In the New York Times article, I said Marvel movies aren’t cinema. Let me explain. The author, Martin Scorsese argued that compare to the movies that he known and loved for his life, Marvel movies seem to be closer to theme parks, and he doesn’t think Marvel movies can be considered as cinema. As Martin Scorsese stated in this article, “cinema was about revelation — aesthetic, emotional and spiritual revelation. It was about characters — the complexity of people and their contradictory and sometimes paradoxical natures, the way they can hurt one another and love one another and suddenly come face to face with themselves.” Martin Scorsese argued that all of the Marvel movies have something in common that they didn’t bring any types of revelation to their audience. In the other words, he believed that unlike the other types of movies, Marvel movies have no depth which offers the audience something to think about, therefore, their audience would not learn anything by watching Marvel movies. Martin Scorsese used “Theme Parks” as a metaphor which illustrates the idea that Marvel movies have no educational values, just like people who go to amusement parks, they were having a wonderful experience, however, they got nothing more but fun. As a matter of fact, Marvel movies have “depths”, they do have something for their audience to think about. Throughout all of the Marvel movies, Avengers is the most successful union alliance that unites various heroes from all over the universe. Although there have been failures and differences, in the end, they united unprecedentedly and kept the peace of the entire universe. Iron Man used the knowledge taught by his father to create new elements and invented a stable time the travel machine before the final battle, Hulk and Banner finally merged into one, becoming Dr. Hulk with wisdom and strength coexisting, Black Widow is a multi-faceted spy and a warrior. She played an important role in interrogation and battle, etc. Throughout all of the 22 pieces of Marvel movies, they teach their audience about science, military, family, friendship, love, justice, evil, strategy, law, morals and ethics, right and wrong, team spirit, etc. If Marvel movies can not teach the audience about something, then, I can’t stop wondering what kinds of the movie can actually be educational, or does this kind of movie really exist?
More than that, Martin Scorsese argued that Marvel movies can not be considered as cinema, because they were purely made for commercials. As he stated in the article, “They are sequels in name but they are remakes in spirit, and everything in them is officially sanctioned because it can’t really be any other way. That’s the nature of modern film franchises: market-researched, audience-tested, vetted, modified, revetted, and remodified until they’re ready for consumption.” Martin believes that all of the Marvel movies are products of Mcdonaldlization, which were made in the exact same process and standard. He is not wrong about this that Marvel movies are made for commercial, and made to fit most people’s taste. However, it is not relevant to whether Marvel movies are cinema or not. The only thing to determine if Marvel movies are cinema is their quality. From a purely technological perspective, Marvel movies are cinema: They’re feature-length, narrative-based blockbuster experiences, with precise characters and long-standing pop-culture currency. At the same time, they clearly exist within a different category of cinematic expression, one mandated by capitalist pressures above all else. Therefore, Marvel movies should be considered as cinema, even though they’re made for commercials.
Reference
Eric Kohn, Marvel Movies Vs. Cinema: Why Martin Scorsese and Others Should Sit Out This Debate. Retrieve April 09, 2021, from https://www.indiewire.com/2019/10/scorsese-marvel-movies-vs-cinema-debate-1202183984/
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Scorsese Isn’t Wrong About Marvel (He Isn’t Right, Either) Retrieve April 09, 2021, from https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/kareem-abdul-jabbar-scorsese-wasn-t-wrong-marvel-he-wasn-t-right-1247063