The question is not if movies changed since 1965 but HOW movies have changed. Everything changes with time. The biggest change that has happened in movies is technology. At the beginning of this course, we started with watching films that were in black and white. The first movie that was watched during this course was, “Journey to Italy,” which came out in 1954. If you compare that to the movie, “Avatar” you will see the extreme difference in both CGI and Special FX. Aside from just watching these movies, the best way to really see the difference with technology would be historical and textual evidence. The other movies that will be compared throughout this essay will be, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Forrest Gump.” These movies all span many decades and are very diverse in their story telling and settings. This allows for a more in-depth analysis of how movies have changed throughout the years.

    In, “Journey to Italy” the art style is very simplistic, yet somewhat advanced for the time it was released. Although, in my personal opinion, the movie does not hold up very well, I can still see why it is revered as being ahead of its time. As with most old movies, the camera work and quality were about as good as they could get and fail in comparison when talking about movies over the decades. However, one thing that it does that a lot of modern films still do is tackle one of the most relatable societal issues that we face today: marriage or relationships in general. This is a topic that has been done to death, but it is something that people will want to see regardless of the times. Those types of movies may not be as popular as they once were, but they will always have a place in the cinema and in our homes.

Moving on to “Forest Gump”, this is a movie that has had such a cultural impact that you will find people quoting it who have not even seen the movie. It really is something spectacular when you think about it. At the time, it was such a pioneer in terms of filmmaking just from the story alone. This disabled kid who just loved to run and eventually went on to do so many amazing things, it is no wonder it was beloved by people around the world. It showed disabled persons in a new light, making it relatable for them and also helping everyone else understand that they are just as capable as anyone else. If you compare this to “Journey to Italy”, which tackles a very simple and common societal issue, “Forest Gump” took a huge step in an entirely different direction. If I were alive at the time, I would not have though that it would have the impact and success that is has achieved, even till this day. The movie grossed over 700 million dollars worldwide (adjusted for inflation) and is only beat by “Avatar”, even though it is the second oldest movie on this list. This goes to show that the more taboo and “hard to talk about” topics make for great story telling and will hold up more and more as these things become more accepted.

Moving into the 2000’s, movies started becoming a lot more CGI and SFX oriented, because the technology was finally there. However, if we jump overseas, we will eventually stumble upon the foreign masterpiece known as, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” This Chinese movie took the western audience by surprise, making about 14 times its original 15 million dollar budget. One of the most admirable aspects of this movie is how minimal the CGI was for an action film. Most of the stunts and action scenes were performed directly by the actors themselves. This is one of those films that will always be remembered for its cheesy, yet brilliant fighting scenes. I feel as though if this movie was released back in the 60s, it would not have been as well received and probably rejected by the western audience. As we move further into the 2010’s and soon 2020’s, foreign films have and continue to captivate western cinemas. This is due to a shift in cultural appreciation in general, as we become more and more welcoming to different cultures and art styles.

Closing out the 2000s decade, we have “Avatar”. Speaking of film pioneers, this movie took the entire world by storm. What this movie achieved is nothing short of a miracle. Becoming the highest grossing film of all time (not adjusted for inflation) earning over 2.5 billion dollars. That is right, billions. Never before had a movie relied so heavily on CGI, while simultaneously knocking it out of the park. This began, what I believe, a revolution in the movie making industry. It is almost hard to believe that this movie came out 10 years ago, given how good it still looks. However, if you were to show the movie to someone now who did not see it when it was released, they would probably not be very impressed. Over the last decade we have been spoiled with incredible CGI and diverse movies, that “Avatar” would seem like just another adventure movie. So it is hard to put into words how much of a cultural phenomenon this movie truly was, but for those of us who were there, it is something we will never forget. At its core, this beautiful work of art showed that movies are still a business at the end of the day. It has since been announced that there will be multiple installments in the “Avatar” franchise, possibly looking to be Marvel’s main competitor at the Box Office.

One thing to also take into consideration is that while most of the studios who make movies are in it just strictly for business related reasons, there are plenty of small producers and developers who make small films as a passion. This is how every famous producer/director starts and they always create something with a purpose. It is such a fantastic thing that we have all of these different genres and stories to choose from when watching different films. One day you can find yourself getting lost in a black and white world following this couple’s marriage trouble, and the next you will find yourself wishing you were on this planet with all of these blue people. As far as entertainment mediums go, films will always be unique and have a special place in everyone’s heart. The next time you go watch a film, think about how far we have come in this industry and that what you are watching in nothing short of magic.

These movies span 5 decades, each with their own charm. For as long as movies have been around, our lives have never been the same. Movies can offer a distraction from the issues going on in society. Also, on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, they can serve as a platform for the societal issues that around spoken about enough. From the struggles of marriage in “Journey to Italy”, the way physically and mentally disabled people were perceived in “Forrest Gump”, and the way we learned to accept entertainment from our foreign neighbors in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”. All of these movies taught us something in one way or another. At the end of the day, experiencing movies is something that we all take for granted and is something spectacular. “Avatar” is a prime example on movies that are generally just made for entertainment purposes. It takes us away from the real world for a few hours and allows us to lose ourselves in the immersion. It is hard to enjoy older movies as much as people did when they were released, but everyone owes it to themselves to at least see some of the most critically acclaimed movies from past generations, if for nothing more than finding a new appreciation for them. There are teams of hundreds and sometimes thousands of people who work tirelessly on these films and they want nothing more than for the average movie goer to enjoy them. The next time you are watching a film, whether it be from the 1960’s or 2010’s, watch those end credits and realize that each of those names passionately contributed to that film. That is something that all of these films have in common and every film will have for the infinite future. Behind every bad or great film, behind every million dollar or 200 million dollar budget, there is a team of underappreciated people that want nothing more than to entertain us. While the movies we watch will change over time and the issues we face and society will, we can always count on movies to be there for us to lend a helping hand in times of need. We also owe it ourselves to watch as many as movies as possible to open our imaginations to the different and wonderful worlds that people come up with.