The Summer Blockbuster: God's Gift

The Fourth of July has always been associated with fireworks, cookouts, and warm weather, but in the 1980's, "summer blockbuster" was added to the list. It's said that studio execs never considered the holiday weekend a good release date--they believed that families would rather spend their time outdoors than go to the movies. I'm not sure if an alien brainwashed them, or if a meteor hit their offices, but eventually they put their Hollywood heads together and took control of the holiday, forcing us into cool theaters all across the country to eat, drink, and watch the earth explode.

I, for one, am a blockbuster fiend. You say "big-budget action flick" and I say "extra butter, please." You say "superhero saves the world" and I say "does Ben Affleck take his shirt off?" Regardless, I love the whole epic-movie genre and usually fork over my $12 on opening weekend. (Yep, it's $12 a ticket in Manhattan now. National average is around $7, which, carry the one, means somewhere it's got to be $2. I'm looking at you, Topeka.)

Let's take a look at a smattering of Fourth of July's homeruns over the last three decades: Jaws (1975), E.T. (1982), Return of the Jedi (1983), Ghostbusters (1984), Batman Returns (1992), Independence Day (1996), Men in Black (1997), Spider-Man II (2004), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), Transformers (2007). Their similarities are obvious and the resultant formula can be summed up as: Alien/Ghost/Superhero + CGI = Two Thumbs Up. (I'm going to go ahead and say the shark from Jaws can be categorized as either an alien or a superhero, depending on whether you're human or aquatic vertebrate.)

So why do we go? It's not for Oscar-winning performances or sophisticated story lines, and it's certainly not for the cheap-eats. Do we just love Will Smith that much? Possibly, but there could be bigger issues at play here.

As humans, we've been searching for something bigger than us for millennia--how else would religion have formed? These movies mirror our societal quest for the other-worldly. We either want to know we can beat whatever else is out there (alien and ghost movies) or know that we're not alone and someone with fantastical or divine powers will save us (superhero movies). Since 1975, movie-makers have capitalized on this innate human search, and we've collectively paid about a billion dollars to see our dreams realized on the big screen--our dreams of conquering whatever else is out there, or conversely not having to get involved because Super/Spider/Bat-Man is on our side to do it for us.

So why aren't patently religious-themed movies blockbusters? In my opinion, it's because they're too obvious. We like to go to the movies to escape, to see pretty people conflict, resolve, and live happily-ever-after. That's possible when they're fighting the aliens, less possible when they're fighting God. It hits too close to home for us because a) we believe God exists and b) we're afraid He or His rivals may hurt us. Aliens? Half-dead pirates? Gigantic robots? No prob. We're able to see them as fiction, where as God, we're told, is real. And you can't escape into the drama if you're worried the story may come true.

Only two movies on the list of 100-top-grossing-films of all time have clear religious themes: Bruce Almighty (50th) and The Exorcist (82nd). Bruce Almighty sold tickets because of Jim Carrey, not God, but The Exorcist, on the other hand, is a good example. It's the only serious, dramatic movie on the top-ranking list that uses the devil as the villain. (Ghostbusters is 54th, but I'd categorize it as a comedy.) So one movie out of 100, and it was in 1973; maybe that's why we get aliens instead, the numbers don't lie, and tickets need to be sold.

So keep the blockbusters coming. I'll take some magical rings, prehistoric dinosaurs, and Tobey Maguire in spandex all day long. I'll take the reassurance that if extraterrestrials land on earth Agent Jay, Robert Neville, or Steven Hiller will protect me. And yes, those are all Will Smith characters. But will Will be able to help us when the Scientology aliens come to claim the righteous? Uh oh, I'm going to need more popcorn.

Follow Lindsay Mannering on Twitter: www.twitter.com/LindsayVirginia

Comments

[Economist1]

The lousy weather, at least on the East coast, the last several July 4th holidays certainly has helped box office sales. Another insightful, witty blog, Lindsay.

[SamThornton]

So, Jim Carrey is more popular than God? I can live with that.