Word: mainstreaming
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...past year's flood of unusual and provocative mainstream films (Being John Malkovich, American Beauty, Fight Club) seemed to be an indication that an era of movie-making had ended, and that the artistic future of cinema would hold no place for the lengthy and sweeping sagas that culminated with the behemoth of Titanic. But Paul Thomas Anderson knew better. His brilliant Magnolia resurrects the epic from its wasted and moribund form and, in David Bowie-like fashion, makes it new and meaningful again...
...feat that the writer-director is so utterly successful in conceiving this anti-filmic structure; one of the first rules of screenwriting, mainstream or otherwise, is to surprise the audience by constantly introducing obstacles that prevent a character from achieving his goal. Anderson defies expectation specifically by refusing to produce such hurdles. While he has the opportunity to create critical wins or losses in each story, he refuses to make plot take over and refreshingly redirects these moments, remaining faithful to character and allowing conflicted desire to obstruct itself. The mosaic storytelling of the film, handled with exquisite skill...
...return primary politics to the mainstream, voter turnout must increase. One way to get out the vote would be to reduce the barriers for working voters. A law providing for a several-hour "election leave" modeled on family leave, or incentives to employers to offer such time off, could allow workers to leave their jobs and participate in primaries as well as the general election...
...Robbins' grandly ambitious new film Cradle Will Rock, which recreates the collision of art and politics in the Commie-crazy, Depression-addled '30s, is mainstream in all of the best possible ways. It's hard to imagine anyone not getting swept up in the movie's panoramic storytelling, drawn in by its mostly charming performances and ultimately roused by its provocative ideas...
This doesn't mean that Robbins tries to be all things to all people, a fatal flaw of most directors who try to attract mainstream audiences. Clearly he had a very specific vision in mind for this film, which is theatrical in style and pointedly liberal in its mosaic-like reconstruction of a chapter of American history. Robbins wins us over by playing it fast and loose with material that could easily have appeared dry and familiar, so that the occasional weak link and oversimplification in the film's interlocking web of stories seems irrelevant in the face...