Text & Context -1: The need for hope in times of despair
Even amid the uncertainty that an all-encompassing calamity like the pandemic brings, cinema still retains some control
(Originally published in The Hindu on August 04, 2022)
It’s no news that multiple lenses to look at cinema have been added in recent years. Film watching experiences continue to evolve, and dissecting the consumer preferences of this long and fast evolving art form still boils down the results to what pundits simply put as understanding the audience’s psyche. Post the COVID-19 pandemic, the known-unknown consensus of cinema being a significant destination for solace, like any art form, feels all the more real. Hence, content that appeases an average viewer, and vis-a-vis the collective target audience, should work in mainstream cinema. The formula hasn’t changed, but deepened, thanks to pandemic blues, social seclusion, and the advent of streaming platforms.
The need for a hero
This open book formula when viewed with the broader changes in consumer behaviour that we are already aware of — like, the notion of the ever-decreasing attention span — also points out why some content worked better in the last three years. For instance, commercial entertainers continue to add up to cinema’s reputation for aiding escapism. This might again be why big star commercial entertainers like Master, Pushpa, RRR, KGF: Chapter 2, Soorarai Pottru, Bheemla Nayak, Vikram and Sooryavanshi have fared well despite having serious storylines anchoring the film. Would it really be a surprise if watching a slow arthouse film or a long, depressing series seem more like a ‘task’ now more than ever? The growing impatience has become more discernible, specifically in the post-pandemic OTT world, when one begins to visualise a 10-second fast-forward button while watching an unengaging film in a theatre.
Quite interestingly, looking back at all the above-mentioned commercial hero vehicles, a compelling similarity is also the fact that all of them appeal to the basic psychological incline towards watching ‘the rise of a hero’. It is the Rajinikanth formula that continues to be perfected. Witnessing people fail in their powerless lives can get a tad too palpable during adverse times, and to avoid de-sensitising hopelessness and to dodge existential thoughts, a dose of hope becomes too necessary. Hope is what these films deliver.
To keep the fight
If sitting through an emotionally overwhelming movie is one thing, television shows that require considerate time to care for a character becomes another helpless undertaking. The same can’t be said for last year’s…………..
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Read the full article here: The need for hope in times of despair
