Martin Scorsese criticizes streaming platforms and the film industry in a new essay for Harper’s Magazine entitled The Maestro. Although the play is a tribute to director Federico Fellini, Scorsese also discusses how streaming and current film industry practices have negatively impacted the art of cinemas, which he says is’ systematically devalued, sidelined, dismantled and made the lowest common denominator. reduced ‘content.’ ‘
“About 15 years ago, the term ‘content’ was only heard when people discussed cinema in a serious way, and it is contrasted and measured by ‘form’,” he writes. “Then it was gradually used more and more by the people who took over media companies, most of whom knew nothing of the art form’s history, or even cared enough to think they had to do it.”
Scorsese says that ‘content’ is an ‘industry concept for all moving images: a David Lean movie, a cat video, a Super Bowl commercial, a superhero sequel, a series episode.’
Although he admits that he and other filmmakers have taken advantage of the opportunities offered by streaming platforms (his recent film The Irish was funded and distributed by Netflix), he criticizes the use of algorithms. He believes that suggestions via algorithm limit viewers’ exposure to different topics and genres, and that this has negative consequences for the art. Scorsese adds that algorithm calculations view the viewer solely as a “consumer, and nothing else”, arguing that curing is a better approach, citing composite streaming services, such as Criterion Channel and MUBI, as a positive example.
‘We can not depend on the film industry, as it is, to take care of the theater. In the film industry, which is now the big visual entertainment industry, the emphasis is always on the word “business”, and value is always determined by the amount of money that has to be made from a particular property – in that sense, everything from Sunrise to La Strada on 2001 is now twisted fairly dry and ready for the ‘Art Film’ pool on a streaming platform.
“Those of us who know the cinema and its history should share our love and knowledge with as many people as possible,” he continues. “And we have to make it crystal clear to the current legal owners of these films that it is much, much more than just property that must be exploited and then locked away. It is one of the greatest treasures in our culture, and it needs to be treated. ‘
In 2019, Scorsese wrote an op-ed for New York Times who argued that Marvel movies are not cinema. He ends his new essay reflecting on his definition of theater.
‘I suppose we also need to refine our ideas about what cinema is and what it is not. “Federico Fellini is a good starting point,” he concluded. ‘You can say a lot of things about Fellini’s films, but here’s one thing that is indisputable: it is bio scope. Fellini’s work defines the art form a lot. ”