Introduction to Entertainment
Entertainment is an activity that appeals to the audience’s interest in delight and pleasure (Hobbs). Music, drama, storytelling, cinema, and dance is different kinds of entertainment across culture and period. Among all others cinema is a popular source of entertainment that reflects the reality of life on screen. It is one of the cheapest and most convenient means of entertainment. Cinema is a form of art that utilizes moving pictures to convey a masterpiece story to society (Routhier). It has been developed as an idea or concept for attracting the audience’s attention. It is used as a medium to spread awareness, knowledge, and information to people to become responsible for the cause that has been played on the screen (Solanas). Cinema is ever-evolving, dynamic in nature and has an era or transitioning period as per the taste, needs and preferences of the audience; however, not all films are meant for entertainment. At times, cinemas are developed to record or inform society such as a documentary. The world of cinema is divided into two categories contemporary and classical cinema (Palao Errando et al.). The essay emphasizes discussing the typical difference between contemporary and classical cinema.
Contemporary movies are produced during the 21st century with the involvement of different artists. It enables the audience to reflect and associate themselves with the respective existing problems and the society they live in. The cinemas released in current times can connect with the people and society of varied backgrounds and cultures. Cinema has a strong influence on the mind of people to alternate the opinion and thought processes of the audience (Dolan). Contemporary cinemas often have abrupt endings that are left for the audiences’ interpretation. The theoreticians have acknowledged it, mainly referred to as “evolutionists” who mentioned that contemporary cinema shows a higher quality of cinematic language and is capable of reflecting abstract ideas concisely on-screen (Podolsky). According to theorists, contemporary cinemas have been revolutionary in concepts, ideas, and screenplay and exceeded classical cinemas in terms of excellence. The story of the contemporary movies focuses on the societal constructs, targets the cause of society, and is more realistic and intelligent. Contemporary cinemas use the platform of entertainment as a source of medium to communicate with a huge pool of audiences. Over the past number of years, contemporary cinema has been marked as a key development in cinema. Contemporary cinemas are perceived as a distinct match in varied cultures in terms of social, critical engagement and the form of delirium. Technological development acted as a boon by immensely contributing to the cinemas (Rogers). The sound system used, picturesque, and film techniques constitute a greater cinema quality. Sound contributes to temporal continuity by combining music, noise and speech converted into a smooth altered pattern. Music as an underscore or into action can add to the better or worse experience while watching a movie. The action sequences in the movie are revamped and made realistic with the use of VFX. New visual impact has enriched the quality of audiences and brought vitality and freshness. Contemporary cinemas not only challenge the dated back ideologies of the society but refreshes the mind of audiences with new concepts that leave the audiences dumbfounded. However, classical cinema being the first of its kind has left a deeper impression on the audience’s mind.
Definition of Cinema and Its Forms
The term “classical” has various meanings in different senses of traditional, standard, authoritative and specifically relating to the culture of Greek and Roman. In Cinemas, classical is usually referred to as a narrative style, principles, procedures or practices that occurred during the 1910s-1920s. The filmmaking industry has been making classical cinema since then alongside the evolution of the period; modernism and postmodernism. Classical cinemas are conveyed in a chronological order where the logic of cause-effect was implemented and led the audience from one scene to the other. Deriving concepts made classical movies of visuals and stories from stage theatres including melodrama and plot change. The movie scenes were recorded in a full shot with precisely coordinated scripting to convey interaction between story and character. The cutting of scenes was severely limited including primary close-ups of close-ups of inscriptions on products for readability. In classical movies, the concept of realism was first incorporated where it has been shown that cinemas can control apparent space and time, chronological in order based on spatial and linearity continuity. Realism in filmmaking means copying the reality of life into films by emphasizing details, long shots, placement of the camera and minimalistic effects and editing. Formalism is also a method used in forming the art of cinema by taking the importance of formal considerations over the content. The time of classical cinema was known as the “Golden age” of cinema in areas of Sweden, America, and Denmark (Marguiles). The classical movies involved the three structures of the art of the movie such as the introduction of character; arise of conflict and the resolution of conflict. Classical cinema is classic, one of a kind, with an uncomplicated storyline and a unique concept of filmmaking. The cinema of old era has surpassed the time and ongoing trend with excellent quality of the cinematography. The dialogue delivery in classical movies was crisp, neatly packed and delivered to the audience being able to connect with lesser visual effects and complications. The characters involved in the movie had depth and strong screen presence that intimidated the audiences at times in various instances. In classical cinemas it was difficult to formulate a movie as there was no such technological advancement and it needed extra effort to bring excellence on screen. Classical cinema is known for perfectionism, artistic and innovation (Waddell and Skeltys). It has brought into play in numerous cinemas that were ahead of its time and catered to the audiences need and demand.
Overview of Contemporary Cinema
It can be concluded that both the contemporary and classical cinemas has played an important role in society by bringing the concept of entertainment on screen and utilising it to reach the masses the messages and meaningful content. Both the era of cinema had their period of excellence although, contemporary cinema has gained technological advancement and radical ideas to change the complete outlook of cinema.
According to me, I believe both cinemas have brilliantly showcased the ability to be the best during their times. Classical cinemas were equally revolutionary as it was the first time during the 1900s that the screenplay was shifted from theatres to the screen. It needed experimentation, failures and several attempts to succeed in the platform of entertainment. Classical cinema paved the way for contemporary cinema to come along with time and capture the mind of audiences who acknowledge the concept of “cinema” by now. Classical cinema came with the concept of adding realism, montage, and key narrative concepts. The concepts of key narratives included the story, based on the chronological sequence of events, the plot, the events presented throughout the scene, narration, the process of constructing a story by using the process of plot patterning and the style of the film. The strategies in narration for classical cinemas used are focus on the story, standardized technique, clear, passive viewer, casual logic; however, the contemporary cinema used the strategy of innovative technique, sardonic, active and free association of ideas that lead to conclusion for open to interpretation (Fair). The characters in the classical cinemas are more consistent and motivated, presence of conflicts and resolution. In contemporary cinemas the conflicts are ambiguous so as the conflict resolution with complicated characters. The theme of contemporary cinemas is more complex whereas the classical cinemas are simplistic, more relatable and leave the feeling of nostalgia for audiences to cherish the experience and preserve the characters. Both the cinemas have their positive and negative point and can leave an imprint in the hearts of audiences and the industry of entertainment.
References
Hobbs, Renee. Mind over media: Propaganda education for a digital age. WW Norton & Company, 2020.
Routhier, Pierre Hugues. “How Will We Preserve the Movies of Tomorrow? Technical and Ethical Considerations.” SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal 131.2 (2022): 23-28.
Solanas, Fernando, and Octavio Getino. “Towards a third cinema: notes and experiences for the development of a cinema of liberation in the Third World.” Black Camera 13.1 (2021): 378-401.
Palao-Errando, José Antonio, Antonio Loriguillo-López, and Teresa Sorolla-Romero. “Beyond the screen, beyond the story: The rhetorical battery of post-classical films.” Quarterly review of film and video 35.3 (2018): 224-245.
Dolan, Josephine. Contemporary Cinema and’Old Age’: Gender and the Silvering of Stardom. Springer, 2018.
Podalsky, Laura. “Out of depth: The politics of disaffected youth and contemporary Latin American cinema.” Youth Culture in Global Cinema. University of Texas Press, 2021. 109-130.
Margulies, Ivone. In Person: Reenactment in Postwar and Contemporary Cinema. Oxford University Press, USA, 2019.
Rogers, Ariel. On the screen: displaying the moving image, 1926–1942. Columbia University Press, 2019.
Fair, Laura. Reel Pleasures: Cinema Audiences and Entrepreneurs in Twentieth-Century Urban Tanzania. Ohio University Press, 2018.
Waddell, Terrie, and Nicole Skeltys. “Filming Young Writers at Montsalvat: Intermediality and the creative potential of performed readings.” TEXT 25.Special 62 (2021): 1-12.
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