Martin Scorsese says cinema is being devalued, calls it mass visual entertainment business

Legendary director Martin Scorsese who has made iconic films like The Wolf of Wall Street, Taxi Driver, The Irishman recently wrote an essay and paid homage to film legend Federico Fellini as part of the March issue of Harper’s Magazine. The 78-year-old director-producer also discussed the current movie industry practices that have negatively impacted the art of cinema because of which it is being devalued.

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Martin Scorsese's Il Maestro essay

In his essay, the Goodfellas director wrote that as recently as 15 years ago, the term ‘content’ was heard only when people were discussing the cinema on a serious level, and it was contrasted with and measured against ‘form'. He further added that the term content was gradually used more and more by the people who took over media companies, most of whom knew nothing about the history of the art form, or even cared enough to think that they should. 

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Martin stated that content is a business term for all moving images like a David Lean movie, a cat video, a Super Bowl commercial, a superhero sequel, a series episode, etc. Scorsese added that directors including him have benefitted from streaming platforms for example The Irishman on Netflix, but he criticizes their use of algorithms. He questioned that if further viewing is suggested by algorithms based on what you’ve already viewed, and the suggestions are based only on subject matter or genre, then what does that do to the art of cinema. 

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The Departed director also said that just relying on the movie business isn't enough to take care of cinema. He added that in the movie business, which is now the mass visual entertainment business, the emphasis is always on the word business, and value is always determined by the amount of money to be made from any given property. Martin concluded by saying that people who know the cinema and its history have to share their love and knowledge with as many people as possible and have to make it crystal clear to the current league owners of these films that they amount to much, much more than a mere property to be exploited and then locked away. 

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Image Credits: Martin Scorsese Official Instagram Account