by black udder » Wed Jan 24, 2007 10:04 pm
Film is one of the Arts, yes, but when you say it's "art" it gets a connotation that one type is better than another. Art, by definition, is subjective and therefore, you can always say "my preference is for x", but to state that it should only fill one need is a little narrow minded.
There are many genres, there are many objectives, there are many types of stories - such as most American stories will have a resolved ending. They will tie up the loose ends and leave the audience with a feeling of satisfaction that the story is over. Whereas with European films, they are more apt to leave stories open-ended to encourage the viewer to fill in the blanks or discuss how the film may have ended (meaning the ending actually takes place after the film, if at all).
Americans are mostly uncomfortable with this type story, so we don't see a lot of them. For some reason, some people claim that the European films are "art" and American films are "crap". They both serve a purpose and they're both just stories being told. A film is crap based on it's narrative, character development and how true the characters are to themselves and the story.
<Stepping off soap box>