By Johnny Harrison, Fourth Year, Russian and Politics
Co-working spaces. Casinos. Pubs. Offices. These are just a few of the many businesses that occupy the buildings of former cinemas on the UK’s ailing high streets. British movie theatres are closing down left, right and centre, turning what used to be an accessible and culturally enriching activity into an overpriced last-resort date idea - or simply a way of keeping the kids quiet for a couple of hours.
But it’s not just cinemas themselves that are dying; it’s the essence of the film industry itself. With fewer people going to theatres, production houses are increasingly unwilling to take risks with the flicks they produce. They know that releasing the 109th installation of the Fast & Furious series or a sequel to some shitty superhero franchise is a surefire way of getting bums on seats as opposed to anything remotely brave or innovative. However, there is one unusual genre that continues to churn out box office hits year after year: horror. The thrill of a jump scare on a massive screen with surround sound is hard to replicate from your own sofa, perhaps one of the reasons why series like Scream refuse to kick the bucket. Yet, it’s not adrenaline that holds the key to cinema’s revival. In my view, another chemical, dopamine, might be the real driver.
Not to sound like my mum, but that ‘bloody phone’ might be at the core of the ongoing struggles of the film industry. The fact of the matter is that our attention spans are not what they used to be. For many people, young and old, the thought of focusing on a single screen for nearly two hours without any distraction is daunting. There’s no surprise that streaming services are booming – people seem to be constantly discussing the latest episode of Succession, Foundation, Invasion, or whatever other show ending in -ion. Episodes are short, and the ability to enjoy them at home or on the go means that people can swipe through TikTok whilst half-watching Netflix, also known as my teenage brother’s favourite pastime. Social media seems to have caught onto the preference for splitting entertainment into bite-size instalments. On Instagram, some accounts slice feature-length films into 60-second snippets, layering them over Subway Surfers gameplay to keep viewers engaged and cater to our ever-shrinking attention spans. Yes, that is an actual thing.
Still, it would be defeatist to claim that all is lost for the film industry. The 2023 ‘Barbenheimer’ saga involving (mainly) Gen Zers cladded in pink heading out in droves to their local cinema was nothing short of a cultural phenomenon. Most importantly, it was evidence of the power that social media could have for film - the movement blew up across TikTok and Instagram. Both Barbie and Oppenheimer set box office records and were widely critically acclaimed, with Martin Scorsese calling the event ‘something special’ for cinema. Clearly, if there is something innovative and hyped showing at the pictures, people will turn out in numbers to see it. It’s up to the production houses to dare to experiment with a genre that still possesses a great deal of potential instead of sticking to what they know will guarantee them box office returns.
Ultimately, it’s in the hands of the youth to provide life support to an industry that is in critical condition. We have a sociocultural responsibility to turn off Netflix, hoist ourselves up from our sofas and head to the silver screen, whether it’s to enjoy a multi-million-dollar Christopher Nolan historical thriller or a low-budget Japanese arthouse romance. Bristol has a wealth of cultural hubs; just head along to Watershed if you have a spare evening. I promise you won’t regret it. The future of film depends on you.
Or just watch the next assembly-line Marvel epic. Live and let live, right?
