Primitivism of any kind has always been present across the globe. It isn’t something new, and it evidently won’t fade away soon. Unfortunately, things in society often change slowly, especially when it comes to positive changes.
However, there’s also something called primitivism in film. Now, I’m not writing about primitivism art since that’s something entirely different, that’s not negative. In order to even begin explaining what I mean by primitivism in film, especially nowadays, let’s first define primitivism itself.
What Is Primitivism?
The general definition says it’s a philosophy of believing in the value of what’s unsophisticated and simple. It’s also seen as an unreasoning behaviour that’s instinctive.
But, this sounds like a soft and too politically correct definition of a thing that’s much more dangerous. I’m addressing primitivism in society, which is also transferred to cinema. There’s no philosophy since primitive people don’t even know philosophy exists. Of course, I’m using the slang version of the meaning of primitive people, not the scientific one.
Essentially, primitivism is a state in which one doesn’t have any sense of their surrounding environment. They do whatever they want, and what they want is often entirely illogical. Even wild animals have more of a sense of culture and art than a primitive person.
Society functions when people respect both written and unwritten rules. Well, primitive people don’t respect almost any rules. Don’t get this wrong, not in a revolutionary or rebellious way. Quite the contrary, they just act according to what suits them best, regardless of others.
The Paradoxical Connection of Political Correctness and Primitivism in Film
One sure thing about primitive people is that they aren’t politically correct. Not that being entirely politically correct is good, but when it comes to them, it doesn’t make sense.
That’s the difference between cinema in the ‘80s and today. Both are bad periods, but ‘80s cinema wasn’t primitive. It was just too politically correct, unoriginal, and even boring, especially the mainstream. In Linklater’s new film, Blue Moon, Ethan Hawke’s character says a perfect line – ‘’Who wants inoffensive art?’’ And that’s what ‘80s cinema was, inoffensive and too politically correct, especially in the US.
However, film in the ‘80s wasn’t primitive, unlike today’s cinema. Therefore, it’s fair to say that worldwide cinema is now the worst ever. It’s even more politically correct than before, but it’s also primitive, in every possible sense of the word.
Now, let’s discover how primitivism also found its way into film and cinema. Unfortunately.
How Did Primitivism in Film Become Conventional?
After the ‘80s, there was an excellent rebellious answer against such cinema. In the ‘90s, there were many excellent indie movies, which made even mainstream cinema much better. Tarantino himself said that it wouldn’t have been possible to make Pulp Fiction in the ‘80s.
Nevertheless, after years of excellent films, cinema is once again on its knees. The reason why primitivism in film became popular is that it became normal in everything worldwide. Today’s pop culture is primitive; needless to say, even the political establishment is more primitive than it has ever been in years. Therefore, this trend also transferred into film.
That’s why it became conventional and established. Mass media made it the biggest selling point. After it made it acceptable on a grand scale, it managed to sell it in movies, award ceremonies, and even film festivals. Often, you’ll see the nominations at the Oscars or even at A-list film festivals, and you can’t believe the films that are nominated.
The same goes for any category. For instance, at the 1974 Oscars, the nominees for Best Actor were:
- Jack Lemmon in Save the Tiger
- Marlon Brando in Last Tango in Paris
- Jack Nicholson in The Last Detail
- Al Pacino in Serpico
- Robert Redford in The Sting
Can you possibly imagine this type of nomination happening today? Are we really in a worse period than cinema in the ‘80s? Moreover, is today’s cinema in its worst period ever?
Why Primitivism in Film Is Still Accurate?
The main reason is simple – because primitivism is mainstream everywhere. The US establishment dictates Hollywood’s tempo, and Hollywood dictates the global tempo. Fortunately, European cinema is always rebellious, but even European filmmakers find it hard to stay on their feet these days.
Today’s primitivism goes hand in hand with the extremists from the woke movement, mass media, fashion, and especially music. So, when you have a worldwide audience that doesn’t have any sense of aesthetics and quality, it’s easy to sell the same primitivism in film. Of course, there are still excellent directors who make great movies, but they aren’t popular and acknowledged as much as they should be.
Each Aspect, Analyzed One By One
I can tie each one to reasons why this is still happening. The woke movement has made it acceptable to dismiss everyone else’s opinions. ‘’Who doesn’t agree with us is wrong and should also be forbidden.’’ One thing I’m undoubtedly not is conservative. Still, this woke attitude doesn’t sound liberal; instead, it sounds fascist.
Then, mass media made this acceptable everywhere, censoring any other point of view. Fashion also made primitivism, not only normal, but also desirable. It’s normal to have 50 plastic operations, use Botox more than you should, and dress without any sense of aesthetics. And finally, you have a massive amount of music that sends the message that only materialistic things are important. Additionally, it also tells you it’s ok to brag about it, and even that you should take any means necessary to get what you want.
Why These Rules Also Entered Cinema?
It’s not surprising that all this found its way into film. The woke attitude dictated that only trans actors should play trans roles and gays should play gays. I don’t even want to begin explaining how this doesn’t make any sense regarding acting. Another rule of theirs was that each movie must have a woman, a black person, etc. I find this offensive in any means possible. A director hires Denzel Washington because he is Denzel fucking Washington, not because he’s black. A filmmaker hires Meryl Streep because she’s Meryl fucking Streep, not because she’s a woman.
The mass media popularized all of the above, so these rules and topics had to be applied in movies and respected as necessary themes. Therefore, we now live in a time where we’re missing watching masterpieces by masters of filmmaking because they can’t film what they want.
Why?
Because the moment they do, they’ll be forbidden.
Final Words on Primitivism in Film
As mentioned above, I’m not a conservative, far from it. However, this doesn’t have anything to do with better rights or fighting for freedom. Quite the opposite, it seems like the ones dictating the tempo now are the ones who are conservative. Even though their facade looks like they’re progressive.
It’s happening all over today’s cinema. Even feminist films are destroyed. Ask yourself, how did we get from Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, to Barbie? What’s even more paradoxical is that the same director of Barbie also made Frances Ha.
We can pretend that this is a time in which cinema is becoming acceptable for everyone, but it isn’t. It’s actually pretty simple – it’s just primitive. Primitivism dictates today’s cinema, as it dictates everything else, from music to politics.
We aren’t going forward. We’re actually going backwards, to barbarism.
The good thing is that things are beginning to change. Hopefully the perfect proof of change will be the new Dogma 25 movement.
framebyframecritic 