Movies, from 1965 to now, while changing in content, has yet to really change the laws of filmmaking.  Movies still follow a very similar line of storytelling, but the ways of telling seem to be the changing aspect.

They all start by introducing us into the people and the problem.  Then the film moves into the buildup of our character, showing off the strengths, while we know the one weakness, for example in Avatar, Jake Sully was selling out the NaVi people to the army, while also falling in love with their culture and becoming family.  Usually, when all is well, the main character is hit with a striking blow (literal or figurative) that knocks them back and makes them seem like all hope is lost. Maybe like Ringo Starr having a reflection on his life, feeling like the world was at an all-time low.

Yet this is where the best part of any movie is, also known as the climax.  While all seems lost, a miracle happens. Think of The Temple of Doom, when everyone thinks Indy has been demonized by the blood, yet he is resurrected by Short Round and goes on to save the day. Then lastly, the plot dies down, to an ending with closure, whether its happy or sad. Happy could be Forrest Gump, sitting at the bus stop, finally ready to catch his bus, going to see his girl Jenny.  Sad could be Bonnie and Clyde, being massacred by cops and betrayed by their friend’s father. Every movie seems to have the same elements, which I think we desire as an audience, causing a similar feel to each film, regardless of genre, author, or story. One place we do see a change, is in technology.

Socially, movies have followed the trends of Hollywood and the masses, yet one thing I do believe has not changes, is the idea of masculinity in films.  From the surface, masculinity can be looked at as a strong male lead, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator, which is made quite obvious in his first scene.  However, I think masculinity is much more than this, as Wikipedia describes masculine traits as “traits traditionally viewed as masculine in Western society include strength, courage, independence, leadership, violence, and assertiveness.”  Looking into more current films, such as Avatar and the Hunger Games, we see females taking on very masculine traits.

Starting with The Terminator, we have three very masculine characters, Sarah Connor, Kyle Reese, and The Terminator.  Sarah Connor undoubtedly the masculine character in this film, as she ultimately destroys the Terminator and single handedly raises the savior of the world. However, the Terminator allows audiences to see masculinity without the ever seeing more than the poster. “Screening Masculinity: The Terminator and others male representations from the 1980s.” A scholarly article by Jordi Revert that discusses the position of masculinity in The Terminator. He wrote, “The Terminator develops a science-fiction fantasy claiming the imposition of masculinity and coming back to the primitive instincts, mechanized in the Terminator and incorporated in Kyle Reese, in order to survive and save the future.” The author focuses heavily on the two male leads, as the movie does tend to follow their action, we are able to see those same traits in Sarah, something I feel Revert failed to see.

Movies do a great job of reflecting its society, no matter when the movie is set, whether past, present, or future, at the time the movie was made.  For example, although Sarah Connor is a very strong women role model, she is shadowed by the characters of The Terminator and Kyle Reese.  This is mainly because the 80’s, masculinity was defined specifically by men, as movies were dominated by male action heroes such as Indiana Jones, Luke Skywalker, John McClaine, John Rambo, and I could go on and on.

As of recent social changes throughout the last two decades, masculinity has very much expanded across all genders in films, like Avatar and The Hunger Games, the courage, leadership, violence of both male and female characters entices the crowd and give them a rush. In Avatar, we meet Neytiri, the young Na’Vi girl who takes Jake Sully under her wing, to teach her the ways of her people.  She is strong, independent, and assertive, as she turns Jake from a coward into a courageous, big hearted man .

Still even with this social change, each of these movies follows a similar line of progression. There is good and evil (literal and figurative), conflict, dynamic characters, a strong love (whether romantic or in good friendship), loss, and closure.

Even movies like Forrest Gump, which tells the story of a mentally slow individual from the countryside of Alabama, with a strong opposition against violence. He was challenged from the beginning of his life, with his speech impediment, braces, and constant bullying, he luckily had his love Jenny. “Forrest and Jenny develop their love for each other as childhood friends. Their friendship was always as pure of love as one could get but Jenny and Forrest didn’t love each other in the same way for long. After they grew up, Forrest went off to the Army where he achieves the highest honors and displayed amazing bravery.” Forrest Gump has the key characteristics that make any film fantastic.  It shows conflict, with the War in Vietnam, both in it and the opposition for it back at home.

The loss of Bubba, a true friend, really sells the crowd into Forrest Gump, as we feel the pain that Forrest Gump did. “The script broke all the traditional rules of movie making,” Ms. Finerman said. “Yes, it was episodic. But it was also told from the point of view of Forrest. It dealt with exposition in an unusual way. Eric created the idea of a feather floating in the wind that’s used in the film, a metaphor for destiny that says we’re all out there afloat.” While the movie was different, it didn’t change filmmaking in my opinion.  It was just narrated by the main character, something we see in Hollywood today, such as How I Met Your Mother.  It simply changed the chronological aspect of the film but it didn’t change the compelling story of Forrest Gump.

From Joei Conwell’s, “A Hard Day’s Night -1964, “the development of the film exposed Night is a music film that the truly unique characteristics of The Beatles. Their charm, sense of humor, and wit. These characteristics would make them the eventual success we know today.” This movie was the film that showed the world who the Beatles really were.  Yet, it was not a documentary.  The movie showed the Beatles, in their true light, while seemingly feeling like a real movie.  We see a strong bond between a band of boys, through their humor and bickering.  They have the attitude of rebellious teens, messing with their managers, producers, and pretty much any other adult.  As they travel through their weekend, they develop as they learn to accept themselves for who they are, especially in Ringo Starr’s scene, in which the audience connects with his sadness.  Then it throws us into a hilarious scene that features them running from the cops… conflict.

In my opinion, the only real change has come with technological advancement. Avatar was a movie that broke barriers for film, as it changed the aspect of animation for all movies to come. Avatar blended reality with a virtual world that looked unbelievably real. The movie was made from 70% computer generated imagery. Roger Ebert wrote, “Avatar” is not simply a sensational entertainment, although it is that. It’s a technical breakthrough.” From Connor Zabrocki, “the film had no real star actors and a relatively tame plot. It was the visual effects that drew viewers into the world but once the thrill of the effects wore off the movie faded from our memories.”  To me, this allowed for a stronger message as people really saw a metaphor for our destruction of earth.  The India times wrote.  “James Cameron to create a strong and visually-stirring plea to save the world, before it is too late. And the only way the human species can do it is by abdicating its destructive tendencies.”  In this article, they point out that the film shows that Humans have no respect for the nature that they live in. Cameron is trying to inform us that as humans, if we are not more respectful of nature, then it will turn on us and most likely mean our inevitable doom. 

Forrest Gump was another film that brome barriers in technology.  Famously, he is seen shaking JFK’s hand, who dies long before that film came out yet it looked entirely real. In this scene, they were able to place Tom Hanks in a room with John F Kennedy, who died in 1963. It was something that never crossed my mind, until I realized that Forrest Gump was made in 1994.  This felt very groundbreaking for its time.

Film has changed very little since 1965, in fact I don’t think more has changed than technological advancement.  Movies follow similar lines and present similar elements which all audiences love in film.  Each story has a different thing to tell, but they all allow us to feel strong emotions of happiness and sadness.