Cinema canon is understood as a place untouched by human critique, malice, and displeasure where some films belong. Indeed, there are some acknowledged masterpieces of the film industry with thousands of fans ready to silence anyone speaking against their favorite movies. However, the criteria to include a film in the canon are always changing and have a debatable nature. This essay presupposes that films should be evaluated along their technical, artistic, and cultural aspects to single out those that belong in the canon.
To begin, all parameters of films, from length and country of origin to genre and director, are the subject of audience taste, and ultimately it is the audience who decides what belongs in the canon. When making films, directors consider the plot, special effects, the choice of actors, and cultural placement to make the film appealing to the viewers. The audience, however, sees a film as a whole and rarely evaluates the technical, cultural, or artistic components separately (Gleiberman, 2018). However, these are the constituents that allow it to reach the desired effect and involve the viewer in the picture. Even though different audiences prefer diverse genres, music, and plots, a successful combination of cinema components allows the creation of a film that would belong in the canon.
From a technical point of view, different films refer to diverse eras of technological development. This fact manifests itself in the level of special effects, and visual techniques like combined shooting and audio accompaniment. Such technologies catch the eye of the modern viewer, and therefore their absence can subconsciously be viewed as a sign that the film is rather obsolete no matter how good it is. However, if a person prefers a particular actor or a literary basis, bad impressions from mediocre visual techniques, like accelerated reproduction of car chases to make the speeds seem higher, or frame-by-frame animation of AT-AT walkers will not rob his or her pleasure of the film. However, in modern cinema, the quality bar is set, and, to my mind, the film can hardly be referred to as a great work of art if the technical component used in it is outdated.
Apart from the technical side of the film, to refer to a film as the ‘great work of cinema’ its artistic value should be considered. The visual and artistic component comes to the fore in historical, costume, and epic films. Here it is the first and main advantage of the film because there can be several adaptations of one story, of varying degrees of saturation and elaboration. However, the plot is unlikely to interest the masses and cause intrigue in the viewer. It is the producer’s interpretation of the plot that is of value, the play of actors, and the atmosphere created. All these properties should necessarily be considered before including a film in the canon.
There are completely different genres and subgenres of cinema with the main focus on the artistic component that plays a huge role in the way the film is perceived by the audience. Examples of the film with a powerful visual component are the noir “Batman”, both by Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan, retro wave “Tron” and “Blade Runner 2049” and the now-forgotten diesel-tank “Heavenly Captain and the World of the Future” with a sepia color scheme, like a military newsreel.
These films, in addition to the plot, capture viewers with their style and create an original and unique atmosphere, a color scheme that creates a certain mood. Even though many people would like to include them in the canon, the artistic component alone is not enough for it, and many artistically beautiful films are now forgotten. Only combined with the plot, the play of actors, and technical effects can the film raise over all others to become a canonic work of art.
Moreover, cultural properties of the film should be considered as a film that is culturally ‘wrong’ and is likely to cause aversion instead of joy and interest on the part of the viewers. There are different cultural époques and cultural communities across the globe and it is impossible to disregard this issue (Morris, 2018). Costumes, settings, speech patterns, and all the smallest details should reflect the community portrayed to rend the film’s authenticity. Once the cultural component is disregarded, the plot will not sound true, the visual component will be lost and viewers, instead of gazing avidly at the screen will go about their own business. To be included in the canon and branded great works of the cinema, films should reflect the culture and the epoque of the chosen period and country.
Finally, the canon is not set by experts or film critics but created by people who like or dislike certain films. Cinema is the kind of art geared for a mass audience, so it is essential that the audience likes the film, the actors, and the settings and is ready to watch them many times. Popular films that are not only popular but skillfully made such as La Jette, Citizens Kane, Meshes of the Afternoon, or Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse are likely to be included in the canon by critics and masses alike.
The notion of cinema canon and the criteria along which the films are referred to it was instilled in me by the reading on the debates about the cinema canon that we have had. Indeed, I have never previously thought of some films as ‘untouchable’, and now, on consideration, I see that such films are all around us. To tell the truth, most of them are real masterpieces and deserve to belong in the canon while others, to my mind, fall short of bearing the name of ‘great works of cinema’. My ideas about movies in this class have greatly helped me to outline the criteria for including films in the canon. The consideration of technical, artistic, and cultural aspects was formed during class discussions and I am deeply grateful to the course for providing so much interesting information on the cinema.
Certain films belong to the canon, while others do not. While the inclusion of a film into the canon depends on the audience’s appreciation, certain criteria to refer films to as ‘the great works of cinema’ must be outlined. I believe these criteria should comprise technical prowess, a thorough reflection of the chosen cultural and historic period and time, artistic value, an interesting plot, ad, above all, the audience’s appreciation. The successful combination of all these components will hopefully allow the creation of a film that will truly belong in the canon.
References
Gleiberman, O. (2018) Popular film category violates everything the Oscars are supposed to be about. Variety. Web.
Morris, W. (2018). Who gets to decide what belongs in the ‘canon’. The New York Times. Web.