Thomas Schatz "From the Genius of the System"

In "The whole Equation of Pictures," Thomas Schatz discusses how Old Hollywood was a directors cinema, allowing only the directors worthy of canonization to be whose personal style emerged from antagonism towards the studio system. Consequently, film became a dehumanizing, formulaic, profit-hungry machinery of Hollywood's studio factories. Authorship therefore became influential because only a handful of directors had authority, which was gained by being able to work within the system. This did not emphasize creative expression and creative control. As a film watcher, this presents a major issue because it reduces cinema to the careers and visions of the few. For me, the cinema is supposed to present a reality or themes of reality by filtering life through the camera. We are supposed to learn new things about our world by sharing the filmmaker's vision. What the Hollywood system does is juristically limit this expression to the few based on their workability in a studio. Thus, we are stuck with a body or work with a uniform style - a standard way of telling stories. Cinema is supposed to be anything but standard, however, when authorship and studio dominance are the real forces behind films, not creativity, we as filmgoers suffer the most. I want to see diversity and newness. Schatz's article adequately presents an issue that audiences aren't aware of.