of films teach us how the movie should look - and then when we come across productions with a lower budget (eg historical) we automatically compare them with what we have seen in films with a larger budget.
Finally, it should be noted that Hollywood is more and more associated with its kind of cultural syncretism. Hollywood as the absolute center of large film production sucks from all over the world what is in the given moment - in a given cinema or part of the world it enjoys popularity. It is becoming more and more - a cinematography of the world, though specific - because it rewrites elements of other cultures into the American realities. But at the same time - it rakes the world out of everything - creators, ideas, and inspirations. All this is thrown in, transformed and sent into the world. If you see a popular movement in culture somewhere, you can expect that sooner or later it will go to Hollywood. Hence - taking advantage they give money - it gathers ideas from around the world. These processed ones become more popular than the originals and often - imitated in these originally "robbed" cultures. Because it should be added that an important element in the conversation about Hollywood is also the impact of such productions on culture - suggesting certain patterns of behavior, aesthetic standards, or the way of showing reality.
At the very end, it should be added that Hollywood is what creates a contra. It is a culture that is needed (not only for film) because it is through re-designing, undermining or rejecting Hollywood patterns and ideas that quite a lot of independent and sometimes even higher culture is created. Hollywood is so common that the opposition to it is not easy because it is clear - we recognize this category so well that opposition to it is also clear to us. It's a bit like old academics. In order to be able to understand the breakthrough of some new Impressionist solutions, you need to see them against the background of what was before. Hollywood provides this continuous material against which one can rebel, which can be rejected, reworked, criticized - either artistically or socially. In this aspect, it is an extremely important category - because thanks to its contestation, quite a lot of unusual things are created.
There is nothing to annoy about movies in Hollywood. This is the category we meet every day and it is not difficult for us to qualify a movie as Hollywood - no matter where it was made. There are also films that aspire to this category in terms of content but, for example, they do not manage technically. There are those that would probably technically meet the assumptions (eg high-budget Bollywood) but because they refer to completely different conventions, we will not attribute them to this. In the end, it is not important how we will define the phenomenon because each subsequent movie a little confirms its existence - to a large extent intuitive. And at the same time it is a category that is needed because it is the core of the film's popular culture, point of reference or contestation. If Hollywood were not there, there would be another place that probably would work on similar principles. So it is an element that can not be disposed of. What's more, even a critical approach to this category does not make much sense. Ie. you can discuss how to define it but you probably do not have to be so angry that such productions exist. This is the film world. Besides, let's not hide - Hollywood movies consumed in the right quantities are not bad. They are competent in what they want to achieve. They do not hide their intentions (honesty of these productions is their next important element), they are what they are. And of course - if there were only them, we would have a problem. But that's not true. It's a minority in world cinematography. And still needed because it meets precisely this demand for a simple film escapism. Popular culture in the best incarnation.
Ps. These are my intuitive ideas about this category. You will surely find in the literature both the confirmation of certain elements of this post and the denial. However, writing down your own thoughts provides a lot of entertainment.