Another day another Martin Scorsese comment on the state of cinema.
The acclaimed director has been in the news a lot latley, and not just for his upcoming Netflix film, THE IRISHMAN. Scorsese recently commented on the quality of Marvel films; not once, but twice, claiming they're not "cinema," and likening them to amusement parks. Just yesterday, Scorsese's friend and famed director, Francis Ford Coppola, agreed, calling Marvel films "despicable." And now Scorsese is taking aim at the younger generation's knowledge of cinema.
Currently promoting THE IRISHMAN at the Rome Film Festival, Scorsese once touched on the topic of theater chains, Marvel films, and how the youth of the world perceive cinema:
Right now the theaters seem to be mainly supporting the theme park, amusement park, comic book films. They’re taking over the theaters. I think they can have those films; it’s fine. It’s just that that shouldn’t become what our young people believe is cinema. It just shouldn’t.
Scorsese didn't stop there. He also went on to address tablets, smartphones, and how the younger generation perceives history:
This is the world we live in. Our children are, I don’t know what they’re doing with those devices. They perceive reality differently. They perceive even the concept of what history is supposed to be [differently], How are they going to know about WWII? How are they going to know about Vietnam? What do they think of Afghanistan? What do they think of all of this? They’re perceiving it in bits and pieces. There seems to be no continuity of history.
And as all great infomercials have said in the past, "WAIT! THERE'S MORE!" When asked about why his films are mainly about men and had few interesting stories for females, Scorsese shot down the reporter by stating that, "If the story doesn't call for it, it's a waste of everybody's time."
Look, if anybody is entitled to an opinion on film, it's Martin Scorsese. The guy is a legend and you don't have to agree with him regarding Marvel films. I certainly don't. Having said that, his comments are starting to veer into Abe Simpson-shaking-his-fist-at-a-cloud territory. I think it's ridiculous to presume that just because a person utilizes a smart phone or a tablet that precludes them from gaining knowledge of Vietnam or WWII. In any event, it's not like high school history classes have gone the way of the dodo, so I'm not exactly sure what he's driving at here. To me, it's really starting to sound like sour grapes regarding Marvel's cinematic and financial success.
As for the comments about female roles, while I agree that most of Scorsese's films have been male-centric, plenty of amazing actresses like Sharon Stone, Lorraine Bracco, and Cathy Moriarty have portrayed dynamic female characters in Scorsese's movies.
What do you think of Martin Scorsese's latest comments? Do you agree? Does he need to beg off a little? Sound off in the comments below.