Last week, at an appearance at the Berlin Film Festival, Ethan Hawke gave a powerful speech on 'offensive art', in a statement appreciating the weird and wonderful.
Hawke made several good points, leading this conversation with, "when we prioritise money at all costs, what we get is generic material that appeals to the most amount of people and we’re told that’s the best." This, in the era of echo chambers and comment sections dictating what's good and bad, couldn't be more true.
Creators are scared of making weird or offensive art, because weird and offensive often doesn't make any money. And who wants to be skint?
Think of the golden age of Marvel. The peak of it was undoubtedly the Infinity War and Endgame era, or even Civil War, when Spiderman's reappearance shook the world. I still recall covering my ears in science class, determined to avoid spoilers from my peers reciting the famous, 'I love you 3000' line. These movies used to be funny, emotional, witty, jaw-dropping in their visuals, and made for amazing box office hits.
Now, recent Marvel has become a laughing stock in the film community. The recent Captain America: Brave New World has been criticised to following routine, and filled with uninteresting Easter eggs. Even a few years back, I remember narrowing my eyes at Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania for it's lacklustre CGI and confusing plot point.
But worst of all, it became boring. And art can be anything you make it to be, it just shouldn't be dull.
In this era of pumping out generic entertainment for the masses, I think it's more valuable to be cooky than to follow any status quo. Because even if you disgust or horrify an audience, your story appeals to a valuable niche who can really appreciate that good narrative.
Take The Substance. Wildly successful and talked about. And though it's a great introspective look into how society treats women as they age, people talked about it because of its downright horrifying visuals. I could only compare it to Junji Ito, with body horror that makes audiences feel squeamish and utterly uncomfortable.
Surrealism. Pushing boundaries. Practicing genuinity. Defeating the status quo. Being unafraid to turn away a few viewers, at the reward of amassing an adoring audience who love your niche.
It's not just creators, though. Audiences need to be more open about what kinds of stories they want to see. And I don't see why more people aren't demanding it, since at our core, people love to complain! Being more expressive on the stuff you want to see isn't so you can garner a group of yes-men nodding along blandly to whatever you say. It's so writers and directors can actually make better art.
I'll end it off with another quote from Hawke's speech, which I think sums it all up pretty well.
"If you love offensive art and you want it, then demand it and you'll get it. It will get made."
Edited by: Jasmine Pegg
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