Martin Scorsese Urges Audiences To "Fight Back" Against Comic Book Films

The debate regarding the superhero franchise culture in cinema continues to a topic of debate amongst some of the most well known directors in Hollywood. In a recent interview with GQ critically acclaimed filmmaker Martin Scorsese voiced his concerns about the prevalence of blockbuster movies and the impact of comic book films and franchise culture.

Scorsese shares why he thinks audiences and the next generation of filmmakers should “fight back” against the franchise culture, cautioning the danger of not doing so. He said, “The danger there is what it’s doing to our culture. Because there are going to be generations now that think movies are only those–that’s what movies are.” GQ suggested that those beliefs are already in circulation. Scorsese appears to agree adding, “Which means that we have to then fight back stronger. And it’s got to come from the grassroots level. It’s gotta come from the filmmakers themselves. And you’ll have, you know, the Safdie brothers, and you’ll have Chris Nolan, you know what I mean? And hit ‘em from all sides. Hit ‘em from all sides, and don’t give up. Let’s see what you got. Go out there and do it. Go reinvent. Don’t complain about it. But it’s true, because we’ve got to save cinema.”

Scorsese also touched on how the definition of content has changed over time with the rise of streaming culture and AI. He draws from his own perceptions of traditional cinema stating, “I do think that the manufactured content isn’t really cinema… It’s almost like AI making a film. And that doesn’t mean that you don’t have incredible directors and special effects people doing beautiful artwork. But what does it mean? What do these films, what will it give you? Aside from a kind of consummation of something and then eliminating it from your mind, your whole body, you know? So what is it giving you?”

Scorsese’s next film, Killers Of The Flower Moon stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, which is set to release in theaters on October 20 before hitting Apple TV+.

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