Movie magic. Is the cinema in decline?

The expression of diametrically opposed opinions has always been a great tool in the arsenal of journalists, especially film critics. One can easily be swayed to vouch for either side, especially if there are questions of loyalty or fundamental ideological values involved. This can be seen in the very polarised stance expressed either in favour of the position that film in the 21st century as an art or entertainment form is in decline or in the hope that it has and will always keep its hold on audiences as one of the most immediate and powerful means of moulding public awareness of social and moral issues.

Yet it might only be a question of differentiation of purposes, audience needs to create different styles or film for well-defined audiences (children, teenagers, lovers of great classics from the 20s or 50s say, advocates of social realism, fans of horror, and so on), with precise budgets and therefore well-aimed marketing strategies. Perhaps the film industry has finally come of age and can deliver well-groomed 'horses' for better known 'courses', as the saying goes. There is nobody who is forcing the wrong people to go and see either a blockbuster in a multiplex cinema with an audience of popcorn-eating spotty bored teenagers for whom going to see an action movie might well be an escape from dreariness and monotony of their everyday lives as they see it. Equally, there is no authority to make people pay for a low budget thought-provoking film in an art picturehouse if that does not appeal to them. There is always choice involved, and that is what any human art form has retained as one of its fundamental values. Besides, this does not preclude that, from time-to-time, major films with a big budget cannot manage to appeal to more layers of the target audience than just one. Similarly, not all low-budget movies are valuable in terms of artistry, still, originality or novelty of ideas they build on. Each film should be appreciated in its own context, and that way modern classics can be identified and treated equally.

Film will -hopefully- always stay around and diversify in its use of new technologies or age-old techniques, its themes and genres (be they comedies, documentaries, historical dramas, or science fiction or whatever) and its use of professionals' skills and artistry.. That way audiences will always be able to exercise their vote by choosing what to go and see next at the pictures, and extreme opinion on the decline or otherwise of the greatest art form we have can be held at bay.