Hollywood goes South for Forever

I first want to say that blog is going to be about everything and anything. From movies, to videogames, to politics, to religion. Be forewarned, if you like a blog that sticks to one subject, you won't like this.

Movies have gone hand-in-hand with American culture. Some have even made a change in the laws and running of this country. As I looked at some of the many movie previews this weekend, I had a thought: why does it seem movies have lost that magic?

Remember the movie "In the Heat of the Night"? It is a classic movie about a black cop that goes to the deep south to investigate a crime. This movie broke barriers and walls that hadn't been touched, especially in a movie. Sidney Poitier made his acting not only tell the story of the character, but tell the story of every black man, woman, and child who had been treated the same. The magic of his performance still has affect today.

How about "Rain Man"? The story of long lost brothers, one who has autism, reconnect after so many years while learning what the true meaning of brotherhood is. Tom Cruise (this was before he destroyed Oprah's sofa) and Dustin Hoffman connected to siblings everywhere with their amazing presence and fantastic acting.

We don't see that now. We get Zombieland, Valentine's Day, and How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days. Where has Hollywood gone? Do we not care to make a message anymore, or is entertainment more important than making a difference? Now, I'm not saying any of the modern movies are bad. Zombieland is one of my favorite movies; however, is doesn't hold the precedence brought by Driving Ms. Daisy.

I think, in this country, we care too much about comfort (Finally a point, right?). We want to laugh instead of think. We want to see the love stories instead of make a difference. It is so easy to watch a comedy and have the movie do the thinking for us. It takes courage to watch a movie, think about it, and act on it.

I think one of the best movies that has done this was Avatar. Avatar was not only entertaining, but it made you feel like this could happen, we could be the monsters destroying the beauty. You can even go out on a limb and say we ARE the monsters, this is us now, and we need to change. A message like that hasn't appeared in a movie for quite some time. We need to stop making the easy movies and start making movies that make us think, that move us, and that drive us to better the world we live in. Isn't that the kind of change that would be good for this country?