Sequels: This Time Its Personal

Well, we're taking a detour for a moment from the Best Picture thing, mostly due to the fact that the first movie, Wings, still hasn't arrived in the mail. No matter though. I actually have something to post!

Today while I was eating dinner, I spied an ad for Tron: Legacy on a soda can. Which made me realize something: who is Disney actually marketing to? It's a pretty reasonable question in my opinion....after all, the original film is only twenty eight years old, and I'm pretty sure many of Disney's target audience (e.g KIDS) hasn't even been around that long (unless many of you have been secretly living in your mother's basement).

There is a very simple answer to the question of why Disney would put out a sequel to Tron: it's a cool movie.

Think about it: computers, Jeff Bridges, glo-lite motorcycles...it's all something a lot of boys would probably want to watch (OK, maybe not Jeff Bridges, but you get the idea). And that is EXACTLY what Disney is hoping for. They are currently in the process of re-branding themselves. For the past few years they have come to be known for their G-rated princess movies and well done Pixar films. They realize though that they are sort of missing out on a key demographic here: boys.

Boys like adventure, fantasy, sci-fi, death, doom, destruction, heroes and villains. Not Sleeping Beauty. Disney has realized this, and is now trying to turn itself around. In 2009, Disney bought out Marvel comics, as well as created and launched Disney XD, a network that broadcasts programs for guys 8-12. They want guys to want to go see that next Disney movie instead of the next Transformers. Hence, Tron: Legacy.

I personally am very curious to see what Disney has in store in the next couple of years. Just yesterday they announced that Tangled would be the last princess movie for a while. I think catering to this new demographic is going to allow Disney to move forward and be more creative in the subject matter they pursue. This is not your parents Disney (or is it???)

Cinematic Economics

Think fast! What is America's biggest export?

A. Fudge
B. American Flags
C. Barry Manilow Cover Albums
D. All of the Above

If you picked E, NONE of the above, you would be correct. In fact America's biggest export is none other than something we all love to love and loathe: culture (no, I don't consider Barry Manilow culture; get over it).
We Americans love our culture. Its so diverse, and colorful, and distracts us from really getting anything meaningful done, like laundry, or quantum mechanics. We elevate movie stars to gods, we take in hours of TV at a time, we eat at McDoanld's every week....think about it. We are culture creatures.
Perhaps what needs to be explained here though is what culture actually is. Some anthropologists will argue with me, but I say culture is what holds society together. It is something shared by everyone in a town, city, country that makes that place what it is and helps to unite it.
Its like being in a family, a really big family, but nonetheless family. You become tuned into everyone's little idiosyncrasies from the moment you are brought in. You listen to your sister's piano music pounding through the walls, your smell your mother's cooking...its all unique and special. That's how we you do things in your house. You feel a connection to that, nostalgia for burnt meatloaf and Jingle Bells and all the things that make your home, home. It may not be the nicest, but its yours, and you feel attached to it.
Americans have an interesting culture though. We have reached the status as one of the most powerful superpowers on planet Earth, and a lot of our culture seems to reflect that wealth and glamor of being on top. Some of it's totally superficial, and our art reflects that (as in any given hit number one pop tune).
Another consequence of America being on top though is that we ourselves have the power to export our culture. A prime example of this is how American food has traversed the globe.
In the form of hamburgers, submarine sandwiches, and fried chicken, American food has become popular in places such as China, Brazil, and Italy. By opening up fast food places internationally, our culture 'home' as it were is growing.
No form of culture though is quite as American and as gigantic as the motion picture. Movies are an America invention, starting out with the invention of the kinescope by Thomas Edison, of light bulb fame. It is here that the movie industry first blossomed into something BIG.
In 1929, the first Academy Awards® were held in Hollywood to honor outstanding achievements in film, the pinnacle of American culture. I'm not saying that other cultures haven't been involved in these awards, they have. I'm just saying that this is an American invention, celebrating one of our best loved art forms. This blog is dedicated to showcasing the best picture winners from 1927 to the present day. I will proceed to watch all of these films in chronological order and provide some insight into the cultural significance of each one, worthy or not.
America may be the creator of the Academy Awards®, but great film can be found all over the world. That's what the Best Picture is all about: the finest film of a year, a slice of cultural experience from times long past.

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