Marvel movies are ‘not cinema’

– Martin Scorsese

This is a quote I’m sure you have seen by now. Almost every news site, Tweet, Facebook post and Actor have been talking about. Many are saying that this should not be considered to be new, to which i have to agree. The discussion of whether a film is or is not a valid piece of artwork is somewhat irrelevant in a world that is engulfed in war, fire and constant argument about SELF-validation and acceptance.

However, while it is being spoken about and debated, it got me thinking. Isn’t art subjective?

Isn’t art subjective? In it’s purest form, art is described in the dictionary as creative thought and expression and skill yada yada yada. However i’m certain that the definition has changed and is continuing to do so.

There are many jokes and reference on the internet and in real life about the existence of modern art. Modern Art sometimes simply just be some shapes cut out in an interesting (or not so interesting) fashion.

Modern art has been mocked constantly by numerous people, myself included. Some may say it is because we simply do not understand it or are being ignorant. However it is clear to me that, often people tend to stick to a certain aspect of art that they like and the different works that replicate and resemble said aspect will be more satisfying to the consumer.

While it most likely isn’t as ‘cut and dry’ as that, it is at least my understanding of it. This, in turn got me thinking about why i was slightly bothered by what Martin Scorsese had claimed. Which led me to wonder what it was about Marvel and just films in general that i love so much. And then it became clear to me.

The characters.

The characters are what lead a film and what we (at least me) remember for days later. This isn’t exclusive to film, the same could be said about books and games even songs to some extent.

Marvel have been constructing a universe since 2008 with the release of Iron Man which introduced nine characters that would all show up again in future films. These films have spanned to past eleven years without any signs of stopping anytime soon. And while the argument can be made that they are simply all just glorified sequels to one another, it does not detract from the development and genuine feeling relationships that these characters all have to one another, particularly by the end of Avengers: End Game.

The characters Tony Stark and Steven Rogers are arguably the most recognisable and deep among the large roster of characters that exist within the universe. They are also the faces of the universe who were there before the first Avengers film was released in 2012. These two characters are the ones who many feel that they have a connection to, myself included.

The relationship between these two characters was extremely well planned and written, with seeds leading to their meeting in previous films and hints at their future together in later ones. The audience has been able to watch these characters grow to meet one another and settle their differences as they became colleagues and then friends and then watch as that friendship got torn apart. Which remains to be my favourite moment in this entire universe.

Simply because we have been able to understand and get emotionally invested in both of them in a way that simply wouldn’t have been able to happen in a ‘normal’ one off film. The conflict that followed in the final act in Captain America: Civil War was one that i didn’t feel like i was just watching but one that i wanted to get involved in, in a similar way in which if two of my friends or family members were fighting.

The emotional investment that exists within the fans of this saga is, in my opinion, worth more than the majority of films that get put out each year. While i thoroughly enjoy many films that are not created by Marvel, many of which i consider to be better than Marvel films, the emotional investment is simply not there like it is with Marvel films.

There are many marvel films that i don’t like at all, particularly some of the most recent ones, Avengers: Infinity War being one, however i do not doubt for a second that Marvel is art.

The emotional investment is what keeps me going to the cinema and keeps the films in my head for weeks after. Speaking for my self, if i am not emotionally invested in a film, then simply put, i will not remember it a week later.

The characters in these films really carry the universe on their backs and despite not liking all of the films in the universe, all of the films have expanded the universe in some way all adding new elements and characters and developing them all in some way shape or form.

Characters in any form of text are the anchor that consumers attach them selves to in order to move through the stories and when those characters are well developed and complex it makes everything that they go through, that much more intense and important.

Actors like Jennifer Anniston have said cinema is “diminishing in terms of, it’s big Marvel movies” (which to be honest is pretty rich coming from mrs rom com) but many other people have this issue and honestly, i get it. Marvel have recently said that they are going to be releasing four, yes FOUR marvel movies in 2020. that isn’t mentioning the properties that they have developed for the new Disney+ streaming service.

Hooray another streaming service…

At the beginning of the MCU it was one film every year, then it became two, then three and now four. This alongside the DC films and other properties like Hellboy. It’s understandable why people are feeling pretty overwhelmed and bogged down by all of the films that are coming out. However, i feel that people are feeling so overwhelmed because these films are making so much money. Imagine if every romcom made $1 billion. Im sure they would face the same criticism.

While im not saying people are hating on the films for being successful, i am also saying that people are hating on the films for being successful. Many feel that they detract from other smaller and possibly better films (myself included), which is true and with the announcement of four properties with the tv shows coming out next year, i understand why filmmakers especially are feeling anxious.

Despite this, i do feel that the superhero age will fizzle out eventually and return to cinema’s ‘natural state’.

BUT, to say that films aren’t art because they follow the same formulae is hard to argue against for me. But as i have stated, in my opinion that isn’t what makes them art. What makes them art is the connection that the films have to people, the audience, the people that buy tickets to the films. There is a reason why Endgame made $2.7 billion and Far From Home made $1.1 billion. There are many aspects to why people bought tickets for Avengers Endgame but one indisputable fact is that the characters made people gravitate towards it.

Art, to me, is more than just looking at something and thinking ‘whoa, that looks pretty’ as i’m sure it is to many people. The word represents the feeling you get when something resonates with you, the indescribable feeling that you get when something grabs and holds you in its world. Art is something that you don’t only think about for a fleeting moment but something that stays with you for days or weeks. There may not be anything that is significant to others about this piece but to an individual the smallest thing could be everything.

While i may not like many Marvel films and i feel like they are on a decline and they may be slightly overbearing with the amount that get put out a year, it’s the characters that feel like real people who have dreams and hopes and who have developed before our eyes. The moments they share on screen and the effect that these well crafted, developed, complex individuals have on the audience to me, is art.