Posted
by Joel Mathis
November 13, 2006 at 6:25 a.m.
The end of pop culture
![][1]Back when Michael Jordan was enjoying a level of success - multiple MVP awards, championships - that led people to call him the best basketball player on the planet, he came up with a little trick to show everybody just how good he was.During the middle of one game, he stepped to the free throw line, shot a grin at players from the other team, then closed his eyes.And, with eyes still closed, nailed both foul shots.I thought about Michael Jordan over the weekend when I read a [New York Times article][2] about Steven Soderbergh's new movie, "The Good German."To make the film, Soderbergh - who directed "Erin Brokovich" and "Ocean's Eleven" - put himself in a box: He shot the movie in black-and-white, using only techniques and equipment available to filmmakers in the 1940s."For weeks, for all of us, it was like living in a time warp," Soderbergh told the Times.That's when I realized that we've reached the end of popular culture.Now, I don't mean that we're not going to have a popular culture anymore. It just means that, right now, there's nothing new that pop culture can do - because it's all been done.The advent of realistic computer special effects means there's no scenario that can't be convincingly depicted on screen: monsters fighting each other, spaceships careening through the void. In pop music, most of the variations on rock and hip-hop seem to have been explored decades ago. Not coincidentally, that's about the time the term "old school" became words of praise.And let's face it, the subject matters of all that pop culture - love and adventure, usually - are pretty much what they were when the Greeks started writing their plays a few thousand years ago.So, like Michael Jordan in his prime, our producers of culture have to find tricks to keep things fresh, make them interesting. Steven Soderbergh makes a movie using 1940s techniques. The White Stripes let themselves have two instruments only, guitar and drums, and see what they can make of it. Justin Timberlake tries to make a Prince album.Along the way, the audience is asked to appreciate not just the product that was put in front of it - but also how it was made.You remember those old [Ray Harryhausen][3] movies, like "Clash of the Titans" and "Jason and the Argonauts," where unrealistic stop-motion creatures battled each other and humans? My prediction: Sometime in the next five years, somebody will make a blockbuster-style movie using those long-dead techniques - and be hailed as a genius for doing so.People still talk about the time Michael Jordan made his free throws with eyes shut, after all. [1]: http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38778000/jpg/_38778087_mj150.jpg [2]: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/12/movies/12kehr.html [3]: http://www.rayharryhausen.com/filmography.main.html
Comments
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emawkc (anonymous) says…
There are still lots of creative people out there, it's just that technology is so ubiquitous and inexpensive that many so-called artists have become intellectually lazy. Not to mention the fact that everything is packaged for commercial consumption. What you're describing is the fast food of culture.
When real artists take the time to make real art (reel art?), rather than relying on gimmicks, it's a pleasant surprise.
hilary (anonymous) says…
This is the great circle, Joel. Neo-(fill in the blank). Neo-Old School?
thetomdotdot (anonymous) says…
I like it, Hilary.
Neo-retro.
thetomdotdot (anonymous) says…
Joel,
Of the thousands of film re-makes being foisted upon us, I'm not sure why it was Willy Wonka that made me think double u tee eff. While watching Johnny Depp do his creepy Michael Jackson imitation, I remember thinking that this is the end of civilization as we knkow it. Does anyone else wonder why any 'real artist' need bother get out of bed? I guess the thing to watch these days is figuring how long it will take for the length of time between a film and its remake to decrease until it flies up its own butt. I believe real artists are out there and always will be, but one day there won't be enough pizza to deliver, and when that day comes, god help us all.
boxturtle (anonymous) says…
I think that neo-retro stop motion film was already made - it's called the Life Aquatic: with Steve Zissou
cvillehawk (anonymous) says…
Neo-retro.com
Somebody should just go right out and sign up for that domain name, because that's golden.